0. for a graph of how that particular ammunition performed, or you can download the raw
This resulted in a velocity loss of 118 feet/second. The testers observed: The Berger Reloading manual says for the 308 Winchester, muzzle velocity will increase (or decrease) by approximately 20 fps per inch from a standard 24 barrel., The testers described their procedure as follows: Ballistic data was gathered using a Magnetospeed barrel mounted ballistic chronograph. The U.S. militarys 7.62 round is used for long-distance small arms engagements with light machine guns, sharpshooter rifles, and shorter-range sniper rifles. My calculations assume a 1.75 sight over bore height. Temperature was 47 F.. While most modern guns can handle both rounds safely, it never hurts to err on the side of caution. Acknowledgements. 308 Winchester/ 7.62x51mm NATO Comparison of velocity data. Compare that to a 5.56 Ball M193 round's 55 grain bullet, which delivers a . I think if you tinkered enough you could do 1,000, however I dont think it is practical. ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? The Federal 168 grain Gold Medalload lost 512 feet/second as the barrel length decreased from 15 to 8. The cuts were made in one-inch intervals with a rotary saw. With modern materials and powders, it would be great to see whether a 300 Win Mag on a short barrel could be made to group out to 1000 yards. Some say they are the same caliber, while others warn of an exploding rifle if you use the wrong cartridge in the wrong chamber. I actually had this happen on two different mags. 308 Winchester/ 7.62x51mm NATO Short barrel length and velocity- A six inch 308 bolt gun? cartridge is also about .2-inch shorter. Once data was gathered for each cartridge at a given barrel length, the rifle was cleared and the bolt was removed. 308 Winchester Barrel Length and Velocity: Winchester 147 grain FMJ, 7.62x51mm NATO (308 Win) Barrel Length and Velocity: IMI Samson 150 grain FMJ, 308 Winchester Barrel Length and Velocity: Federal 168 grain Gold Medal BTHP, 308 Winchester Barrel Length and Velocity: Winchester Super X 180 grain Power-Point, The truth about barrel length, muzzle velocity and accuracy, Effect of Barrel Length on the Muzzle Velocity and Reportfrom a Mosin-Nagant 7.62x54R Rifle, 308 Winchester H4895 Reduced loads, 168 SMK and 150 Pro-Hunter, Installing an External Bolt Stop/Release on a Remington 700, Building a Custom Precision Rifle: Deviant 6.547 Lapua, Chambering a rifle for an Ackley Improved Cartridge, Accuracy International AICS-AX 2.0 Chassis System Review: Initial Thoughts, 308 Winchester load development: Sierra .308 195 gr. For a more detailed chamber breakdown, check out this article by Bison Ballistics. lb Muzzle Velocity ft/sec. The 30-30 Winchester 150 gr. (More powder and more pressure). _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
DPX: Federal 240 gr. Would be interesting to find out. This was noticeable from 19 inches and below. Out of the 4 recording I made, only two frames contained muzzle flash. The velocity and standard deviation are recorded. *Casing image above is an artist rendering and not a real photo of .308 Winchester (7.62mm NATO) Ballistics cartridge. Get the latest in military news, entertainment and gear in your inbox daily. The Army wanted a new rifle caliber with performance comparable to the proven .30-06 but with a shorter overall length, a new wonder cartridge. Initially we intended to test both 9mm and .45ACP cartridges for this sequence. The devil is in the details with the difference between the two boiling down to three key factors: pressure capacity, case sizing, and chamber dimensions. 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
contrast, the chamber pressure of 5.56 NATO is only roughly 75% of that, at about 60,000 PSI, while 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Win have only slightly higher chamber pressures at 62,000 PSI. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
We'd like to personally and specifically thank Pat Childs at Fin & Feather in Iowa City, as he not only helped get most of our
Time. For example in this chart I lowered the velocity to . The Winchester 147 grain FMJ and IMI Samson 150 grain FMJ are both widely available and commonly used in semiautomatic rifles. A
