Barrels

I recently had an opportunity to fire the same 223 Remington ammo over a chronograph out of 3 very different barrel lengths, and recorded the muzzle velocity differences I observed.  The chronograph was an Oehler 35p, which is one of the most accurate in the industry.  The ammo fired was Federal’s 55gr FMJ ammo, and all of it was out of the same box. Here are my measured results: Barrel Length (inches) Average Muzzle Velocity (fps) 20″ 3019 fps 16″ 2837 fps 7.5″ 2135 fps Here is an inferred trendline based on the measured velocities for other 223 Remington barrel ...

When the 7mm Remington Magnum was originally released, it was met with overwhelming demand.  Every rifle manufacturer rushed to offer rifles chambered for the new cartridge, and in the rush some of the chamber dimensions varied slightly from different manufacturers.  This variation in the 7mm Rem Mag chamber dimensions has carried on to today, and there is still more differences in the chamber dimensions than for virtually any other rifle cartridge. What’s a chamber print? A “chamber print” is an illustration of the chamber reamer used to cut a rifle’s chamber.  It contains all of the key dimensions related to ...

With the number of “overbore” rifle cartridges popular today, barrel erosion is becoming a hot topic.  For example, competitive shooters using a 6 PPC typically replace a barrel after 700-800 rounds, and a 6.5-284 might also need to be replaced before the 1,000 shot mark.  That means the cost to keep a good barrel on the gun could be 60-70¢ per shot before we even consider the cost of components like match-grade bullets, brass, primers and powder.  In reality, short barrel life could easily double your cost per shot.  So what can we do to prolong the accurate life of ...