Is a 20" .30-06 impractical?

[Kestrel]

I'm thinking about getting a CZ 550 FS, with the full stock. It has about a 20" barrel. Is this too short to be practical for a .30-06? What kind of velocities can I expect in this?

I would get the .308 version, but it uses the same length action, so I might as well get the .30-06.

Thanks for any help,
Steve

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

most sporting rifles around have 20 or so inch barrels, you won't lose much in the way of velocity. go for it.

 

[clint1911a1]

Most .30-06, .308, etc. class rifles have 22, 24, and 26 inch barrels. The Model 70 Winchester "Feather Weight" has a 22" barrel and it's considered a carbine more or less. I personally wouldn't go with anything shorter than 22".

That's my two cents worth anyway.

 

[BerettaNut92]

I have a .30-06 20" rifle. It's practical for me because it's the only rifle that meets my personal requirements and suits my tastes that is legal in California.

 

[MolonLabe416]

20" is fine for a general purpose and hunting rifle. You might make an argument for a longer bbl for a long range precision rifle, but for most everything else 20" works well and is very handy.

Even though it's a standard action, I'd consider the 308. Cheap surplus ammo is readily available for plinking, class, and range work. It also allows commonality if you should add (or already have) a self-loading battle rifle.

 

[Sunray]

20" is too short for a .30-06/.308. You lose 100 fps per inch. All you gain is increased noise and blast. 24" is ideal for both. Your government did all kinds of tests to find the best barrel length for both.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

Uuh. Out of a 20 inch barrel, you're still in the 2700 fps range for 150 grain projos. That's plenty. you can get higher velocities if you handload.

 

[labgrade]

"20" is too short for a .30-06/.308."

Depends on what you want.

I've a Rem 7 w/an 18.5" bbl & although the velocities could use some help, it still does elk all day long - 3 for 3 DRT. 165 Barnes XBTs @ 2400 fps.

I'd bet a standard 165 gr .30/06 load would likely be in the 2400-2500 fps+ range. Nothing to sneeze at, at all & right there with the .30-40 Krag/.300 Savage, if not a bit more.

Shorter barrels can be pretty handy, a bit lighter & all things equal, maybe a tad more accurate.

 

[Ryder]

I've got the Remington 7400 carbine in 30-06. That's an 18" bbl semi-auto. She does 1" groups @100yds using 165gr ballistic tip handloads.

No chrono here, but no complaints either.

 

[Watchman]

Anybody remember the 18" model 7400 carbine that Remington sold ?

A friend of mine had one that he killed many deer with. Up here in the Ozarks is was just the thing. Most of the shots were in the timber at less than 100 yards and often the deer would be at a dead run.

That rifle sure was handy.

The I8 inch barrel may suffer some velocity loss but not so much that the deer ever noticed. Impractical ? I guess it depends on your standards.
I know that he has some nice looking mounts on his walls...courtesy of the 18" barrelled '06.

 

[VG]

Don't know about 20", but the "Tanker" Garands look like a flamethrower when fired, although some of them shoot pretty well.

 

[Kestrel]

I have longer .30-06 rifles, but like the looks of that CZ 550 FS. What are velocities from a 24" .30-06 barrel?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[Slingster]

Sunray wrote:

"20" is too short for a .30-06/.308. You lose 100 fps per inch."

Make that more like 25-30 fps per inch, and sometimes less, depending on the efficiency of the cartridge and powder. I shoot 180-grain Nosler Partitions out of a .308 Steyr Scout with a 19" barrel and easily get 2600 fps; it's not the fastest I can go, but it's the most accurate so that's what I use. Federal Premium with the same bullet does 2500 fps out of the same gun. Unless you're shooting well beyond point blank range (around 230-240 yards with this load/gun) you won't have to hold over and the animal certainly won't notice the difference.

The .30-06 is slightly less efficient than the .308, but you can also load it up higher if you want more velocity, so either way you should expect a bit more muzzle flash and blast. Nothing to worry about, though.

 

[Dr.Rob]

FS means full stock? Kind of silly to mess up the look of a traditional mauser FS with a 26 inch tube.

My Savage 116 30-06 has a 22 inch stainless "compact barrel"... the last 2 inches are muzzle brake. (which will put three bullets in a dime at 100 yards)

Dad shoots a Remington 760 Carbine. (18.5 inch barrel)

I have never seen a significant drop in muzzle velocity through a chrono of our loads vs a standard Savage 110, or longer barreled Winchester model 70.

Your deer/elk/antelope/bear likely won't notice the difference either.

 

[pcf]

It's hard to say how much velocity you will lose by cutting an inch off a barrel. I recently got to use a Chronograph at the range and founf that my .308 Remington 700 VS shoots only an average 82fps faster than my .308 700 ADL (load was 44.5gr Varget 168 Sierra HPBT). Is the VS slow or the ADL fast? One of these days when I'm rich I'm going to buy some 30" barrels and have them shortened an inch at a time. The only drawback I could see to a shorter barrel is the muzzle blast.

 

[444]

I have a 20" .30-06 in a Ruger Ultralight.
I never gave it a thought. I have never chronoed any loads to see what the velocity difference is between it and my Remington 700 with the 24" barrel. Obviously I am not worried about it. How many deer have fallen to the .30-30 Winchester (.30 caliber, 170 gr. bullet at maybe 2300 fps) ?
I take both rifles hunting mainly as a backup, but I also sometimes choose to carry the Ultralight when I know I am going to be humping long distances up in the mountains for the weight savings.

 

[CB900F]

Steve & PCF;

Interestingly enough, the shortening the barrel an inch at a time thing was done in one of the gunzines several years ago. I most certainly won't pretend to remember the thing word for word, but the author's results were interesting enough that I do remember the article.

In short, the velocity drops - or gains (!), were not a linear progression as the barrel was shortened. This was quite firmly in the 'Why ballisticians are bald' territory. Answer - because they tear their hair out. And it's the quirks of the magi-science of ballistics that make them do it.

900F

 

[444]

I agree.
In the one test I did along this line, the change was definitely non-linear. I fired an 11.5", a 14.5", a 16", a 20", and a 24" AR15 over a chrono. If this holds true for all calibers, I don't know, but I would bet it does.
You might also be able to tune your handloads to get better performance out of the shorter barrel by changing the powder to a faster burn rate. It still wouldn't equal the velocity of a longer barrel, but it might maximize the performance of the shorter tube.