barrel length for .30-06 bolt action rifle

[SSN Vet]

well THR search function stalled out and crashed my IE session twice....

so here's my question...

does .30-06 really take advantage of a 24" barrel ?

I'm looking to purchase my first bolt action rifle, which I will scope with a 3-9x40 and use mostly paper punching. Most shooting will be done at 200 & 300 yds, as there aren't many ranges near me that are longer... But I'd like to find someplace where I can try my hand at 500+ yds

I reload and hope to have fun working up accuracy loads for the rifle

Not really looking for caliber recommendations... I've pretty well settled on the '06

I'm finding that most '06 field guns are sold with a 22" barrel. How much more velocity will I gain if I get a 24" barrel?

Significant?

 

[Vern Humphrey]

The rule of thumb is about 25 fps for each inch of barrel reduction or increase.

So for a 150-grain bullet at 2,900 fps, you would expect about 2,850 from a 22 inch barrel. Not enough to worry about.

 

[saturno_v]

SSN Vet

Personally I would not go under 24"
Certain modern loadings for the 30-06 use very slow burning powders where 2" of barrel length can make a difference.
A good example of this is the Light Magnum Hornady load for the 06...the company recommend their use in barrel of no less than 24" in length, otherwise you basically lose all the advantage of the extra velocity and punch.

And if you use the rifle mostly for paper punching, the 2 inches of difference won't matter much in terms of handling and the extra barrel length can make a bit of difference at extreme long ranges.
The vast majority of loading tables and ballistic charts reference to a 24" length.

There are excellent inexpensive choices for bolt action rifles in 30-06 with 24" barrels.

 

[Arkansas Paul]

The Weatherby Vangaurd comes stock with a 24" barrel and guarantess 11/2" MOA. It is also available at a very reasonable price. You can get them for about $400. Mine is .30-06 is a tack driver.

 

[saturno_v]

+1 Arkansas Paul

Pricewise, nowdays there is no difference between a good 22" and a good 24" 30-06 rifle.

Yes you can go as low as $300 or less with a 22" Remington 710/770 or Mossberg ATR but I would never buy these rifles and not because of the shorter barrels.....

Tikka, Weatherby Vanguard, Remington 700, etc....all excellent rifles with 24" pipes in 30-06 can be had for $400-450

Savage and Stevens comes with 22" in 30-06...they are very good rifles but, personally, I would not get one because of the barrel length.

They can be a tad cheaper than the other firearms I mentioned ($300 for the Stevens, $350-400 for the Savage, often in combo with a cheap scope) but not that much to reasonably influence your choice.

 

[R.W.Dale]

The difference in performance betwixt a 22 vs 24 inch barrel for 30-06 is so meaninglessly small that's be one of the last criteria I'd look at in selecting a rifle. There's no guarantees a 24" bbl will be faster then the 22" barreled rifle sitting beside each other on the rack, again the difference is so small the actual velocity outcome could very well go to the individual rifle with the fastest barrel and not necessarily the longest. I've seen 22" rifles beat 24" guns side by side with the same loads, just cause the 22" gun had a fast barrel and the 24" rifle had a slow one.

Select a rifle based on fit, features, reputation, price along before you worry about 2" of bbl

 

[saturno_v]

Krochus

What you say is true but still some particular loads perform significantly better in a 24" pipe as general rule....the Hornady Light Magnums 30-06 are a typical example.

You are right, between a 24" barrel rifle that fits me poorly and not nicely finished and a 22" one with superior features/craftmanship and ergonomics, I would get the first.

Thankfully, the market nowdays offer ample choice of quality and barrel length so an extreme scenario like the one you mentioned is unlikely.

The original poster mentioned that he would like to engage in 500+ yards shooting...at that extreme ranges, even 50-80 fps more of velocity can make a not irrelevant difference....

 

[257WM_CDL-SF]

if it was me id want a 24 inch barrel

 

[USSR]

Personally I would not go under 24"
Certain modern loadings for the 30-06 use very slow burning powders where 2" of barrel length can make a difference.

+1. But, estimations about the difference between two different barrel lengths are worth just what you paid for them. As krochus said, there are fast barrels out there. For example, I have 26" match barrels on two .30-06's; with the very same load, one does 2875fps and the other 2950fps.

