barrel length 6.5x47 lapua?

[rocksteady]

i have a shillin 6.5x47 lapua in 26in....its a bit long in my opinion, my question is would it be an extreme performance drop if i shorten it to say 22" or 24"? what kind of velocity changes should i expect? does this cartrige bennifit from longer barrels? i will be using varget.

[lomfs24]

In my humble, non-scientific opinion, 22" on a 6.5x47 Lapua would be just fine. The smaller case capacity of the Lapua would work fine in a shorter barrel. In my opinion, larger capacity cartridges like the magnums benefit from longer barrels. I can't answer the velocity drop question with any authority. However, in similar sized cartridges I have seen in the neighborhood of 40fps per inch of barrel removed. It has also been my experience you may actually, although not promised, see an improvement in group sizes simply because the barrel will be slightly stiffer being shorter. Although, 4 inches might be insignificant to the average shooter off a bench.

Take it for what it's worth, all comments can not be backed up by any "real" data but are rather my opinions.

[GaCop]

If you have no plans to shoot at the long ranges, 22" or 24" should work well.

[Aircraftmech76]

I went with a 23" compromise length on my CBI 6.5x47...

Kevin

[Jamie]

It's not a 6x47 but my 17" .243 Win runs at 2720 fps with 105 Amaxes. You should be able o shorten your barrell up pretty good and still have be fast enough.