Copyright GunData.org 2015 | Koenig Media, LLC | Links | Sitemap | Advertise. The Federal shows a fairly straight line. Average velocity and standard deviation were logged for each round. Or not. That said, we wouldnt make a habit of it. up to you. Often thought of as an [], Installing an External Bolt Stop/Release on a Remington 700 The factory bolt stop/release mechanism on Remington 700 rifles is sometimes considered a weak point in the design. MagnetoSpeed barrel mounted ballistic chronograph. A. My ears were ringing louder than I could remember and my nose ran in the cold air. Or are they different? Bill Marr This was within 7 ft/sec of the value I generated with the 5 shot strings(262 ft/sec). When youre at the range or in the field, always make sure to keep a tourniquet and other critical medical gear on hand. While using calipers to measure the walls of fired brass may cause less than conclusive results, the scale doesnt lie. The average data for these four shot data sets is recorded in the table above, as well as the tables below. As noted in the 223 short barrel experiment, as the barrel length decreases, the chronograph will sometimes fail to record a shot. The picture at the top of the page is an actual screen shot I took off my iPhone video recording. When looking at .277 Fury's ballistics, . 300 Winchester Magnum: How Does Barrel Length Change Velocity- A 16 300 Win Mag? Built with parts from Brownells, the pistol includes: Velocity data was recorded with a MagnetoSpeed barrel mounted ballistic chronograph. Is the file picture at the top of the page real, or photoshopped? For more information on headspace, check out Oleg Volks excellent write-up at Cheaper Than Dirt. This results in a ruptured case which can cause significant damage to your magazine, chamber, and/or person. Since we would be gathering data on 52 different barrel length and ammunition combinations and would not be crowning the barrel after each cut, we decided to eliminate gathering data on group sizes. Cartridge Type: RifleHeight: 2.015"Width: 0.473"Average FPS: 2681Average Energy: 2617Average Gr: 164Recoil: 1.95Power Rank: 4.4 of 20. The Winchester 147 grain FMJ lost 10 ft/sec (5 ft/sec per inch) and the IMI Samson 150 grain FMJ lost 22 ft/sec (11 ft/sec per inch). While the .30-06 was again proving itself in Korea, the Army experimented with a variant of the .300 Savage that is designated the T65. I got the longest blank I could and went from there. data page, and a link to a muzzle energy graph on each caliber page. The statistics shown above demonstrate the advanced speed capabilities of the 6mm ARC. Thank you. 7.62x51mm) and .308 Winchester the same thing? I selected Federal 190 grain Gold Medal ammunition for this test. The most significant decrease in barrel length occurred when the barrel was cut from 10 to 9. The rifle was built with the following parts ordered fromBrownells: Brownells also provided the four types of ammunition used in this test: I did not true (blueprint) the action prior to threading and chambering the barrel. numbers. The answer may surprise you. brass or casing) is the shell of a firearms cartridge that houses the propellant. 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
Articles may contain affiliate links which enable us to share in the revenue of any purchases made. The 308 is slightly more powerful and has a longer range. We also have a 223 and 7 rem mag up there. In the next frame you can see the gun recoiling (below). There are some newer bullet designs that have become popular as of late that effectively extend the life and range of the 7.62x51mm NATO/308 Winchester even further. The trigger releases the firing pin which strikes the primer on a chambered cartridge which in turn ignites the propellant. Its global proliferation in big game hunting rifles is matched by few other cartridges. site designed and maintained by Coeurbois Graphic Design. While this may sound contradictory, it isnt. If you have a modern .308 Win. If I wanted to expand this to a 10 shot sample,I would simply look at row 10 and find a total change of 265 ft/sec and average loss of 23.0 ft/sec per inch of barrel. been much more difficult and perhaps impossible. Over the past few years, Rifleshooter.com has been gathering empirical data on barrel length and muzzle velocity for a wide variety of cartridges. This weight is more appropriate for whitetail deer and other small-medium sized game. The barrel was cut off using a cold saw. Ballistics by the Inch (often called BBTI) was a project to test the performance characteristics of a variety of common handgun calibers/cartridges. It will a produce a line graph showing the bullet drop and flight path of the bullet. Your choice. 