Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Short Barrel 308 Win. Speed???

Anyone ever chronograph a Ruger 77 compact in 308 Win.?

I am wondering with the loss of velocity how far this rifle will effectively shoot.

Look at Hodgdon's online handgun data for 308 Winchester. It was shot with a 15" barrel. Several powders provided 2650 to 2675 fps or thereabout with 150 grain bullets. With 165's a number of powders gave mid to upper 2500's. These figures approximate good 300 Savage loads.

Anyway, what precisely do you mean by how far will it effectively shoot?

Fast enough and FAR enough-Muddy

I took my 17.5" 308 to 1000yd on many occasions...never had an issue getting there with 178 AMAX or 175 BTHP.

I could squeeze 2850 out of 155 Scenars without trying TOO hard.

These guys only lost 32 fps cutting a 26" barrel down to 18".

http://www.tacticaloperations.com/SWATbarrel/

Based on what I see from others who have cut a barrel around 15-20 fps loss for each inch is typical. The problem with comparing gun "A" with gun "B", is that you can see 100-130 fps difference with barrels of the same length. That would be a bit extreme, but not unheard of. Around 25-50 fps is very common.

With that in mind, if you are comparing one gun with a 20" barrel to another with a 22" barrel the 20" barrel might well be 25-50 fps faster. Or the 22" barrel could be 100-150 fps faster. People often see the latter and conclude that a gun loses 50-75 fps for every inch the barrel is shorter. They never consider the primary reason is simply the difference between the individual guns.

For hunting a 16" barrel is plenty long enough. The problem is the nasty muzzle blast.

I'd like to know what powders people are using to get those speeds. I'm running a 20" Krieger barrel and when loading 44.3 gr of IMR 4064 (which is compressed) with a 178 AMAX at 2.800, I'm only getting 2550 fps. I find that I really have to lean on a charge of [Varget/IMR4064/RL-15] to even get over 2600 fps.

This barrel has a Winchester Sniper chamber:

NECK DIAMETER|THROAT ANGLE|FREEBORE
SAAMI|1*30|0.112

My 20's get mid 2500 with 42g Imr4895 under 168's.

That, and often miserable balance. A 20 inch is plenty short enough for almost any civilian purpose, looks better, handles better, and won't blow your brains out if you take a shot in the field without ear protection.

I hate being anywhere near those short-barreled monstrosities at the range, even the .223s.

I got an average of 2555 with 165's and a max load of varget with my 77 compact. Maybe not the fastest bullet speed but sure was nice gun to pack.

I got an average of 2555 with 165's and a max load of varget with my 77 compact. Maybe not the fastest bullet speed but sure was nice gun to pack.

Good Lord, grandpa. I have been shooting and hunting with short barreled (<18") for years, most of them even have brakes. I have yet to have a concern about "balance," and the critters have yet to comment on how ugly they are.

I dont have an issue with the noise, or blast, and could not care less what others shooting next to me think about it.

Ah, so you're that guy.

If that guy is the one who shoots what works for him..then yeah, I am him. Brakes work...so I use them. Short barrels make my life easier...so I use them. I dont shoot to make others happy, I shoot what makes me happy.

Luckily, I rarely shoot with folks who dont share similar tastes, but on occasion I do. On those occasions..tough.

I get 2700 fps chronoed with my accuracy load in my 16 1/2" Ruger RSI Hawkeye 308 with 150gr Accubonds and Varget. Shoots around an inch at 100 yds with 2.5-8x32 Conquest, about the same at 50 yds with irons.

Like I said earlier, I was getting 2850 out of 17.5" 308 and 155s. I did have to lean on it and crunch some Varget...but it shot well.

Yeah, life is too short to have basic respect for others. Gotta love internet tough guys.

So..I should shoot a rifle that is less than optimum for my needs and wants to ensure the comfort of someone who may or may not be there? Yeah, I am gonna pass, thanks.

I have a suppressor in the wings for this rifle...guess who its not for?

LOL