Thread: Shorter Barrel 223 data

Hello Folks

I recently changed from an 17.75"/450mm Bergara B14 EH stainless barrel to a Bergara B14 St chrome moly barrel at 16.5"/420mm, both in 223.

The 16.5 is still being worked up but initial velocities are very interesting (to me at least!) when compared with the 18" (nominal) given that I have some direct comparisons, with more to come. Most samples are 10 rounds.

Fiocchi Factory (Red box) 55gn 16.5" 3030fps 18" 2982 (cool day) 3020 (hot day) fps
Sako 55gn. 16.5 2990 fps 18" 2984fps
ADI 62 gn. 16.5 2857fps 18" 2848fps

I'm not looking at this from the perspective of maximum speed, rather that two otherwise pretty much identically made barrels from the same company can be different!

I was having a play with quickload this afternoon to compare some potential powders. 16 inch barrel vs 18 inch (gimp's load). Something I noted was quickload had 97.3% propellent burn in the 16" for 2206h. Probably why 16" is a common length for AR-15 variants.

@Hahn which load of mine?


I have a lot of data from various 16 & 18 inch 223 barrels with different loads, there can be significant variance within a barrel length - 100fps less between a factory new production 700 barrel at 18" vs my 18" cut rifled barrel with the same load for example

The factory Remington barrel shoots extremely well however

@Hahn

It really depends on the gas system too.

Rifle length, mid length, carbine length or pistol length gas systems.

14.5" was another common length too but alas no more.
@Tentman I do recall looking at 223 data and it showed in the heavier bullet weights especially like 62+ that gppd old 2208 gave better fps than 2206H

2208 is compressed usually with heavier bullets to get good speed which is a slight pain

I've also been warned Gimp that for the heavier bullets using 2208 you need a longer barrel too? I've never reloaded for 223 when I had one but when i get another one I will reload for it

2208 works fine from 18 inch and does give similar, sometimes better, speed compared to 2206H

@gimp I found your load in the 223 thread for an 18" barrel, 25gr 2208 with 80eldms for 2800fps. @Rock river arms hunter Interestingly QL shows 2206h as faster and more efficient than 2208. I haven't found QL that accurate with my current loads but it gets me into the ballpark.

Ah yep, I am now using 24gr of 2206H, although that may change as I finish up an old 500gm container of 06H and begin using a new 4KG

That seems mild compared to your 2208 load. Are you still going 2800fps?

Originally Posted by Rock river arms hunter

I've also been warned Gimp that for the heavier bullets using 2208 you need a longer barrel too? I've never reloaded for 223 when I had one but when i get another one I will reload for it

The only thing I can see changing with length is amount of propellant burnt. So I guess in theory the best powder for a given projectile in a long barrel will also work best in a short barrel.

Originally Posted by Hahn

That seems mild compared to your 2208 load. Are you still going 2800fps?

Nah 2700 average, it doesn't make any difference. Both loads are at or around book max, although with a longer OAL so pressure should be lower, in theory. No pressure problems with either anyway

Yeah I see at 67mm oal you have another 8700ish psi before QL max. Could go to 25gr 99% full case and still be under 62000psi. 98% burn. Probably no real world advantage as you say though.

I may increase the charge weight slightly to increase my effective range (range at which projectile retains >1800fps) once I open my new shiny 4kg jug - however I also have other rifles with which I can shoot deer at 400+ m so it doesn't really make any difference

Originally Posted by Tentman

Hello Folks

I recently changed from an 17.75"/450mm Bergara B14 EH stainless barrel to a Bergara B14 St chrome moly barrel at 16.5"/420mm, both in 223.

The 16.5 is still being worked up but initial velocities are very interesting (to me at least!) when compared with the 18" (nominal) given that I have some direct comparisons, with more to come. Most samples are 10 rounds.

Fiocchi Factory (Red box) 55gn 16.5" 3030fps 18" 2982 (cool day) 3020 (hot day) fps
Sako 55gn. 16.5 2990 fps 18" 2984fps
ADI 62 gn. 16.5 2857fps 18" 2848fps

I'm not looking at this from the perspective of maximum speed, rather that two otherwise pretty much identically made barrels from the same company can be different!

Greetings,
You would expect a difference of around 30 fps between the two barrels with the longer one the faster all else being equal. All else is seldom equal though. The round count, if known, would be interesting as would has either been chopped?
GPM.