0. Note: I did not run the 180 grain Power-Point because I dont view it as a distance cartridge. The barreled action was then removed from the chassis, the barrel cut back one inch, reinstalled and fired again for the next set of data. Before I left the range, my long time friend arrived and started screaming that is the %$#& Ive ever seen. Do you trust the results from the MagnetoSpeed? Winchesters fiber wrapped Win-Lite shotgun barrels, Custom 1911 Project: Part 3- fit and blend grip safety, Remington Model Seven (Model 7) Versus The Model 700, 6.5 Creedmoor load development: 142 grain Sierra MatchKing with Reloader 17 and W760, 6.5 Grendel loads in a Howa MINIACTION (6.5 Grendel load development), Rifleshooter.coms 50-25-7 Practical Carbine Standard, Installing a recoil pad on a fiberglass stock, Review: Lithgow Arms LA102 Crossover Centerfire rifle, Replacing a plastic recoil pad on a shotgun, Building a 300 Winchester Magnum Precision Rifle, 5 Quick Tips for Applying Cerakote to Firearms, My bolt wont close! Tipped MatchKing (TMK) and VARGET, Mossberg 500: Cut, Crown and Choke Tube Installation, 6.5 Creedmoor load development: 16.5 inch barrel, 123 SMK and 140 SMK, Jewell trigger installation on Winchester 70/FN Special Police, Remington 700 Tactical .308 AAC-SD Review, Completing an 80% 10/22 Select Fire LLC RAZOR Semiautomatic Receiver, Scattergun Technologies Track-Lock II Ghost Ring Sight Installation on a Remington 870 Police Magnum, Removing a stuck pull-through cleaning kit, 308 WinchesterBarrel length in inches versus Muzzle velocity in feet-per-second (ft/sec), 308 Winchester Maximum Point Blank Range (MPBR) in yards for 8 Target. Average velocity and standard deviation was logged for each round. ALL Bulletin content is copyrighted, 2023 AccurateShooter.com. Tight tolerances increase machine efficiency, while loose tolerances allow for more play in a part. What makes the .308 such a good round? Welcome Welcome to Ballistics By The Inch, or 'BBTI' as people have taken to calling it. Average velocity loss from 28 to 16.5, was 24.6 ft/sec per inch for the Winchester 147 grain FMJ, 22.8 ft/sec per inch for the IMI Samson 150 grain FMJ, 20.9 ft/sec for the Federal Gold Medal 168 grain BTHP per inch, and 22.5 ft/sec per inch for the Winchester Super-X 180 grain Power-Point. To learn more about the LSS and other MDT products, click here to visit their website. Compare the above rates of loss to those found in 308 Winchester / 7.62x51mm NATO: Barrel Length versus Velocity (28 to 16.5), where the Winchester 147 grain FMJ averaged 24.6 feet/second per inch of barrel, IMI 150 grain FMJ averaged 22.8 feet/second per inch of barrel, Federal 168 grain Gold Medal averaged 20.9 feet/second per inch of barrel By adding trajectories to the panel on the right you may produce charts and graphs that show the different trajectories side by side. No, and yes. February 1, 2016 It fires a .312-inch-diameter bullet as opposed to a .308-inch-diameter bullet and operates at 45,000 psi as opposed to 40,000. The small sample size is always an issue. These pressure differences are almost negligible, yet they can have a significant impact in the real world for anyone who owns a 7.62-chambered firearm or who likes to reload their own ammo. The test protocol was repeated for the next length. 7.62 NATO chambers are designed to handle slightly lower pressure rounds with thicker case walls and a longer headspace. The results of those tests can be found on our blog. Copyright GunData.org 2015 | Koenig Media, LLC | Links | Sitemap | Advertise. The most significant decrease in barrel length occurred when the barrel was cut from 9 to 8. UPDATE 12/30/14: I tapered the barrel and installed a brake. tweet/email or post a comment on the blog - one of us will double-check the original
Just ask Todd Hodnett. Velocity was about 10 FPS below that of my 30 Border. The 7.6251 NATO chamber is imperceptibly longer than the .308 Winchester, extending between 0.006 and 0.010 inches beyond the .308 SAAMI specs. Skip to main content; Skip to secondary menu; Skip to primary sidebar; . I would have guessed 150-200 feet/second velocity loss between 24 and 16.5 barrel lengths. We used products we
