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Short....shORT....SHORT barrel on AR-10 in .308...how short till just stupid short.

19638 Views 9 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  yodog, 
Sourdough
Just how short could you build an AR-10 in .308 Winchester and have it function reliably.....????????
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Texas Hog Man
Shortest I've seen in 308 is 10" , and it cycled fine .

I don't see why a shorter one wouldn't cycle....the problem with short barrels and the pistol gas system tends to be that they are over gassed so the proper size gas port or an adjustable gas block would be critical so you don't put undue stress on the components and brass.

You'll loose alot of the benefits of a 308 on a short barrel but it can be done.

Your best bet is to contact someone who sells "custom" barrels (like Mc Gowen, x-caliber, etc) and ask them how short they are willing to make one. Google is your friend.
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jdgilbert
Sourdough said:
Just how short could you build an AR-10 in .308 Winchester and have it function reliably.....????????
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If you lose enough velocity you could just build a 9mm AR-15....j/k

...but seriously, you could.
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Ratdog68
Or, another way to ask yourself that question is... when your SBR .308 sees a .300WTF catching up in the rear view mirror... it's time to ask yourself: "And, my point is?" :a26:
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Frost84
You are giving up quite a bit of performance even with a 16" barrel with a .308 IMO. A lot better choices out there for an SBR.
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X
Aside from the loss of performance I would be more concerned with the atrocious level of muzzle blast from a pistol length 308 barrel.
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eastern_hunter
12.5" is plenty short enough!


If unsuppressed that length barrel is VERY exciting to shoot ... LOTS of flash and concussion ...
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Jerrm
what everybody else said already.

you'd prob. be better of with 6.8
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1stmarine
Jerrm said:
what everybody else said already.

you'd prob. be better of with 6.8
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Good advice.

In fact the 308w makes little sense below 18".

If one wants to have a short handy one absolutely nothing shorter than 16" because
at 16" is already burning a lot of powder outside the barrel and all you get is lower speeds and a huge blast.
The UK reformulated the 308 load to increase the efficiency and reach of their LMT carbines.

For a 16" and below the 6.8 is king and it makes a lot more sense.

Also the whole reason I built the 35 Gunner is because I wanted something in 16" with 308w type of power
and thumping characteristics but with less powder and recoil and anything larger than a 375 is not good in
the ballistics area. It also gets amazing power from the 10" pistol. I mean real power, not internet 300-BO-like
mambo jambo.

BTW the 308 will work as short as the shortest 5.56 pistol. Equivalent pressures with many loads.
I think 10" would be fun but not practical. Lots of noise.
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Y
All depends how much noise and flash you can stand. I think 18" is perfect.
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