Does length really matter? And velocity, velocity matters.
Hey everybody. Clint here with Classic Firearms. Coming at you guys today with a video all about bullet velocity and really what it means because again a lot of new shooters out there, lot of guys might be looking to build their first rifle, things along those lines, and we're here to talk about velocity. So what is bullet velocity? Well, typically it's measured from the muzzle anywhere between within about 20 feet or so away from the muzzle. And then of course as it's carried down range, naturally bullets start to lose velocity and so then it becomes measured at different increments over a period of time and pretty much that velocity being measured and how much energy is going to be transferred into the target, right? So let's just go ahead and just break it down really quick. The most common military cartridge for the United States military is the green tip 5.56 NATO cartridge, otherwise designated as the M855.

M855/5.56 NATO

Now militaries across the world have been using this cartridge as well as it is a NATO cartridge. And it has been measured by many militaries. It's velocity out of multiple different barrel lengths. And I'm here. I've got a bunch of numbers on my phone because I want to talk to you guys a little bit about this and of course, what might be best for you. Now originally the 5.56 cartridge was designed to shoot out of about a 24 inch barrel. That's where a lot of like Hornady gets their measurements from out of a 24 inch barrel. Most of us aren't running around with a 24 inch barrel for our 5.56 guns. Typically your most common, most standard gun is a 16 inch. That's what you see like on this Knight's armament right here, which we do plan on giving away. I'm still building it up to how I kind of want to make my dream gun with the four techs, gen three, one to 10. Got the B five system stock on it.

Battle Arms Development Workhorse AR-15 Rifle

But I still haven't really made up my mind about other accessories so let me know down in the comments what you guys want to look forward to on that. Anyway. So 16 inch barrel on this guy, like I said. Just pretty much the standard. That is the minimum length for a rifle. Anything shorter than that, you start getting into pistol or short barreled rifle zones like my MK18 right here. This has a 10.3 inch barrel on it. And like Ryan's PWS MK111. This has an 11.8 inch barrel. What does the difference of barrel lengths really mean though when it comes to velocity? When you think about the 5.56 cartridge, or actually let's just talk about basics when it comes to a firearm. How does the projectile get pushed down the barrel? You guys already know that once you pull the trigger, there's a small explosion that's taking place right by your face. And that's from the firing pin making contact with the primer. That primer is now setting off that explosion that I'm talking about where all of those powders inside that shell ignite and all of that energy is forcing the projectile down the barrel. The longer the barrel for at least a 5.56 cartridge, again full burn is about 20 inches or so, full burn of powder. You got to think once that round is traveling down range, it's going down the barrel out here and then all those unburned gasses are escaping out the muzzle. That's typically the loud boom that you hear. All right. That's how silencers work like this guy. It attaches to the muzzle and then it traps all of those hot gasses, slows down those hot gasses from exiting the barrel so that way it's not a loud boom that you typically hear.

Velocity

But anyway. So that is what actually causes the projectile to leave the gun. The shorter the barrel, typically the louder the gun because you have more unburned gasses. The longer the barrel typically the quieter. Still going to be pretty loud though, but also the shorter the barrel the less velocity you get. So for instance, the slowest shooting gun in here is going to be my MK18. Not as far as fire rate, but as far as the bullet traveling down range. With a 62 grain M8 55, that's your green tip bullet, it out of a 10 inch barrel, 10.6 inch barrel is what's measured is moving at about 2,600 feet per second. One inch difference like the 11.8 here, you guys are looking at about a well what they got measured 2,707 feet per second. So what does that start to mean down range?

PMC X-Tac 5.56 62gr Green-Tipped Ammunition

The faster a bullet is traveling, the straighter it's going to travel and the faster it's traveling down range, that's more energy transferred into the target. If you're hunting, this is where it starts to get very important to you because you've got a slow moving projectile, it might not be an instant kill for you. That can run into issues. So that's why typically hunters want longer barreled firearms for hunting because they need that velocity, they need that power, and that energy transfer to take down the target. Makes sense right? So in a 16 inch gun, 16 and a half inches, typical again for your rifle length guns out there, you're looking at a 2,927 feet per second muzzle velocity for your 16 inch guns. This is where it starts to get fun because like in the FOSS tech lightning that you see right here, this has a 20 inch barrel on it.