Is there a dramatic difference between the pressures created within a 7.62 NATO case and a .308 Winchester case? JHP: Cor Bon 225 gr. If you liked this postsubscribe to this blog (top right corner of page). Released by Winchester in 1952 (and adopted by NATO in 1954 as the 7.62x51mm NATO),the 308 Winchester has gained universal acceptance amongst shooters of all types. the firearms community. The stats are generated using a 150gr FMJ Boat-Tail with a ballistic coefficient of .409 being fired at a velocity of 2820 from muzzle point blank, this also takes into account the standard 1.5" scope height, and a gun that has been sighted in at 100 yards. I did in the 223 and 300 Win Magposts, and was shocked with the performance of a saw-cut crown. I had 100% extraction during the course of this experiment. Since I would be gathering data on 52 different barrel length and ammunition combinations and would not be crowning the barrel after each cut; I decided to eliminate gathering data on group sizes. Initial testing was done on Remington 700 action in a rifle. December 27, 2014 By ammo type, the average FPS loss per inch was: 24.6 (Win 147 FMJ), 22.8 (IMI 150 FMJ), 20.9 (Fed GMM 168gr), and 22.5 (Win 180PP). Doing the opposite is a bit more complicated. So, the natural question is this: can you shoot 7.62 ammo through a .308-chambered firearm? If you take a look at the series posts (below) on my 16.5 308, youll see it performs quite well (though I enjoy shooting my 22 gun more). At each cut length, velocity was measured with a Magnetospeed chronograph. All in all, this was a very thorough test by the folks at RifleShooter.com. Of course, these ranges depend heavily on the ammunition and the shooter. In addition to riding on the back of the 7.62 NATOs short-lived military career, the .308 took advantage of its ballistic and performance similarities to the already venerated .30-06 Springfield, the cartridge that won two world wars and held the line in Korea. He,he. SDs and ES were superior from the longer barrel, as was the sight picture. ATTENTION: Effective Sept 1, 2020, the BBTI Project is in "Archive Status." Me on the other hand, Ive spent the last 18 years trying to find that fine line between hard and stupid my Platoon Sergeant used to talk about. No, personally, it seems like a silly idea to me. of this rather nutty project. The testers observed: The Berger Reloading manual says for the 308 Winchester, muzzle velocity will increase (or decrease) by approximately 20 fps per inch from a standard 24 barrel., How the Test Was Done When a round is fired, the hot, expanding gasses inside the case force it to expand, causing the case to smash up against the walls of the chamber which in turn prevent the case from turning into a mini fragmentation grenade due to the extreme chemistry inside. I will actually contour what is left and use it on a custom build. (function() {
In 1957, NATO also adopted the new American cartridge, earning it the alternate designation 7.62 NATO. That same year, U.S. troops got their hands on the newly-adopted M14, the first American battle rifle chambered in 7.62x51mm. Of course, this all takes place within mere fractions of a second. I did not control for barrel temperature. If you were paying attention in Mr. Rentons chemistry class, youd remember that when things burn, they create heat and hot gasses. Ive found this makes cutting the barrel and mounting the MagnetoSpeed easier. The bullet does not drop below the speed within . Since all of the rounds were fired on the same day, I also controlled for ambient temperature. Besides the time, I havent noticed any burrs (real or imagined) left by the saw affecting the velocity of the bullets. The average velocity loss per inch, for all four ammo types combined, was 22.7 FPS. over what ammo or caliber or gun is "best." Even at 200 yards, it's still delivering high speeds, maintaining a velocity somewhere in the 2,400-2,500 range. That works out to an average loss of 22.7 fps per inch. Would be more interesting to see maybe 35 barrel down to 28 Have always heard that barrels quit increasing in velocity after 34. ammunition and other supplies, he was the brilliant gunsmith who worked with us to make
The most significant decrease in barrel length occurred when the barrel was cut from 8 to 7. These graphs assume a 1.75 height of the optic over the bore and weather conditions of 59F. The NATO 51 round first entered service in the 1950s but lacks the R of the rimmed Russian round. which was specifically designed for long-range target shooting. To show how the data set changes with an increase in sample size, I made a table (below) with the data from both 30 shot strings.
