Guys, what use-cases are short-barreled .308s for?
Generally, 20" barrel for .308 with standard load will give full powder burn and full velocity. Many studies confirm this. If you drop barrel length for maneuverability to 16" or so and add a suppressor then you still come out about 20" (e.g., surefire suppressor adds about 4" or so). You sacrifice some velocity and poweder burn but you gain the advantages of a suppressor and keep maneuverability.
But what about barrels at 14.5" or 12"? POF offers such barrel lengths on .308. Now if you are engaging targets up close, say within a 100 yards, is there question on the lethality of 5.56 with 10.5" barrel and suppressor? This is more maneuvarable than .308 and still lethal. So why would someone opt for a 12" or 14.5" barreled .308? Perhaps if you needed to hit through barricades up close? Does anyone know of real world uses for the real short .308 barrels? Most books I read on military uses (e.g., special forces) always mention short-barreled 5.56. Is short-barreled .308 out there in real world use?
Generally, 20" barrel for .308 with standard load will give full powder burn and full velocity. Many studies confirm this. If you drop barrel length for maneuverability to 16" or so and add a suppressor then you still come out about 20" (e.g., surefire suppressor adds about 4" or so). You sacrifice some velocity and poweder burn but you gain the advantages of a suppressor and keep maneuverability.
But what about barrels at 14.5" or 12"? POF offers such barrel lengths on .308. Now if you are engaging targets up close, say within a 100 yards, is there question on the lethality of 5.56 with 10.5" barrel and suppressor? This is more maneuvarable than .308 and still lethal. So why would someone opt for a 12" or 14.5" barreled .308? Perhaps if you needed to hit through barricades up close? Does anyone know of real world uses for the real short .308 barrels? Most books I read on military uses (e.g., special forces) always mention short-barreled 5.56. Is short-barreled .308 out there in real world use?