LocoGringo
Member
Today I finally got to chronograph ammo out of the 29" barreled bolt action 30-06 my grandfather gave me decades ago. I've had other priorities, so it's taken a while to get to testing. The ammo I used was Hornady 178 ELD-X and on the box it says 2750 fps from a 24" barrel. My chronograph gave me 2709 fps for 10 rounds with an extreme spread of 46 fps. I thought surely I'd get over 2800, but not LESS than 2750. I figured the idea behind my grandfather making the barrel so long would be to maximize the muzzle velocity out of the 30-06 and maybe approach 300 Win Mag velocities...not equal, but get more than a standard 30-06 barrel length of 24" or so. He's no longer alive, so I can't ask him (wish I had thought to ask him while he was alive, but I didn't know enough).
I understand ammo makers may fudge some numbers and possibly even exaggerate some, but this is puzzling. Is the barrel too long and causing drag?
I understand ammo makers may fudge some numbers and possibly even exaggerate some, but this is puzzling. Is the barrel too long and causing drag?