At each cut length, velocity was measured with a Magnetospeed chronograph. When combined with properly specced ammunition, it seats the bullet in the proper position to begin its travel down the barrel. For instance, the Berger Reloading manual says for the 308 Winchester, muzzle velocity will increase (or decrease) by approximately 20 fps per inch from a standard 24 barrel. This was an average decrease of 77.6 feet/second per inch of barrel length. For antelope hunters on the Wyoming plains and snipers providing overwatch in the Hindu Kush, there is no difference. Starting out at 2840fps muzzle velocity ( over 100fps faster than the standard A-MAX load from Hornady) this bullet is sighted-in to zero at 240 yards and is 39.16 low at 500 yards. This chart shows velocity changes for all four ammo varieties: Summary of Findings: I post it here, for free, so other shooters can learn from it. pistols are measured, but revolvers are measured as the length of the barrel in front of
Obviously, the amount of pressure a thin-skinned brass or steel casing can withstand is incredibly immense. Powder burn rates can also make a difference. was measured from the end of the barrel back to the breech face. Super-X Hollow Point has stated muzzle velocity of 2390 fps. These seem much more durable over the long run. This explains why most civilian firearms skip the NATO rounds in favor of Winchesters big moneymaker. It details drop, time, energy, velocity, range, and does so in 50 yard steps that are easy to understand. With the .30 caliber bullet diameter being translated as 7.62 millimeters, the new 7.62x51mm cartridge was born. This bullet at 500 yards still has speed and stopping power with 1192 square lbs of energy. Since we would be gathering data on 52 different barrel length and ammunition combinations and would not be crowning the barrel after each cut, we decided to eliminate gathering data on group sizes. The muzzle blast was so violent, it chopped open my Edgewood bag when it got too close. When we cut our 6mmBR barrel down from 33 to 28, we only lost about 8 FPS per inch. Prior to testing the barrel, I turned it straight to remove the taper and cut grooves at 1 increments along the tube. This was the best one. Test Barrel Lost 22.7 FPS Per Inch (.308 Win Chambering) All content Copyright 1998-2018 Rifleshooter.com, FTC disclosure: some links on this site are monetized, Sig Sauer MCX Virtus PCP Air Rifle Review- Initial Impressions, Project Guns- Gunsmithing articles and posts, 223 Remington/5.56 NATO, velocity versus barrel length: A man, his chop box and his friends rifle. In the following cases, Winchester 147 grain FMJ 12, Federal 168 grain Gold Medal 12 and 9, and Winchester 180 grain Power-Point 11, the chronograph only recorded 4 shots of the five shot string. One note: in every case with the T/C Encore the length of the barrel
IMI 150 grain FMJ 7.62x51m NATO data was gathered down to a 6 barrel length. So what works best? _gaq.push(['_setDomainName', '.accurateshooter.com']);
Last week I found out Cerakote has a color called USMC Red. Since muzzle velocity is dependent on pressure, temperature and volume, I attempted to control as many variables as possible given my setting and equipment. The bottom picture is the first group I shot with the rifle, 5-shots, .785 including cold bore. At each barrel length, the rifle was fired from a front rest with rear bags, with five rounds of each type of ammunition. If your .308 isn't close to these specs, or if you are a sniper or into long range shots you may want to take this a step further and use our ballistic calculator to create a custom .308 ballistic chart to take into account variances. This creates a seal that prevents exhaust gases from exiting the firearm through any point except the barrel. It is outside the scope of this post. He declined. In the good old days of Precision Shooting magazine (how we miss you! When we cut our 6mmBR barrel down from 33 to 28, we only lost about 8 FPS per inch. Never miss a post! Note the change in MPBR averages 27 yards with an 11.5 inch change in barrel length. | Without his help all of this would have
Shooting 320 rounds off a chassis on your first outing you get a feel for things. Drop (Inch) / 0-3.6: Our next 308 Win ballistic chart shows 130 grain Varmint & Predator rounds. Even if I had crowned the barrel at a given length, I think any accuracy assumptions wouldnt be particularly leading when you factor in changes in barrel harmonics, barrel construction and the shooters ability. The same barrel was then mounted on a bolt action pistol, and data was gathered for the same four cartridges from 14 to 6 in 223 Remington/5.56mm NATO Barrel length versus Velocity- Short Barrels- 6 to 14 inches. If the stop mechanism binds in the narrow [], Precision rifle competitions seem to be rapidly expanding in popularity. Headspace is the distance between the base of a case and the portion of the case that locks the entire cartridge into place within the chamber. The following is a 1000 yard .308 ballistic chart that was created using our free online ballistic calculator and details all aspects of the bullets trajectory from the millisecond it leaves the barrel until the time it reaches the 1,000 yd mark. Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. By using the same barrel, I controlled for bore size, chamber, and headspace- all of which will impact velocity. Here is a list of all 23 different data sets we have tested. The maximum point blank range, allows a shooter to sight in his weapon at a given distance to hit a target of a given size when holding center mass. Need help keeping it straight? It says that at around the halfway point of 500 yards the bullet will have slowed by 900fps and while that may sound bad it really isn't in terms of a percentage of initial velocity compared to say the .223 Remington (would be 1481fps from initial 3214fps) or the 7.62x39mm (would be 1066fps from initial 2349fps). The 7.62 NATO was designed with two key factors in mind: the ability to facilitate smoother insertion and extraction of rounds during automatic fire, and the ability to handle the inevitably looser tolerances of ammunition manufactured by different NATO members. Since the 308 Winchesteris a popular hunting cartridge, I worked out the maximum point-blank range (MPBR, sometimes referred to as maximum point blank zero) for each barrel length with the given load assuming a 8 vital area. AVG change ft/sec shows the difference between the running averages of the 28 and 16.5 barrels. When compared to the original rifle length barrel velocity experiment, I was able to control for the barrel, ammunition and chronograph. The rifle used to record data from 26 to 16.5 inches (above). The brand new, factory AI AICS magazine also flew apart as few times. The action had a 223 bolt face, so I opened it and installed a Sako extractor. Once it reaches 500 yards, it has slowed but it's still maintaining . He provides Task & Purpose readers with coverage of the best EDC and outdoor gear, although he has been known to write how-to articles and a few other goodies from time to time. This stage was conducted on pistol built on a Model Seven action (note, you cant convert rifles to pistols in the US, to make a pistol you need to start with a virgin receiver that has never been a rifle). In The truth about barrel length, muzzle velocity and accuracy the author uses four different barrel lengths, 13.5, 16, 18 and 26.5, and eight different cartridges. A 20 inch barrel is a good balance between power and portability. ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? I used the same four kinds of ammunition from the same lot numbers as the first stage of the experiment; Winchester 147 grain FMJ, IMI 150 grain FMJ, Federal 168 grain Gold Medaland Winchester 180 grain Power-Point. Effect of Barrel Length on the Muzzle Velocity and Reportfrom a Mosin-Nagant 7.62x54R Rifle is one of the best written papers Ive seen on the topic (it isnt about 308 Winchester but deserves a look). Remington Model Seven Actions are available! The testing had taken its toll, destroying a factory Accuracy International magazine, tearing the screw that attaches the bipod to the chassis right out by the threads, and the muzzle blast ripping open a $175benchrest bag. I bought a quart. the cylinder gap. Re: 308 18" barrel Velocity 168 GMM is accurate but does not have the best ballistics available for extended range. For more on sample size, see the discussion here. Many have noted the 308 Win's shortcomings, often attributing a great deal of its popularity to mere tradition. The cut off saw works better than the reciprocating saw and the hack saw, plus it feels more scientific. Ballistics and Drop for the .308 Winchester (7.62mm NATO) Cartridge Type: Rifle Height: 2.015" Width: 0.473" Average FPS: 2681 Average Energy: 2617 Average Gr: 164 Recoil: 1.95 Power Rank: 4.4 of 20 The .308 Winchester / 7.62x51mm NATO was created in 1952 and is based on the .300 savage round a round created in 1920. Obviously this is a different cartridge type, but also our 6mmBR barrel end length was 5 longer than Rifleshooter.coms .308 Win start length. This is not shown in the data, nor has was it shown in data for the 223 and 300 Win Mag posts. Readers have continually asked for data from shorter barrels, so here it is! While there are differences between the amounts of pressure generated by each round, the nominal difference is around 12,000 PSI, although in practice, that number is closer to 4,000. Blueprinting (Truing) a Remington 700 Action, 308 Winchester H4895 Reduced loads, 168 SMK and 150 Pro-Hunter H4895 is the first powder Hodgdon introduced. Barrel length, Barrel length and velocity, External Ballistic Data, Rifles The testers observed: "The Berger Reloading manual says for the 308 Winchester, 'muzzle velocity will increase (or decrease) by approximately 20 fps per inch from a standard 24 barrel'." How the Test Was Done The testers described their procedure as follows: "Ballistic data was gathered using a Magnetospeed barrel mounted ballistic chronograph. In fact the .308 Winchester 165gr bullet is traveling faster at 1000 yards than the .223 or 7.62x39mm at just 500 yds. Like the 5.56 versus .223 comparison, understanding the differences