.308×1.5-inch Barnes

The .308×1.5" Barnes is a wildcat cartridge based on the .308 Winchester (7.62×51mm NATO). The cartridge is similar to the 7.62×39mm Russian (M43) cartridge though by all accounts the .308×1.5" Barnes outperforms the Soviet cartridge. It was designed by Frank C. Barnes in March 1961 by shortening the .308 Winchester to 1.5 in (38 mm) and giving it a shoulder angle of 20° (α=40°) similar to the parent cartridge. ^[1]

History

The first rifles commissioned for the developmental work by Barnes for the .308×1.5" cartridge were a Swedish Model 96 Mauser with a 1 in 12 (305 mm) twist built by Les Corbet and a Remington Rolling Block with a 1 in 10 (254 mm) twist built by P.O. Ackley. Due to the weights of the bullet and the performance of the cartridge, the 1 in 12 twist became the standard by consensus.

Similar cartridges

The legacy of the Barnes cartridge is found in its progeny cartridges. The .308×1.5" caused a wildcatting craze, which had individuals necking the cartridge down to .224 (5.56 mm), .243 (6 mm), .264 (6.5 mm), .284 (7 mm) and necking up to .338 ( 8.5 mm) and .375 (9.5 mm). Due to the cartridges’ efficiency and accuracy, many of these cartridges, such as the .22 BR, 6mm BR, 6mm BR Norma, 7mm BR, and .30 BR, went on to become popular benchrest cartridges and some of these were adopted by mainstream ammunition manufacturers. The .308×1.5" was one of the original short fat cartridge designs, having a length to width ratio of 3.17. The short fat cartridge design is considered to promote efficiency and shot to shot consistency.

The .308×1.5" Barnes cartridge is comparable to cartridges such as the 7.62×39mm and the .30-30 Winchester. The .308×1.5" is capable of launching a 150 gr (9.7 g) bullet at 2,500 ft/s (760 m/s). While the Barnes cartridge and the 7.62×39 cartridges are of a similar length, the Barnes has a greater body girth which provides a greater propellant capacity which in turn contributes to its performance advantage over the 7.62×39mm cartridge. While the .30-30 Winchester has about a 16% greater capacity over the Barnes cartridge, the .30-30 has a SAAMI-recommended pressure limit of 42,000 psi (2,900 bar). For this reason, most factory .30-30 ammunition loaded with a 150 gr (9.7 g) bullet achieves a mere 2,390 ft/s (730 m/s). Furthermore, the Barnes cartridge is capable of launching heavier bullets than the 7.62×39 and has the advantage of using spitzer bullets and is chambered in strong bolt-action rifles, whereas the .30-30 is commonly loaded with round-nose or flat-nose bullets due to the fact that it is chambered in lever-action rifles with tubular magazines.

The .308×1.5" Barnes was intended a short range deer cartridge that could be used also as a varmint and predator cartridge. Loaded with the 150 gr (9.7 g) the cartridge is capable of taking deer sized game out to 150 yd (140 m). For predators and varmint hunting bullet weighting 90–125 gr (5.8–8.1 g) are commonly used.

References

1. ↑ "308 x 1.5" Barnes". The Reload Bench. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-01. 

Further reading

• De Haas, Frank (2003). Bolt Action Rifles - 4th Edition. 
• Donnelly, John J. (1987). The Handloader's Manual of Cartridge Conversions. 
• Howell, Ken (1995). Designing and Forming Custom Cartridges. 
• Barnes, Frank C. (1997) [1965]. McPherson, M.L., ed. Cartridges of the World (8th ed.). 

Cartridges derived from the .250-3000 Savage or its derivatives (including wildcats) First generation .22-250 Remington 6 mm XC .250 Ackley Improved .300 Savage Second generation Based on .300 Savage .308 Winchester Based on .22-250 Remington .22-250 Ackley Improved Third generation Based on .308 Winchester .243 Winchester .260 Remington 7mm-08 Remington .307 Winchester .308×1.5-inch Barnes 7.62×51mm NATO .338 Federal .358 Winchester Fourth generation Based on .243 Winchester .243 Ackley Improved Based on .307 Winchester .356 Winchester Based on .308×1.5-inch Barnes .22 BR Remington 6mm BR 7mm BR Remington .30 BR