Comments on: Surprising Results in .223 Rem Barrel Cut-Down Velocity Test

By: USMC

USMC — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 06:39:21 +0000

Just goto the Hodgdon reloading site and choose “pistol,” for .223 or .308 and it will Give you velocities for pistol (15 inch) barrel and Rifle (24 inch) barrel

If you look at the PDF data from the old accurate site Accurate 5744 is some MAGICAL POWDER! It burns like a Mangum pistol powder and it’s only good for 3 bullet weights in .308 a 110gr, 168gr, & 208gr. The 168gr load is 10gr less than Accurate 2520 and only 4 fps slower! Is AMAZING in short barrel .308’s!

By: Olin Coles

Olin Coles — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 16:58:59 +0000

It’s a good thing QuickLOAD tells me this exact same information, without costing me a dime on cut barrels.

By: Clive Conolly

Clive Conolly — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 05:57:19 +0000

Were the losses greater as the barrel got shorter?

By: Grimstod

Grimstod — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 21:32:34 +0000

I am not the least bit surprised by these results. Walt Berger said years ago that velocity loss was about 25.3fps. No surprise at all.

Then there is the 6BR test. Well if you use a really fast burning powder its going to mess up your results like it did with the 6BR test.

Editor: I don’t think the 6BR test was “messed up” in the least. Many 6BR and Dasher shooters have been looking for 20-50 fps more velocity, and they wondered if it made sense to “go long” (to 32-33″), as some Palma shooters did. Most current 600-yard benchrest shooters are running barrels in the 27-30″ range. We used H4895, which is a bit faster than Varget, but still a popular powder for the 6BR cartridge. H4895 is quite a bit slower than N133 or LT32.

By: nick brungard

nick brungard — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 20:45:49 +0000

Wouldn’t the velocity gains change with respect to the burn rate of the powder used. A slower burn rate showing more velocity with a longer barrel.

By: Guy

Guy — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 18:09:14 +0000

I see the 6br was cut from 33″ to 28″. I believe if it was cut from 26 to 16″ there would have been a much greater change in velocity per inch. Beyond 28″ the change becomes slight.

By: Guy

Guy — Sun, 01 Mar 2015 18:05:58 +0000

Ya thats been my experience in .223. Around 20-30 fps max velocity change per inch. Not surprising. The average change ive seen over many barrels chambered .223 according to my records has been 18 fps.