Does anyone have any data on one of these. I have a 30/06 Win model 70 stainless boss that has been sitting in the safe for a decade. My plan is to have it cut and shouldered for a direct thread suppressor. This will give me a 26”barreled package with a reasonable weight. Also I will get new life out of an old rifle. My thought is I should only lose 100 to 125 FPS from the factory barrel.
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18” 30/06
- Thread starter Wiscat
- Start date
I have a 16.5” barrel .30 GOV’T 06. You can subtract about 400 fps off what factory ammunition claims. Factory 180 grain loads average about 2300-2400 FPS.
So reality ? . taking a longaction 30-06 cal. and cutting barrel to 16" . Your better off shooting shortaction .308 Win. with 16" barrel, as it is going to be just as 'or more' efficient, with less fireball out the muzzle .
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Is it suppressed? How bad would you say The muzzle blast is without a can? I have thought about doing something similar with an old flat back savage in .30-06. I had considered rebarreling to 280 Rem. But it seems foolish to drop $400 into a rifle that isnt worth it’s weight in lead.
I always run it suppressed. That was my reason for going that short. I did shoot it a few times with the SilencerCo muzzle brake. Very Loud
Wow 400fps seems like a lot! The boss rifles had a short barrel to start with. 21.5ish without the boss. I don’t have a purpose for the rifle now so I don’t really see a reason not to. I’m hoping for better than the 2500fps I was seeing out of a 16” 308 out of a 18” 30/06. Seems doable?
The best case is likely around 25 fps/inch loss. Assuming a 24 inch barrel, you'd lose around 200 fps from published under these assumptions. You may wish to consider:
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2015/06/308-win-barrel-cut-down-test-velocity-vs-barrel-length/
Without getting into a discussion of case design and internal ballistics, you may wish the tailor your expectations to the above as a starting point.
http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2015/06/308-win-barrel-cut-down-test-velocity-vs-barrel-length/
Without getting into a discussion of case design and internal ballistics, you may wish the tailor your expectations to the above as a starting point.
That is a great article and probably the most quoted barrel length article in the world. I think even with the loss considerations I should be somewhere in the vicinity of that. If my memory serves me correct I was hitting 2850 with a 165 out of this gun. I need to check the barrel length. I should be in there.
Yeah. I pulled down the SAAMI specs last night doing some research. As a fellow -06 shooter, I note that they list max published for 165 grain @ 2950+ fps. I think you can definitely get to 2650 w/ 18 inches...the only x-factor is where you nodes fall out.
Some of these folks were way overestimating what you lose with an 18" .30-06, the cartridge actually does well with a shorter barrel, and easily outruns the .308s I've had in similar lengths.
My 190gr ABLR load in my 18.5" '06 runs right around 2,600 fps and could go faster, but that was where the accuracy was best. I've run 165gr in the 2,800 fps range and 180gr just under 2,700 fps.
My 190gr ABLR load in my 18.5" '06 runs right around 2,600 fps and could go faster, but that was where the accuracy was best. I've run 165gr in the 2,800 fps range and 180gr just under 2,700 fps.
Im wondering if 18" is enough to get good powder burn or do you just send it out the barrel and into the can? Im thinking along the line of the OP in an 18" supressed 06 for hunting. I carry a 22" now and with the can on it, it kinds sucks to lug around on a sling. I like the idea of having another couple hundred yards effective range over a 308, if this does it. If not what cartridge to look at?
Don't know if the OP for this thread cut his, but this one was cut a couple years earlier to 18.5".
Peak pressure on a rifle cartridge is in the first few inches of bullet travel, the myth of just shooting unburned powder out the end of an 18" barrel is silly. It works fine, shot this elk at 320 yds with the 180gr Accubond load mentioned above. Personally, I practice 500yd hunting shots and below, and haven't had to take one on meat over 375. If you're planning on shooting way further out, '06 might be running out of steam, don't know, thats not been a problem for any hunt I've been on.
I'm getting a 300 WSM to cut down to 18", play with a while then get a 19"-20" 7mm PRC prefit, but those are just because I want to. My '06 isn't going anywhere though, and the total lack of WSM brass, and rare ammo has been eye opening so I don't know that I'd recommend that route.