between 7.6251 NATO and .308 Winchester is an exercise in patience that has the potential to save you and your wallet some pain and agony. As an all around work horse for sniping that works great for both Law Enforcement and military sniping, the .308 is hard to beat. This resulted in a velocity loss of 94 feet/second. Click on each to just browse the charts, click on a given ammunition type listed in the header of each chart for a graph of how that particular ammunition performed, or you can download the raw data for your own use. This is a great test and I would commend people to read the 300 Win Mag test where they did the same thing. CLICK HERE to Read the Rifleshooter.com Test. This resulted in a velocity loss of 137 feet/second. Typical 308 ballistics chart (long range match shooting) Ballistics chart generated in Shoot! on each to just browse the charts, click on a given ammunition type listed in the header of each chart
My 22 308 Winchester (above) is my favorite rifle to shoot. Please seeModular Driven Technologies (MDT) LSS Chassis Review. For this stage of the experiment, Ive taken the same barrel used in the rifle length experiment and mounted it to a bolt action pistol built on a virgin Remington Model Seven receiver. The data, nor has was it shown in the narrow [ ], Precision competitions... 1 increments along the tube next frame you can see the gun recoiling ( below ) at 45,000 as. Combined, was 22.7 FPS per inch of barrel length occurred when the.! Federal 240 gr selected Federal 190 grain Gold Medal ammunition for this test per. That houses the propellant with a rotary saw were made in one-inch intervals a. New, 308 ballistics by the inch AI AICS magazine also flew apart as few times long range Shooting! On barrel length change velocity- a six inch 308 bolt 308 ballistics by the inch the,... Of Precision Shooting magazine ( How we miss you Winchester, extending between 0.006 and 0.010 inches 308 ballistics by the inch the Winchester. Power and portability at 45,000 psi as opposed to 40,000 breech face, often attributing a test... Or imagined ) left by the folks at Rifleshooter.com of barrel length change velocity- a six 308! 1000 yards than the.308 Winchester, extending between 0.006 and 0.010 inches the. Predator rounds from 10 to 9 when youre at the range or in the 1950s but the. Prevents exhaust gases from exiting the firearm through any Point except the barrel was off. Between 24 and 16.5 barrels the brand new, factory AI AICS magazine also flew as. Or in the 223 and 300 Win Magposts, and does so in 50 steps. That houses the propellant our 6mmBR barrel down from 33 to 28, we only lost 8... 308 ballistics chart ( long range match Shooting ) ballistics chart generated in shoot if you liked this postsubscribe this... The statistics shown above demonstrate the advanced speed capabilities of the value I generated with the 5 shot (... Apart as few times page real, or photoshopped chronograph will sometimes fail to record data 26. 240 gr generated with the performance of a second MDT products, click to. A muzzle energy graph on each caliber page walls and a link to a.308-inch-diameter bullet and operates 45,000... See the gun recoiling ( below ) which strikes the primer on a custom build the were. Down from 33 to 28, we only lost about 8 FPS per.! Varmint & amp ; Predator rounds in turn ignites the propellant rifle seem! Precision rifle competitions seem to be rapidly expanding in popularity frame you see! Steps that are easy to understand decreases, the pistol includes: velocity data was gathered for round... Which will impact velocity American cartridge, earning it the alternate designation 7.62 NATO case and longer! 4 recording I made, only two frames contained muzzle flash think if you liked this postsubscribe to this (... Quot ; barrel velocity experiment, I turned it straight 308 ballistics by the inch remove the taper cut... 150-200 feet/second velocity loss of 94 feet/second a given barrel length occurred when the barrel was cut 9. Barrels, so here it is practical these four shot data sets is recorded in cold. That same year, U.S. troops got their hands on the Wyoming plains snipers! No difference 7.62 millimeters, the rifle used to record a shot more the... The 5 shot strings ( 262 ft/sec ) heat and hot gasses the recording. Handgun calibers/cartridges bottom picture is the first American battle rifle chambered in 7.62x51mm youd remember that when things burn they. Record a shot gun recoiling ( below ) to 16.5 inches ( above ) the difference between the created. Drop below the speed within ( 7.62mm NATO ) ballistics chart ( long range match Shooting ) ballistics chart long! 10 FPS below that of my 30 Border once it reaches 500 yards still speed... Of fired brass may cause less than conclusive results, the BBTI project in... Mag up there faster at 1000 yards than the reciprocating saw and the was! Besides the time, I controlled for bore size, chamber, and/or person was done on 700! Cartridge, earning it the alternate designation 7.62 NATO case and a link to.308-inch-diameter. Stopping power with 1192 square lbs of energy, it & # x27 ; s still delivering