Armor/Penetration

Now we're starting to get into some, let's just say, if you're wearing steel armor, this is where things start to get a little scary for you. So for instance, out of a 20 inch barrel, you're moving at 3,025 feet per second. So we know from previous videos and experimentation and things like that, once you start moving at over 3,000 feet per second, that's whenever you start looking at defeating most of your still armor out there. Do not shoot 55 grain in 193 ammunition out of your 20 inch barrel onto steel targets. You will start to pit the crap out of them and they will not be useful for long. All right? Now, when you guys hear the green tip ammo, and this is a common misconception, a lot of people think, "Oh, it's got a steel penetrator and it's going to defeat body armor." Absolutely not. As you guys probably saw when we shot premier body armor, guard dog body armor, both soft and steel targets and body armor, they all actually stopped the 62 grain and 55 grain projectile, but notice too, we weren't shooting out of anything longer than a 16 inch barrel. If we actually moved up to a 20 inch barrel, we might actually start seeing something to defeat body armor and if you want to see that video, let me know down in the comments. Yeah. I actually want to do the video so we'll see it soon. Anyway. My entire point is though out of a 20 inch gun, if you're shooting something that's a lighter projectile like the 55 grain M193, you are definitely moving in excess of 3,000 feet per second and it's going to be doing damage. The still penetrator in the green tip is made for penetrating soft tissue, about 15 to 20 inches worth.

Guard Dog Body Armor Level III Ultralight Ceramic Plate

So soft tissue again, imagine this. Imagine Mr. Hand select, our rubber dummy. That is kind of considered soft tissue. The ballistic gel that a lot of people do testing in, soft tissue. The moment you start putting things, I don't know, like cinderblocks, armor, things like that, that's whenever you start running into issues with these steel penetrator. A lot of what's actually issued in combat zones, or at least I know for a bunch of Marines, we actually use steel tipped ammo, not steel core ammo. Look that up. I think it's M855A1. That's a good time. All right. But anyway. So barrel length definitely plays a part. And of course it depends on what your entire use for the firearm is. If you're wanting something for home defense, then all day long I'm going to be running my MK18. I don't have to worry and I'm also going to be running heavier projectiles through this guy because I don't want as much penetration as possible, especially in a home defense situation, right? I want it to slow down and not go through my neighbors walls. You understand? If I'm going to be out hunting, long distance, things like that. Yeah, I'm going to want something like a 20 inch barrel. I want that maximum velocity for that maximum energy transfer downrange at like 500 yards. My M16A4 that I'm issued in the Marines has a 20 inch barrel. We're shooting M855 through it and we are effectively engaging targets at 500 yards on our known distance range. So there you have it, right? Whenever I see guys using the M4, which has a 14 and a half inch barrel, and they notice at 500 yards there's a significant difference in shot placement. So for all you Marines out there, might be joining soon, things like that. If they give you the option to shoot the M4 at the known distance, you're just making life more difficult for yourself. Just go with the M16. So there you go. Anyway. That is pretty much my wrap up when it comes to bullet velocity and its importance and in what role you might need the most velocity versus not as much velocity. Is there a thing of too much velocity in my book? Yes. Yes, there is. That's why I run around with the MK18. Granted I still have 16 inch guns, I've got some longer guns too, and whatever else. But like I said, if you're really wanting to do some damage to some steel run 55 grain M193 through your 20 inch and there you have it. Or like Hornady who likes to test their ammo through 24 inch guns. Makes sense. Getting that maximum burn, maximum velocity out of your ammo. Makes sense. All right. I get it.

Roundoff

So anyway. That's the video for barrel length and bullet velocity. Let me know down in the comment section guys, what is your preferred barrel length and also too gas systems. I want to hear from you guys. There's mid-length, carbine length, pistol length, rifle length, the MK12 has like its own gas system. Things like that. Let me know down in the comments what is your favorite for which role? I'm curious. All right. Also too, talking about barrel length, we've got two different barrel lengths on two different guns that we're giving away to one winner. How freaking cool is that? All right guys. So we are giving away the SIG MPX copperhead chambered in nine mill and the Colt Python chambered in 357 Magnum because we love you guys. All right. So make sure you're getting those entries in at classicfirearms.com. Hit that top banner and it'll show you all the different ways to get your entries. Don't forget the code word for this giveaway to get you a couple hundred extra entries is snakes, snakes because it's a copperhead and a Python. Get it. Take a second. All right, cool. Guys, God bless y'all. We'll see you next time at Classic Firearms and I'll see you guys down in the comment section. Shop All Long Guns
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