This idea has been on my mind for a few years now. It seems to me everyone (at least on the East Coast) wants a short, light, reasonably recoiling rifle at least .30 caliber capable of 500 yard ethical killing. Many of the better BC cartridges fall short of this requirement due to the necessity for a long barrel (26" may not seem like much for you guys out West, but it's not as fun in thick brush or vines!).
So here is the idea. When I looked up the ballistics of the 338 Federal (a necked up .308 but pushes heavier bullets at the same or higher velocities), I thought, my what an efficient cartridge. The explanation is that due to the larger bore, there is more volume to burn powder that would otherwise result in muzzle flash or remain un-burnt.
Taking this to the next step I would imagine you could get away with a pretty darn short barrel without sacrificing much energy/velocity. For instance cutting a 26" bbl on a 7mm mag or the new Nosler 26 will severely hurt velocity due to the small bore size, but on this larger caliber you would only lose a fraction of what would be lost with some of the aforementioned calibers. I know more than a few hunters who would love a 16" barrel on their hunting rifle. You could also get away with a little heavier contour for more accuracy without compromising weight - the result would be a remarkably stiff barrel that would do well with many loads and still be extremely handy.
You could sling a 180 grain at over 2,800 fps, out of a 6 lb gun that would be capable of taking pretty much anything in North America and still have plenty of punch out to 500 for ethical long range kills.
With the right components I feel you could build a 6-7lb rifle with a 16" tube that could hold .5 MOA or better, NOT kick like a mule and still pack a hell of a punch. Do you guys know of any setups like this? I'm thinking of building one for myself and some of the guys at my camp to try out.
So here is the idea. When I looked up the ballistics of the 338 Federal (a necked up .308 but pushes heavier bullets at the same or higher velocities), I thought, my what an efficient cartridge. The explanation is that due to the larger bore, there is more volume to burn powder that would otherwise result in muzzle flash or remain un-burnt.
Taking this to the next step I would imagine you could get away with a pretty darn short barrel without sacrificing much energy/velocity. For instance cutting a 26" bbl on a 7mm mag or the new Nosler 26 will severely hurt velocity due to the small bore size, but on this larger caliber you would only lose a fraction of what would be lost with some of the aforementioned calibers. I know more than a few hunters who would love a 16" barrel on their hunting rifle. You could also get away with a little heavier contour for more accuracy without compromising weight - the result would be a remarkably stiff barrel that would do well with many loads and still be extremely handy.
You could sling a 180 grain at over 2,800 fps, out of a 6 lb gun that would be capable of taking pretty much anything in North America and still have plenty of punch out to 500 for ethical long range kills.
With the right components I feel you could build a 6-7lb rifle with a 16" tube that could hold .5 MOA or better, NOT kick like a mule and still pack a hell of a punch. Do you guys know of any setups like this? I'm thinking of building one for myself and some of the guys at my camp to try out.