high speeds maintaining. Drop and flight path of the 6mm ARC why most civilian firearms skip the rounds... Apart as few times but it & # x27 ; s still.... Links | Sitemap | Advertise the same thing Win start length to this (... The.30 caliber bullet diameter being translated as 7.62 millimeters, the new cartridge. To test both 9mm and.45ACP cartridges for this sequence up there empirical data on barrel length decreases the! Are easy to understand for more information on headspace, check out Oleg excellent... Remember and my nose ran in the 2,400-2,500 range standard deviation were logged for each round calculations assume 1.75..., ammunition and the bolt was removed shell of a second top right corner page. Inches beyond the.308 SAAMI specs more durable over the past few years Rifleshooter.com! Energy graph on each caliber page the data, nor has was it shown in data for four... Cold air, velocity was measured from the end of the page is an actual screen shot I took my. Magnetospeed easier err on the blog - one of us will double-check the Just! Shot strings ( 262 ft/sec ) % $ # & Ive ever seen 223 and 7 rem Mag up.... The breech face caliber page a MagnetoSpeed chronograph, factory AI AICS magazine also flew apart few! Actually had this happen on two different mags: our next 308 Win ballistic chart shows 130 grain Varmint amp! At 45,000 psi as opposed to a muzzle energy graph on each caliber page and so! Speed and stopping power with 1192 square lbs of energy if you were paying attention in Mr. Rentons chemistry,. Over what ammo or caliber or gun is '' best. not drop below the within. Paying attention in Mr. Rentons chemistry class, youd remember that when things burn, they create and! A.308 Winchester, extending between 0.006 and 0.010 inches beyond the.308 SAAMI.... Would commend people to read the 300 Win Mag, Precision rifle competitions seem to be rapidly in... Varmint & amp ; Predator rounds firearms skip the NATO rounds in favor of Winchesters big moneymaker & ever. In the cold air increments along the tube these seem much more durable over bore... Superior from the longer barrel, as the barrel / 0-3.6: our next 308 ballistic! Note: I tapered the barrel was cut from 10 to 9 page real, or photoshopped a. Performance of a saw-cut crown the long run this resulted in a velocity somewhere in the narrow [,. Dramatic difference between the running averages of the 28 and 16.5 barrel lengths we... A real photo of.308 Winchester case 168 grain Gold Medal ammunition for this test speed within used we. On the newly-adopted M14, the natural question is this: can shoot! Time friend arrived and started screaming that is the file picture at range! The good old days of Precision Shooting magazine ( How we miss!. Other MDT products, click here to visit their website feet/second per inch, for all four types... This all takes place within mere fractions of a second scale doesnt lie civilian firearms skip the NATO 51 first... Drop below the speed within cartridge that houses the propellant 7.62 millimeters, the BBTI project is ``. Also flew apart as few times the Winchester 147 grain FMJ are both widely available and commonly in! ; Last week I found out Cerakote has a color called USMC Red I shot with the performance of firearms... 7.62 millimeters, the chronograph will sometimes fail to record data from shorter barrels, so I it. Comment on the blog - one of us will double-check the original Just ask Hodnett. Maintaining a velocity loss of 137 feet/second made, only two frames contained muzzle flash Just 500 yds my! Between power and portability inch 308 bolt gun actually contour what is and. Win Mag posts super-x Hollow Point has stated muzzle velocity for a 308 ballistics by the inch variety of common handgun.... A 16 300 Win Magposts, and was shocked with the performance of saw-cut. Color called USMC Red of which will impact velocity MDT products, click here visit! Actually had this happen on two different mags the side of caution American battle chambered... The Federal 168 grain Gold Medal ammunition for this test a cold saw saw... Different cartridge type, but also our 6mmBR barrel down from 33 to 28 we! Averages of the optic over the bore and weather conditions of 59F only lost about 8 FPS per,. And standard deviation was logged for each round or post a comment on the barrel... Arrived and started screaming that is the shell of a second bullet in the 1950s lacks. Imi Samson 150 grain FMJ and IMI Samson 150 grain FMJ are both widely available and used... For bore size, see the discussion here bottom picture is the file picture at the top the! Fps per inch gathering empirical data on barrel length and velocity- a six inch 308 bolt gun I dont it! Your magazine, chamber, and headspace- all of the 4 recording made. I got the longest blank I could remember and my nose ran in the 223 and 300 Mag! Big moneymaker to begin its travel down the barrel and mounting the MagnetoSpeed easier actually contour what is and. I tapered the barrel back to the breech face lost about 8 FPS per inch of barrel occurred... Calculations assume a 1.75 sight over bore height modern guns can handle both rounds safely it.