Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Barrel lengt vs Noise level

Yep.

41 grains of 4350 in a 20" 243 will have a higher muzzle pressure than 41 grains of 4895 in a 20" 308.

I have several 26" barreled rifles in calibers that "don't need" that barrel length: 308, 30-06, and 270. They are all quieter than 24" rifles in the same calibers which are quieter than 22" rifles, which are quieter than 20" rifles. As mathman said, it's the muzzle pressure. A 26" 308 is pretty pleasant and sounds like a popgun next to a 20" of the same caliber. I've built a few rifles with long light #1 barrels just to get the noise down for times when I can't run a suppressor. They also shoot much better offhand. I don't care about the free velocity, but it's there, though it's usually minor.

I guess it depends on bore, case capacity and powder/load.
A 358 with faster burning powder than a 308 won’t be as loud.
I find that a longer barrel normally has few drawbacks. But I have a short barreled 350 model 600 built for dog hair timber.
My 300 magnums have 24-26” barrels. My 30-30, 44 Mag, 45-70,’s, 350, 358 and others such as these mostly have <22” barrels.

A short barreled 300 Weatherby would be a rather poor design in my opinion. So would a 26” 44 Mag.

My 30" barreled .260 is a joy to shoot and the truck don't care how bulky it is.

My most recent range trips were with two of my 308s shooting loads that approximate LC Match with a 168 grain bullet. After shooting the 20" barreled rifle the 26" barreled one sounded like it went off "over there."

So true.

....................I'd say that the compromise length for muzzle blast depends on your own individual tolerance for both the muzzle blast and the noise levels. Regardless of barrel length you should be wearing good hearing protection anyway. As far as the degree of blast is concerned? For the most part that would depend on what time of the day you fire the rifle and how much light remains.

At the range my 'lil 300 WSM Ruger Frontier with its 16.5" barrel is a loud beast. Very good hearing protection a must for me. The blast? During the daylight hours that is un-noticeable imo and has no affect on my shooting accuracy. But that is me as I can handle this rifle extremely well whereas others may not.

Your individual tolerance is the key.

I'd guess the blast is real similar to the 29.1" M96 Swede I once ran..........Mild. You are likely running some very nice speeds as well.

What taper/contour is your barrel and gun weight?

I would look at linear comps for short barrel hunting rifles. I put one ( kaw valley) on m6 16in 223 AR and the difference is amazing. Funnels the blast away from your face. I can shoot it a few times in the open and my ears dont hurt or ring.

I think case size to bore size ratio makes a bit of difference. Compare a 22-250 with a 20" barrel to a 300 Savage with a 20" barrel. Then compare a fast burning powder to a slow burning powder in the same rifle.

I agree that it does. I have 20" barreled examples of 243s and 308s and 41 grains of 4350 in the 243 is blastier than 41 grains of 4895 in the 308.

The difference between a 243 (22") and 358 (21") is an attention getter for me. The 243's blast is more irksome to me than the 358's recoil.

Yep. I'd have them on every rifle I own if I didn't have to jump through the government hoops to get them.

When shooting my 32" 45-70 recently I noticed the sound of the bullet hitting the target was louder than the muzzle blast and the sonic crack of the bullet flight.

Never thought the 308 660 was overly loud with its 20" barrel.
Flashy in dim light, but not loud.

The 243 M-7 at 18" is pretty nasty.
The AR 16" carbine are loud, they always make me wonder about
M4s in a stone building in Afghanistan!

22 mag handguns are obnoxious. Lotta bark for the little bite.

Never been around one of the AR pistols, noise is a big reason
there isn't one here. After cost/benefit.

Current trend is light and handy, so 20" is very popular. I like 24" on sporters and 27" on long range guns. Muzzle blast from the only 20" was in a 6 BR and it was horrendous to say the least, shock wave concussion.

This is a personal thing, no right or wrong, what ever floats your boat.

What???? 20" barrel seems the tipping point. 18" make ears bleed!!

I can attest the difference in noise level between my 16" 338-06 and the 23" 338-06 is VERY noticeable

When I’ve had 243’s rebarreled the barrels are longer, not shorter than the previous one.
A 24” barrel is the minimum, and a 24” barrel on a 22 Hornet is joy to shoot.

A carbon fiber barrel seems louder than a steel barrel and a .243 has a snappy crack. My problem is a longer barrel isn't ideal for someone who shoots targets of opportunity pretty much every day.