NorwegianHunter

Barrel lenght is one of the things that will affect bullet velocity. But for some cartridges barrel lenght is not as important. From what I`ve heard the 7mm 08 and the 308 Win will not suffer as much as say 300 Win Mag.

What about the short magnums ???? Ruger offers their 300 RCM and 338RCM with 22" barrels, as their "ordinary" magnum offers come with 24" barrels.

Or will a 22" barrel reduse a 270 Short Mag down to ordinary 270 Win level, and a 300 Short Mag down to 30-06 level ????
Have not calculated speed or anything, just curious. The Short magnums are after all based on a short-fat design like the 7mm 08 and the 308 Win.

What about flash and sound, I suppose it will be more of each from a shorter barrel ?

Darkker

Most of the barrels that are factory chambered by Browning are 22".
In the realm of what does, and did constitute a "magnum", the 308 class is certainly short, but not "fat". The WSM/WSSM's are based on the 404 Jeffery cartridge, which have much more girth than most everything else.

The velocity issue you ask about has to do with powder collums, and ignition progression. Calculating is a nice indicator, but not directly correlated to reality.
In theory, a 308 SHOULD suffer velocity loss like everything else with shorter barrels. The reality is not so simple. Speer in the #13 manual points this out. The sporter barrel they recorded velocity in, was routinely FASTER than the pressure barrel with a longer pipe.

I have a 223WSSM, and a 6.5-300WSM. I don't think that they are louder, or quieter than their contemporaries.
The 6.5 sounds/feels just like my 264WM. The 223 is about like my 22-250.
In terms of sound, kick, and muzzle blast.