Don

 

[BsChoy]

My remington has a 22 inch barrel ad=nd it chrono's somewhere near 3100 fps with 62.0 of H4350...some are faster than others in the same length class.

 

[Dambugg]

ssn vet, is this 06 just for range shooting off of a rest? or is it to be used in the field shoulder fired? If it's just going to be a bench rest shooter i'd go with the longer barrel. If you plan on taking it in the brush to hunt with, than by the rifle that feels, fits, and points, the best to you. Two extra inches of barrel mean nothing if you aren't comfortorble with the rifle.

 

[Rokman]

I have a Ruger '06 with a 20.5 inch barrel and it works good and handles great. I have penty of long distance hunting rifles and I like this one in the woods were my shots aren't all that long. It shoots well with my handloads and I am not that worried about velocity.

 

[jmr40]

If I need more velocity than a 22" barrel will deliver I'm stepping up to a magnum round.

 

[Art Eatman]

"One inch at a time" cut-off tests of the '06 generally ran about 75 ft/sec/inch, cutting back from factory-advertised velocities with 26" barrels. These tests seemed to show up every ten years or so in the '40s-'60s in the American Rifleman and occasional other magazines.

The '06 is somewhat overbore and benefits from longer barrels. It wouldn't matter much at 100 to 200 yards, but there is a benefit from less wind drift if one is serious about shooting at 500 yards and farther.

For instance, with my "long gun"--26"--and max handloads, I had to hold two feet upwind in what I'd thought of as a "good breeze" at my 500-yard range. It hadn't seemed all that much wind when I first sat down to shoot. A lesser velocity and I might have had to guesstimate 2.5 to 3 feet, maybe.

 

[saturno_v]

"One inch at a time" cut-off tests of the '06 generally ran about 75 ft/sec/inch, cutting back from factory-advertised velocities with 26" barrels.

As far as I know, nowdays the vast majority of commercial ammo and reloading tables advertised numbers for the 30-06 refer to 24" barrels....Hodgdon and VihtaVuori mention 24" pipes even for many of the "lesser" magnum cartridges (for example, the Winchester Magnums)

The '06 is somewhat overbore and benefits from longer barrels. It wouldn't matter much at 100 to 200 yards, but there is a benefit from less wind drift if one is serious about shooting at 500 yards and farther.

I totally agree, that was exactly my point...

 

[lefteyedom]

If you want shoot targets then get a .308 or 6.5/284 with a target 26" grade barrel. If you want a great all round hunting rifle a 22" barrel 30.06 is great.
The problem is the very things that make a rifle a great target rifle can make them a pain when hunting.
That said i have shot 2 deer and antelope sofar this year with my M24 clone.

 

[Jim Watson]

At 300 yards the barrel length does not matter nearly as much as the weight.
I don't know about you, but a .30-06 sporter just kicks the dickens out of me from a bench or prone position if any amount of shooting is to be done.
I'd be looking for a bull barrelled target or varmint model, if anybody is still making one in .30-06 (.308 is much more common)... if I didn't already have my old Model 70.

 

[USSR]

I'd be looking for a bull barrelled target or varmint model, if anybody is still making one in .30-06 (.308 is much more common)... if I didn't already have my old Model 70.

Ah, Jim, another one of the lucky ones.

Don

 

[Horsemany]

For a hunting rifle I like a smaller compact gun. I'd take a 22" for hunting and the game will never know the difference. If I'm just shooting, loading, or looking for braggin rights on the chrono I'd go 24". My best handling lightweight hunting rifles have 22" pipes.

 

[rangerruck]

I disagree on the bullet speed/gain. Most centerfires gain about 35 ft or more per inch. And if handloading, higher speed carts gain, 50 ft or more per inch.
Since you are handloading, and want to do 500 yds, maybe more down the road, You can gain 100 ft per sec or more, per 2 inches of bbl.
I would look for even a 26 inch bbl... think about calling Savage, and asking if they have 26 in bbl take offs.

 

[Beagle-zebub]

Ah, USSR, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you for some more pics of that rifle, and in higher resolution.

 

[USSR]

Will happily comply.

Don