A Case for Short Barrels
Larry Weishuhn
“A case for short barrels? Hmmm! Are you asking about a cartridge to be used in shorter barrels, or, are you talking about guns with shorter barrels?”
Before I could follow up, the questioner started laughing. “Had not really thought about it that way, but now that you, I’d really like to know about both.”
I was at the Choctaw Hunting Lodge in southeastern Oklahoma helping host a DSC Oklahoma Chapter gathering. I had just finished talking about hunting rifles and rounds and asked those in attendance if there were any questions.
“Some of you may recall I really like hunting with handguns particularly Taurus’s Raging Hunter chambered in .44 Mag and .454 Casull, and, for years I hunted with a wide variety of caliber and rounds chambered in both T/C’s Contenders and Encores. I specifically used those in .308 Win and my all-time favorite .30-06 when hunting elk, moose, caribou, mule deer, whitetails, pronghorn antelope and other species, including African plains game. I shot many large bodied animals with my .30-06, which in the 15-inch barrel had just about the same ballistics as a .308 Win rifle. Big rounds for a short barrel? Not really. Those particular Encores chambered in the sharp-shouldered rounds were and are extremely accurate. Using a variety of Hornady ammo, from a solid bench rest I could shoot touching clover-leaf 3-shot groups at 100-yards. From hunting rests, I could keep those shots within a 1-inch group at 100-yards. Did I ever feel under-gunned even when hunting moose, elk or other big game? Not really!”
“For several years each spring, I would head to prairie dog country where I shot those little prairie rats with the same handguns I used to hunt big game. Knowing the ballistics of my short 15-inch barrel .30-06 I frequently shot prairie dogs at 300-yards and occasionally at 400 and 500-yards. Those short barrels, barrel harmonics are minimal. And always remember, the bullet goes where the barrel is pointed when the trigger is pulled.” I saw several in the crowd nod in agreement.
“In regard to short-barrel rifles. I suspect many of you, or at least your dad and possibly your mother, started hunting with a short barrel lever-action .30-30, for years the definitive “deer rifle”. Thankfully lever-actions have recently really made a come back. I started that way as well. Frankly possibly because of that start, I have always preferred shorter barreled rifles compared to those with longer barrels.”
“I love to rattle for whitetails, still hunt, spot and and stalk as well. Occasionally when weather in really inclement I hunt from an enclosed deer blind. In each of those hunting situations a long barrel, generally meaning rifles with barrels beyond 22-inches are difficult maneuver to quickly get into a shooting position, particularly when hunting in dense brush or even tall grass. If I carry a longer barreled rifles on my shoulder with a sling, and the barrel extends beyond the brim of western hat, it gets hung up on brush and limbs. Conversely if I carry a long-barreled rifle in my hand at my side, that long barrel keeps hitting or dragging the ground where the muzzle can get filled with mud or dirt. Not safe, if it does. I tend to carry my rifles both ways when walking or stalking. With a short barrel I know I can quickly bring rifle to shoulder no matter how thick the brush, and do not have to worry about the muzzle dragging the ground.
“I frequently hunt with Ruger No. 1s. I love the way the look and for my purpose, seldom shooting beyond 400-yards, despite of others might say, mine are superbly accurate shooting appropriate Hornady ammo. I currently own four short-barrel, full-stock RSI Ruger No. 1s; .257 Roberts, .270 Win, 375 Ruger and 9.3×62. I’m currently also looking for a beautiful wood 7×57 or .275 Rigby RSI No. 1. Frankly, if Ruger or Lipsey’s introduce an RSI in 7mm PRC, I want to be first in line to own one! Each of the rounds mentioned do well in shorter barreled rifles. Yes, they some may not produce the velocity as the same cartridges in 24-inch or longer barrel. Generally, velocity and other ballistic factors are taken from “test barrels” 24 or 26-inch long. In reducing barrel length, the accepted reduction in velocity, depending upon the round, bullet and load, is 50-feet per second per each 1-inch of barrel shortened from standard test barrels.”
“You’ve heard “speed kills”. It does, but only with proper shot placement and proper terminal bullet performance. For most hunting I do, I and deal with bullets traveling at 2400 to 2800-feet per second from a shorter barrel. But not all rounds or cartridges are the same.”
“Later today those of you who have signed up to shoot at 1,000-yard target, you’ll be shooting my personal 7mm PRC, Mossberg Patriot action with its 20-inch Thunder Valley Precision Avient Rapid Heat Releasing Barrel, with muzzlebrake. You’ll be shooting Hornady Precision Hunter, 175-grain ELD-X ammo. Interestingly, with the 7mm PRC round the difference in velocities between a 24-inch and 20-inch barrel is somewhere between 80 to 140 feet per second total depending upon the load. With my personal rifle that means the 175-grain bullet leaves the barrel at 2910-feet per second, as opposed to 3000-feet per second in a 24-inch barrel.”
“Right before heading this way I got a 20-inch barrel Mossberg Patriot Carbine, something I have been asking Mossberg to do ever since the 7mm PRC round was SAAMI approved and the company started chambering that round. My Carbine topped with a Stealth Vision SVT 3-18×44 scope (www.stealthvisions.com) just like my custom rifle y’all will be shooting In a little while, is very nicely accurate, especially for a “hunting rifle”. Shooting Hornady Precision Hunter 175-grain ELD-X it consistently shoots 5-inch and less groups at 800-yards. Still producing more than sufficient down energy to kill even large bodied big game.”
“While regularly I shoot at steel long-range out to 1200-yards, I hold my shots at game down to no more than 400-yards when hunting. The only time I will take a shot beyond, is if there is simply no earthly way to get closer and all conditions mostly meaning wind are right, or, I’m having to put down a previously wounded animal.”
“While I like and hunt with a lot of different rounds, I have to say the 7mm PRC is fast becoming my hunting favorite. I’ve now used it on numerous animals shot at distance from 12 steps, in the case of a big black bear, to taking a wild hog at 390-yards. In each instance the 175-grain ELD-X bullet performed perfectly. I love and appreciate the supreme accuracy of that particular bullet, but also its excellent terminal performance. Were I to hunt moose with that round I would probably opt for Hornady’s Outfitter, 160-grain CX, simply because of its monolithic copper alloy composition with its deeper penetration capabilities. I have used it on a couple of older wild boars, to me the perfect bullet test “medium”. Their thick cartilaginous shield covers their vitals, plus their bones solid and their muscles dense. I was impressed how the CX bullet performed!
If you’re primarily into shooting extreme long ranges, where you really do not need a “real” hunting rifle, then to me, the longer barrels are OK. But if you spend most of your time hunting, may I highly suggest a shorter barrel rifle. Do so surely beats missing an opportunity because you cannot get that longer barrel rifle up to your shoulder to take a shot!