Is 20" Too Short For .243

[sanson]

I like short barrel rifles but is 20" too short?

 

[Buckythebrewer]

hel* NO!Its just going to be louder(a little anyways).You will loose a little velocity over a 24" barrel but it won't make much difference.It would be far worse to suffer with a longer barrel than loose a little velocity IMO.What would velocity loss be?,Maybe 200 FPS at most??The 243 is a screaming round so I don't think it would matter much with anything you do with it using a 20" barrel.. JMO

 

[sanson]

thanks, I really want a savage with 20" for comfort and convenience. cheap rifle with great barrel & action. (no frills but accurate).

 

[Ruger4570]

Then that is the rifle you should get.. period. It is about what you want and need in a gun.

 

[sanson]

I like accuracy in a rifle. sounds like 20" will just lose a little velocity. there plenty even with factory loads

 

[wolverine350]

20" barrel will do just fine, no problems

 

[bobn]

i once chrongraphed a 24 inch 243 barrelled bolt gun i owned. 100gr bullets went 2860. i believe different loads and different barrel characteristics cause as much velocity disscrepancies than lenght alone can cause......bobn

 

[sanson]

I'm mostly interested in accuracy. thought maybe 20" wouldn't be long enough to stabilize the bullet. friends here on TFL have eliminated that worry.
THANKS Y'ALL

 

[Art Eatman]

My little Sako carbine in .243 has a 19" barrel. I've killed some 20+ tagged bucks with it. The last time I tried it on the bench at 100 yards, I fired a three-shot group you could cover with a dime. Back in earlier years, I regularly got five-shot groups around 5/8 to 3/4 MOA.

Art

 

[WIN71]

Same as Art

I bought a used Rem. 600 in 1965. It was 18.5 inches. It shot about the same and was the rifle that hooked me on the 243. I've owned at least half dozen assorted 243's since then. I've always regretted trading that short barreled one though.

 

[Buckythebrewer]

Sanson,sometimes you can get even better accuracy out of a short barrel.At least it is common in ar15's to find 20" barrels sometimes shooting more accurate than 24"..Maybe less chance of barrel harmonics/whip to take an effect,,I don't know.Like mentioned the most important thing is that you are comfy with the rifleThe targets or deer or whatever won't be able to tell the difference on the recieving end between a 20"-24"

 

[sanson]

thanks, I wanted the 20" in .243 / was lookin at .308 same rifle

 

[Johnny Guest]

Another short .243 accuracy testimonial

Elder Son recently bought a pre-'64 Model 70 Featherweight. It came with some handloads which were assembled in the late 1960s. The light 20-inch barrel flung the 100 gr bullets into a sub-one-inch group at a hundred yards. A fluke? I dunno. It did it again on next group.

As an aside, regarding a similar rifle, different caliber: My Savage Scout .308 has the same action and short barrel as the rifle you contemplate. It shoots Sierra GameKing 165 bullets into a minute of angle.

The .243 is a fairly modern, high intensity cartridge. My rather unscientific observation is that these don't seem to be so significantly effected by barrel shortening as the older designs.

Good luck to you.
Johnny

 

[Buckythebrewer]

243?,308?,,Thats a tough one.In all honesty I think I would go with the 308 if I wanted the best chance, of the BEST accuracy.There would be no guarantee either way.Then again if you were talking the same rifle,The 243 would have slightly more meat in the barrel,than a 308 because of the caliber size.There is just no way to know or any guarantee..I would go with a fast twist 308 and load HIGH BC bullets for long range(Long range is what I enjoy).For you it would depend on what range you wanted your accuracy.Say 100 yard benchrest would be better off with a slower twist rate probably(again there are exceptions).My ar15 (fast 1-8 twist)is accurate at 100 yards with 35gr vmax bullets .But is also accurate with 80gr smk at 100 yards.I have only proven that 77gr smk shoot good at 600 yards with my rifle.The 80's are handfed and I have not tried them at that range(YET!!).Another example is the 6mm-6.5mm(243 area) are used for benchrest and LONG range competition.They are KING of the hill in accuracyHave you considered those cartridges??6mm ppc or one of the other calibers in that ballpark?