Edit: Here's a closer pic of my '06 as well as a 17" .280AI I had that also worked very well, in spite of all the folks that would proclaim that you really need 26" for a .280ai.
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Does that carry well muzzle up with the sling? My biggest bitch is mine is always trying to pull back off my shoulder. I basically have to keep a stiff hold on the sling always. If I carry it muzzle down it catches shit because its so long. Losing 4 inches seems like it could solve the problem. Most of my shots are close but I do occasionally have to reach out. Shot a cow at 480 this year. 600 in perfect conditions is about as far as I'll shoot at a critter. After dumping 2 elk now with an anemic 6.5 Grendel, Im confident an 06 will dump them at 600 if need be.
Do you know what velocity you are getting with that 180 accubond?
Do you know what velocity you are getting with that 180 accubond?
I worked up 195 TMK and 208 ELD-M loads for GP use, I preferenced 150-165 if I was going tougher. Granted my barrel was 24 inches… chasing speed from a shorter tube, I’d probably have opted for the 175 TMK or 178 ELD-M. Bonded 180s just seem like a weird proposition in the -06 to me… not heavy, not fast.
Here are the numbers I had from last time I looked them up. The 165gr load was developed when the barrel was 22", and it chrono'd @ 2,920 fps from the longer tube. The 190gr load is what I took hunting this year, saw the herds every day but couldn't coax them off of private.
18.5" .30-06:
165gr SBT @ ~2,800 fps
180gr AB @ 2,690 fps
190gr ABLR @ 2,635 fps
I actually caught both of the 180gr ABs I fired into that cow. Both made nice wide wounds, about 5 inches apart, busted some bone and I found one under the skin on the far side of the chest, and the other (more worn down) in a tenderloin after cooking it a year later. Lol.
That's an odd statement, 180gr is about as standard a weight for .30-06 as you can get, and bonded bullets tend to have more uniform terminal performance at low and high velocities than C&C. For hunting elk I was more interested in a bullet that holds together well at higher velocities and opens at lower velocities, than a bit more BC, for the ranges I shoot (unless you can get both like the ABLR). I did want to develop a heavier load to try and considered going with the 200gr AB, but settled on the 190gr ABLR. I've had good performance with the ABs in 6.5, .270 and .30. I haven't used TTSX and LRX as much, and they've been a bit mixed, standard cup and core tend to work well, but just haven't been as reliable as bonded for me. To each their own though.
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I shot a spread with the 168gr TTSX, and Staball, but never followed through to work up a load. Interestingly the tech I talked to at Barnes about where to start for Staball load data told me that the 168gr TTSX was actually the first bullet to incorporate what became the LRX design developments. According to him they were very pleased with how the bullet came out and decided to build out the LRX line with the same enhancements, but didn't want to confuse folks by moving the 168gr over so they left it a TTSX.
Here's the velocities I got, I don't recall seeing pressure but this was a couple years ago.
55.4gr - 2,639 fps
55.6gr - 2,678 fps
55.8gr - 2,666 fps
56gr - 2,717 fps
56.2gr - 2,687 fps
56.4gr - 2,714 fps
56.6gr - 2,712 fps
56.8gr - 2,740 fps
57gr - 2,754 fps
57.2gr - 2,761 fps
57.4gr - 2,788 fps
That is interesting. I always wondered why they dis a 165 and 168 30 cal TTSX. The 168 has quite a bit better BC so that makes sense. Those numbers look great. Im thinking I'll make my next build a shorty 06, though I have kicked around a 6.8 western instead.
Does that gun carry on the sling well or want to pull back off your shoulder. Thats the most annoying thing about the full length barrels with suppressors and the main reason I want to go shorter.
Does that gun carry on the sling well or want to pull back off your shoulder. Thats the most annoying thing about the full length barrels with suppressors and the main reason I want to go shorter.
Pulling back on my shoulder wasn't really a problem for me as much as slipping off my shoulder when I'm hiking. I use a sling stop on my backpack strap and slings with rubberized pads to stop that though. I would expect that reducing the lever arm by chopping your barrel would help reduce the tendency for the rifle/can to pull away from your shoulder.
