300 WSM and short barrels...

[jagermeister]

Based on your experience with this caliber (and I know some of you Guys have a lot... ), how much do you think barrel length affects its performance to a point where it starts to perform badly ?
More precisely....do you think a 26" barrel has substantial advantage over a 22" barrel ?
How much speed loss would you reckon ?
Could muzzle blast be an issue (affecting accuracy...) on the shorter tube ?
Would you reccomend going for the longest one, no matter what, or the difference is marginal ?
In case of a shorter barrel, would there be a need to "adjust" the loads with different powder and bullet weights than normally ?

Lots of question, I know..... :lol:

Very interested in hearing your thoughts !



Thanks
JM :wink:

 

[Ridgerunner665]

With a 22" barrel you're basically going to have a very loud 30-06.

That is figuring a 30-06 with a 24" barrel and full pressure (65k psi) loads...

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[Kodiak]

There may be gun buyers out there that want a 22" .300 magnum rifle, and certain gun mfgs. offer them. When I looked into getting a .270 wsm, I found a factory rifle with a 22" tube. Got one with a 24" barrel.

 

[Anonymous]

I don't think you need a 26" barrel for a .300WSM. I easily get full velocity 180gr loads from a 24"- 2950fps+.

22" and below though- your gains are minimal, figuring a 50fps loss per inch... I'd be at 2850 at 22" and 2750 at 20". Lynn's right- that's '06 speed.

Realistically speaking- if it's a rifle you like it doesn't hurt anything- you can kill an awful lot of stuff with 180s at 2750, but it's not exactly 300 performance.

 

[wildgene]

...my 23" barrel Tikka T3 Lite matches Alliant powder data. The short fat cartridges seem to have a faster burn profile, reaching max pressures quicker than larger cartridges, an article where they cut off 2" increments of barrels showed they lost less MV than the larger cartridges...

 

[26NosFan]

Having shot the 300 WSM since 2001 I can tell you the short fat powder column is the truth. 24" is perfect but going to 22" did not affect velocities like it would others, seeing only minimal loss. Dropping to 20" I can tell you muzzle blast increased exponentially though.

 

[gerry]

After working with a couple of different 23" 300 WSM rifles there is no way a 30-06 would match a 22" 300 WSM safely. Not sure what the best barrel length would be for what you are looking for but I would't be afraid of a 22" 300 WSM if that is what would work for you.

 

[26NosFan]

Gerry is spot on. Even in a shorter tube it's got the 30-06 beat hands down

 

[jagermeister]

Actually, the exact barrel length would be 58 cm. (22,8").
The idea of the shorter barrel is to have a handier rifle along with cutting off some weight (0,75" muzzle OD).
300 WSM might be able to handle this length, while for .300 WIN wouldn't be too wise, I suppose.
I've noticed that Vithavuori used short barrels for their powder load data, thus that may mean something.....[GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]
Keep them coming [THUMBS UP SIGN]