Re: Tighter bore mean faster fps?
You guys have to be careful what you are talking about and terminology etc....in some cases most people talk about the bore of the barrel but there are two different specific things when it comes to bore size.
You have the actual bore size (tops of the lands)
and
You have the groove size.
So you are talking bore and groove size when talking about the bore of the barrel.
Changing the bore size (tops of the lands) from a .300 bore to a .299 or .298 will not raise or change pressure a ton. It can have a bearing but not as much as we all think it might. Most standard min. dimensions on bore size are .3000" +.0005" tolerance.
Changing the groove size will have a more drastic impact on the pressure curve etc....we're all talking .30cal. so industry standard is mostly .3080" +.0005"
We run at the min. size on standards. So your .308 groove size we try and keep at .3080".
We make and offer bore sizes for .30cal. barrels at .2980", .2985", .2990 and .3000".
Some say looser is faster but than again what are you talking about? Bore size or groove size?
Now lets throw variables into the mix.
Lets start with production made barrels like Remington, Savage, Armalite etc.....it's not uncommon for a factory barrel to be +.001" big on the bore size and groove size. I didn't say .0001" big but +.001" thou. big. Most production barrels I'm going to go on limb and say run big vs. min. sizes. I've seen to many barrel drawings etc...being used and see the dimensions listed. Same with chamber reamers. Even factory chambers when we order reamers they will ask us is it a SAAMI min. spec. or production chamber etc.....
Some of you have said tight chambers? Be more specific on tight chambers. Do you mean a tight case neck? Tight dimensions on the case body? A combination of both? Or do you mean a tight, shorter throat dimensions or a combination of all 5 (body, neck, throat diameter, throat length, angle of throat?
When we look at making an ammunition test barrel we have a bore size to watch, groove size to watch, width of grooves and total surface area of the bore. Yes changing the groove width effects the land width etc...and can total surface area of the whole bore of the barrel.
Now lets throw in the bullet being a variable. Lets say you get a box of bullets or a certain lot of factory loaded ammo and the bullets in that certain batch is running +.0002" bigger than the min. spec.
Now lets throw in the powder, primers etc....
I'm sure there is more that I didn't list than what I could have. This thread can be a can of worms and I hesitated to reply because it will cause more controversy and or raise more questions.
When comparing barrels from one gun to the next even if the barrel was made by the same maker but one guys gun has gunsmith x chamber it with his reamer and the other guy had gunsmith t chamber his with a different reamer are you really comparing apples and apples? Those two barrels from the same maker could vary a little bit.
Palma shooters started using tight bore barrels back in the '70's I believe and the barrel maker that made them (I believe is dead now and I don't remember his name off hand) did it because some countries when they host the International Palma matches was issuing 7.62Nato ball ammo and the bullets where running as small as .3065" in diameter.
A tighter bore (loosely speaking) doesn't guarantee you longer barrel life either. There are a ton of variables that can effect barrel life. I won't even get started on that.
Later for now!
Frank
Bartlein Barrels