Nightcrawler
Member
Through research, I've concluded that 17.5-18" is the best compromise length for a general purpose .308 rifle. This gives you handiness without terribly sacrificing muzzle velocity (though, of course, with it's heavy bullets, .308 isn't as dependent on velocity as 5.56mm).
However, I think that perhaps the super shorty .308 carbines out there fill a niche. I'm not referring to the 16" carbines that are so popular; those are fine, but for 2" more length you get a minor boost in velocity and little sacrifice in handling.
No, i'm referring to the 11"-14" carbines out there.
The oldest example is probably the Heckler & Koch G3K.
H&K G3KA4 7.62x51mm. 12" barrel.
However, the example I personally find most interesting comes from my favorite firearms company, DSA. I refer, of course, to their compact FAL OSW.
DSA SA-58 OSW FAL, 7.62x51mm. 11" barrel shown. DSA scope mount. EoTech holosight, Surefire light, DSA rail handguards, folding stock, cheek pad.
The big question, of course, is what happens to muzzle velocity when you go from a standard barrel to an 11-13" one. Furthermore, is the velocity of .308 out of this short barrel length still sufficent enough to justify it over 7.62x39mm?
One thing to keep in mind is not just velocity, but penetration. A .308 bullet of 147 grains, 168 grains, etc., will have a much better ballistic coefficient than a 7.62x39 bullet of the same diameter, but at 123 grains, even at the same velocity. Also, much better ammunition choices are available in .308 than are in 7.62x39. And finally, for special operations use, with a suppressor and subsonic ammunition, a short barrel may as well be used as the velocity must be below 1100 fps anyway.
According to THIS ARTICLE (warning: freakin' Adobe Acrobat, curse it!) from Soldier of Fortune Magazine, Radway Green 147 grain ball ammunition clocked some 2,400 feet per second from the 11" barrel.
That's not terrible, and could be improved with better ammunition choices, like Hornady TAP. Also keep in mind what is considered the effective range of .308. According to Winchester's online ballistics tables, their 147 grain FMJBT load is below 2,400 fps at a mere 200 yards! And it's below 2,000 fps at 400! (Which goes to show that 168, 175, and even 180 loads are best for very long range shooting. They retain velocity much better.)
So even from the short barrel, .308 is still not an oversized 7.62 Short Soviet, in my opinion. (Besides, to really compare apples to apples, compare .308 out of the short barrel versus 7.62x39 out of a similarly short barrel.)
Personally, I'd like to get the 13" SBR OSW someday. You'd get slightly better ballistics versus the 11" model, while still being ridiculously compact for a .308 (a mere 35" overall). I think it'd make a good addition to my holy FAL trilogy: A custom 18" general purpose carbine, a 21" Vanderberg Custom accurized long-range shooter, and the 13" OSW for close work.
EDIT: Forgot about this one initially. The M14 rifle has also been converted to this role. Before the Springfield SOCOM 16 or the new RAS/folding/adjusting stocks from Sage and McMillian, there was Troy Industries' SOPMOD M14.
Troy Industries SOPMOD M14, with suppressor and optic. 7.62x51mm.
These weapons, in their short versions, featured 12" and 14" barrels. Before Springfield introduced the SOCOM 16, 18" was the shortest M14 type you could get. And before Sage and McMillian had their stocks out there, nobody made a collapsing stock for the M14 series.
Thoughts?
However, I think that perhaps the super shorty .308 carbines out there fill a niche. I'm not referring to the 16" carbines that are so popular; those are fine, but for 2" more length you get a minor boost in velocity and little sacrifice in handling.
No, i'm referring to the 11"-14" carbines out there.
The oldest example is probably the Heckler & Koch G3K.
H&K G3KA4 7.62x51mm. 12" barrel.
However, the example I personally find most interesting comes from my favorite firearms company, DSA. I refer, of course, to their compact FAL OSW.
DSA SA-58 OSW FAL, 7.62x51mm. 11" barrel shown. DSA scope mount. EoTech holosight, Surefire light, DSA rail handguards, folding stock, cheek pad.
The big question, of course, is what happens to muzzle velocity when you go from a standard barrel to an 11-13" one. Furthermore, is the velocity of .308 out of this short barrel length still sufficent enough to justify it over 7.62x39mm?
One thing to keep in mind is not just velocity, but penetration. A .308 bullet of 147 grains, 168 grains, etc., will have a much better ballistic coefficient than a 7.62x39 bullet of the same diameter, but at 123 grains, even at the same velocity. Also, much better ammunition choices are available in .308 than are in 7.62x39. And finally, for special operations use, with a suppressor and subsonic ammunition, a short barrel may as well be used as the velocity must be below 1100 fps anyway.
According to THIS ARTICLE (warning: freakin' Adobe Acrobat, curse it!) from Soldier of Fortune Magazine, Radway Green 147 grain ball ammunition clocked some 2,400 feet per second from the 11" barrel.
That's not terrible, and could be improved with better ammunition choices, like Hornady TAP. Also keep in mind what is considered the effective range of .308. According to Winchester's online ballistics tables, their 147 grain FMJBT load is below 2,400 fps at a mere 200 yards! And it's below 2,000 fps at 400! (Which goes to show that 168, 175, and even 180 loads are best for very long range shooting. They retain velocity much better.)
So even from the short barrel, .308 is still not an oversized 7.62 Short Soviet, in my opinion. (Besides, to really compare apples to apples, compare .308 out of the short barrel versus 7.62x39 out of a similarly short barrel.)
Personally, I'd like to get the 13" SBR OSW someday. You'd get slightly better ballistics versus the 11" model, while still being ridiculously compact for a .308 (a mere 35" overall). I think it'd make a good addition to my holy FAL trilogy: A custom 18" general purpose carbine, a 21" Vanderberg Custom accurized long-range shooter, and the 13" OSW for close work.
EDIT: Forgot about this one initially. The M14 rifle has also been converted to this role. Before the Springfield SOCOM 16 or the new RAS/folding/adjusting stocks from Sage and McMillian, there was Troy Industries' SOPMOD M14.
Troy Industries SOPMOD M14, with suppressor and optic. 7.62x51mm.
These weapons, in their short versions, featured 12" and 14" barrels. Before Springfield introduced the SOCOM 16, 18" was the shortest M14 type you could get. And before Sage and McMillian had their stocks out there, nobody made a collapsing stock for the M14 series.
Thoughts?
