DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BARRELS

[rjtfroggy]

This is probably a matter of preference but something I question.
What is the difference between 26",28", 30" barells besides the obvious?
I am wondering for something to do for a dedicated bench gun, it will be a 308 using 155-155.5 grain bullets with a 1:12 or a 1:13 twist with 11*target crown. The furthest I would be shooting is 300 yards.
All of you competition shooters must have an opinion on this and most everyone else probably does also. Please keep your thoughts on this caliber because this is what I have already decided on.Thanks.

[stevec]

In theory, a shorter barrel will be easier to "tune". I have had a 31"barrel that shot great but it does seem to be easier to find a load for a short barrel over a longer barrel.

I'm not saying a short barrel is more accurate but I believe they are easier to get to shoot than a long barrel. I know sombody will say "i have a long barrel that shoots lights out with the first load i tried" but this is my opinion.

Steve

[tammons]

Just fps.

Short, fat and stiff will whip less.

Personally if I were only shooting 300 yards, I would build a 20-22" rig.

24-26" max might be good for you, but that's sort of a personal preference thing..
Most of my rifles are hunters, so under 22" is a lot more handy.

Each extra inch buys you about 25fps, so if you have some goal you are trying to reach it might be worth
a long barrel for a dedicated bench gun.

I have a 22" 308 barrel and just chronoed 208 gr amaxes at close to 2600 fps.
That bullet has a BC of .65 and will stay supersonic out to 1300+ yards.
Different than what you are doing, but just saying....

Going to 30 " would bump the speed up, reduce the drop at 1000 yds about 50" or so and increase the supersonic
range to 1400-1500 yds.

Most of my shots are below 800 yds so a 20" barrel is fine for me.

Are you target shooting or what ??

[pdog06]

Since youre only gonna shoot 300 yards I dont think the extra length will matter. A 24-26" bull barrel will be plenty IMO, unless you just want something longer to get more fps.....

[rjtfroggy]

Tammons- I have a 10LE 20" and yes at 200 it is dead on and for hunting this would be my choice.Most of my rifles are 20-24" and are shooters(all savage).
This one is for dedicated target, want to try my hand at some of the matches around here(there aren't many).I was looking at the target rifles but the cost scared me, I think I can piece one together for less but want to be close to what the factory builds.

PDOG I am not looking at the fps side of it,just the reality of accuracy for bench rest shooting side.I am not the best shot at the range but want to be able to hold my own first time out, so practice will be ongoing right through the Ct. winter until the matches start up again in the spring.

Come on no competition shooters here.

[Harriershot]

I read some where in a post on one of these shooting forums that a renowned tactical rifle builder started with a 26 inch barrel on a 308 cal rifle. He shot it and cut the barrel down two inches at a time. Each time he cut the barrel the rifle shot more accurately. He did this down to twenty inches, there was a mention of a slight change in velocity but I don't clearly recall this. I am in the process of starting to build custom rifles and they all will have 20 inch barrels on Savage short actions. I like the idea of a carbine style rifle for hunting with a Lilja No. 2 contour sporter barrel which I would call a heavy sporter or a light varmint contour.
Charlie