Looking for best short barrel performance cartridge

[arrow179]

For real. Sorry.

It's ok - the older I get the less I care what everyone else thinks!!

 

[jakelly]

I do like the 6.5 prc case as well and have owned a few really accurate 6.5 prc's at that. Nothing wrong with it except for the initial growing pains of chamber, brass, and die specs but that's been getting sorted out. I've been seeing the 7-6.5 prc gain traction too. No surprise there but I'm sticking with my 7 saum. I'm too far down the saum track with dies and brass to switch. That 6.5 prc case was the answer to Remingtons lack of foresight and Hornady has capitalized. I was just ahead of the 6.5 prc with my first 6.5 saum. When I first learned of George Gardner, Pat Sinclair and the other early guys shooting the 6.5 Saum I was hooked and for good reason. In fact this was my first 6.5 saum built by GA Precision before the 6.5 prc was a thing. View attachment 629047
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I'm an early adopter of the SAUM, too. Any additional performance out of a SA is going to be minimal. I agree the SAUM trumps PRC.

 

[wildcatrunner]

7 Sherman Short gets my recommendation. Enough that I am going to be building another.

Current rifle is a 21" barrel on a Terminus Apollo Lite short action. Loves 4831SC and H4350

162 ELDM, H4350, 2936fps
150 Accubond, H4350, 3150fps (maximum)
140 Berger VLD, H4350, 3050fps
162 ELDM, 4831SC, 2900fps
140 Berger, 4831SC, 3100fps
165 Game changer, 4831SC, 2880fps

Rifle is set up as a light weight hunting rifle for my wife. Barrel was chose for the 140-168 range of bullet with no desire to shoot heavies in it. It is extremely accurate and by far one of the easiest load development cartridges I've reloaded for. Even more impressed with the speed I am getting. I can get more specific with load details if anyone is interested.

 

[Get_Saum]

Okay....great feedback for far. Thanks. I've narrowed my decision down to either a 7RSAUM or a 300 WSM. 7 WSM would be front runner if I knew I could get good brass. Let's focus on these two. I'm soliciting additional data/feedback on these two (three if someone know for sure where I can get good 7WSM brass).

One last thing I'd say as it pertains to these three chamberings, if you intend to shoot the long bullets, I'd recommend a medium length action. My 7 saum is on a medium Lone Peak Fuzion with a freebore of .210.

 

[jakelly]

OP I'm not exactly sure what parameters you're referencing for performance from a short barrel. But unless total efficiency and exiting muzzle gas is high on that list, you're going to be hard pressed to beat a SAUM based 6.5 or 7 in a true SA. If it's about net terminal performance, at extended ranges, this becomes a math problem. The efficiency of the fat powder column and COAL limitations when using heavy VLD projectiles, are going to point to the SAUM case every time. I personally think the 6.5 has the advantage over the 7, but to each his own.

 

[Frank in the Laurels]

..good old fashion ho-hum .308 win would be hard to beat in a shortster...can't beat .308 dia holes in vital areas...

 

[Hondo64d]

I know that the .308 has been long touted as a great short barreled cartridge as long as the bullet weight is within reason.

The .308 is the one I was going to mention. I used to have a 24" Bartlein barrel and now have a 20" Bartlein. Didn't loose nearly as much velocity as I expected to, about 20 fps per inch. I think the velocity loss is determined by the case capacity/bore size relation.

I once read "muzzle velocity is not impact velocity," which makes perfect sense to me. Perhaps the OP could run several bullet/velocity combinations through JBM ballistics and see which combo gives the results he wants at target distance.

John

 

[Beluebow]

Okay....great feedback for far. Thanks. I've narrowed my decision down to either a 7RSAUM or a 300 WSM. 7 WSM would be front runner if I knew I could get good brass. Let's focus on these two. I'm soliciting additional data/feedback on these two (three if someone know for sure where I can get good 7WSM brass).

You could do a 7/300wsm....just neck up 270wsm (easy button) Norma/ADG brass or neck down 300wsm Lapua/ADG/Norma/Bertram/Winchester...probably some others I'm forgetting.

 

[akmtnhnt]

I once read "muzzle velocity is not impact velocity," which makes perfect sense to me. Perhaps the OP could run several bullet/velocity combinations through JBM ballistics and see which combo gives the results he wants at target distance.

John

That would be the rational thing.
Define your mission - x grains at x fps at x yds
Find the cases that will deliver that given your bullet choice.
Narrow those cases down by bolt face, long/short action, diameter of the bullet, recoil of the system.

Decide if you care about efficiency.
For the same volume, a short/wide case is always going to be slightly more efficient from a burn perspective.
For the same barrel length a shorter cartridge will always be slightly more efficient since the barrel is technically longer with a shorter case. Barrels are measured to the bolt face, not to the case mouth. In a 16" barrel 308, the effective barrel length is 13.2". In a 30-06 it's 12.66".

 

[PopNFresh]

30-06 16" 180gr Norma oryx handy little shorty but it's not going to reach out too far