How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

[cookietheswede]

I am looking to punch paper and hit steal at 600yds max with my .223 AR-15. How short of a barrel can I get to do the job? Also twist rate recommendation for length. And I will have an AAC 762-SDN-6 hanging of the front and the lower is a registered SBR.

Thanks for the info.

 

[armydog]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

20 inch heavy barrel....

 

[Dtarget]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

My 14.5" Noveske gets from 100 to 600 with 21 MOA so my vote is for 14.5....

 

[BayouRobert]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

My 6.8 sbr's make 600 no problem. They're 10.5's and will shoot essentially 100% on full size IPSC torso's @ that distance with NO WIND. A breeze is a killer with those short barrels and low velocities. That being said a 12.5" 556 shooting 75 grainers would probably do about the same. Check out DRT 79 grain powdered tungsten-cored ammo. Shoots better than anything else in my 10.5"
556, and high BC will help @ distance. No association with them, but gotta plug Cheaper Than Dirt again for best DRT prices. DRT's are short for weight due to tungsten and will often stabilize in
1:8 and/or 1:9 barrels. BR

 

[nfoley]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

Not 223 but my 14.5" pof 308 shoots to 600 like a champ!

 

[Postal0311]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

BayouRobert hit the nail on the head. While a 10.5 inch 5.56 barrel can be plenty accurate to hit a 600 yard target under ideal conditions, you must not forget that its going to take the round a second to get there, and wind can play havoc on it. I have a come up of 5 mils from a 100 yard zero to a 565 yard zero.

 

[mkollman74]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

You can easily do 16" and perhaps a bit shorter. Never had a shorter barrel on an AR myself so others would know better, but I know firsthand 16" will do it.

 

[I Am Hero]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

I prefer 20" 1:9. It shot my 55 gr Hornadys out to 500 (not quite 600 like you are asking) very successfully. I was using a 20" Bushmaster DCM-XR barrel and I could shoot 500 all day with that setup. You could probably get away with less (friend shoots 500 with his 18" heavy), but 20" is just my preference.

 

[cookietheswede]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

What about 13-14"? Most of the time I would be shooting 300-400yds. But there are a few spots where we can get just above 600yds. A friend just got some property where we can hike around a get different shots and angles. That is why I was looking for something short and light.

 

[BasraBoy]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

cookie - what's the story with your sig line movie?

 

[BCP]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Cookie The Swede</div><div class="ubbcode-body">What about 13-14"?...300-400yds...600yds. </div></div>

Googling around I've found a few posts by guys using 12.5" SBR 223's at 600 on steel. There are also a few name companies out there (larue noveske etc) that make SBR rifles in 12.5 with match barrels. It might be worth it to call or email those places and ask about muzzle velocity with typical 223 loads.

 

[trident1982]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

MRP CQB 10.5" will get you to 600yds all day long...what it will do once it gets there is another story

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[J.Boyette]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

I have done it with a MK18 with a 1-4 ELCAN before.

No big deal.

John

 

[sr15match]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

Trident1982 has the kicking set-up! It gets my vote unless you want precision at 600. But all you want to do is poke holes and hit steel at 600, I like the shorty set-up. Always like watching his videos and watching the bullet trace out to the steel, awesome for a 10.5" shorty!

Carry on.

 

[trident1982]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

Thanks SR15match

Just to add a bit more data to this thread...

This is a velocity comparison b/t the above 10.5" rifle and two of my precision rifles...a 16" Recce, and a 18" SPR:

 

[reclaimer1986]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

I wouldn't go under 14.5 IMO.

 

[dustinlotz]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

Trident, were you shooting the specified load (55gr. Barnes TSX)in the videos?

BTW - nice shooting, and cool video. It is very easy to see trace in those videos.

 

[trident1982]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

Thanks pal, I was shooting 75gr. HPBT in the first video @ 600yds, and some MK262 in the second video....with some "strangers"(xm856) mixed in both for fun.

The Barnes TSX velocity data above was collected during one of the only times Ive had those three particular rifles out at the same time w/ the 35P setup.

I have shot some of the Barnes 55gr. TSX @ 600yds on some steel before but that was with my MRP Recce 16" SS. I collected most of the expanded TSXs afterwards and they look pretty neat fully expanded.

 

[cookietheswede]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

Thanks for the info and nice scooting videos trident1982. I have a 12' Daniel Defense rail laying around and I think I will get me a 13' barrel so my suppressor buts up nice and tight. After trident's videos I have no worries.

Trident, how does you 10.5 handle the wind?

Basra boy, I found that line on the internet some where and thought it was funny. I cant even remember where or when.

 

[redirt78]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

Looks like a cool thread, need to check it out after work. So...tag

 

[Solid_Squirrel]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: trident1982</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Thanks pal, I was shooting 75gr. HPBT in the first video @ 600yds, and some MK262 in the second video....with some "strangers"(xm856) mixed in both for fun.

The Barnes TSX velocity data above was collected during one of the only times Ive had those three particular rifles out at the same time w/ the 35P setup.

I have shot some of the Barnes 55gr. TSX @ 600yds on some steel before but that was with my MRP Recce 16" SS. I collected most of the expanded TSXs afterwards and they look pretty neat fully expanded.

**SNIP**
</div></div>

Wow. Did those pass through, or just hit and kind of splat against the steel? I didn't realize simply impacting against steel would cause them to do that.

 

[trident1982]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

Thanks Cookie, I think a 13" barrel will serve you very well. The wind is a bit more challenging to deal with than say my 18" SPR, but nothing that you cannot overcome. I generally don't have to worry about more than 10-15mph winds here in my neck of the woods so I have a bit of a luxury in that respect.

Solid_Squirrel...the TSXs just bounced off my AR500 steel plate and then I collected them. Here is the steel plate after that particular occasion:

 

[SHO~BIZ308]

Re: How short of a barrel to get to 600yds?

16" will work