Barrel length?

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blkcloud
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Barrel length?

Post by blkcloud »

Im getting ready to shorten and thread my 308 bolt gun, just wondering what length my guys use, I'm not wanting to have a sbr just a hunting gun. thanks!
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CanOfWhooppass
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Re: Barrel length?

Post by CanOfWhooppass »

I think that question really depends upon what rifle and supressor you got and what you want to do with it. Do you hike in? What do you call a long shot and on what game?
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doubloon
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Re: Barrel length?

Post by doubloon »

The barrel on my bolt is 20" and the barrel on my AR-10ish is 18".

I believe either one is more than adequate with super sonic ammo (~2600+ fps) for just about anything on four legs in north America.

One of the sniper boards has a thread somewhere that shows accuracy of shorter 308 barrels to be every bit as practical as barrels up to 26". Just a little bit slower so drop and windage are affected.

There are several ballistics calculators on the interwebs that will let you calculate terminal velocity for various barrel lengths and muzzle velocities.

If you plan to shoot subsonic plan on staying within 150 yards and not trying to take any elk or moose.
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Joker31D
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Re: Barrel length?

Post by Joker31D »

I have a 18" Savage and a 22" and 24 and 26" all 308's, the 18" is a really handy rifle but the profile is a little heavy for climbing mountains or walking real far. I would vote for a 20" sporter if you walk a lot or have a lot of hills. if its going to be a tree stand rifle, go 18" its really handy. if you are getting in and out of vehicles like buggy's or jeeps while hunting like we do here in the south then that 18" is great. if stalking a light 20" but you need to make sure you find the right load for your barrel length. Some loads use slow powder that have a hard time in shorter barrels because they dont burn completely in the shorter barrels. 2 inches does make a difference with some loads. My 18" likes reduced recoil loads and Superformance loads. just to give you a starting point. But of course my latest thing I plan on doing is ditching a few of my mid length bolts to try a few new calibers like 6.5 Creedmoor. I really dont have a huge collection btw, I am on the Board of Directors for a Veterans Non-Profit that get Veterans out to hunt and shoot again so we have a few rifles as loaners for the programs.
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JeffWard
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Re: Barrel length?

Post by JeffWard »

I have a Howa bolt action (heavy barrel) chopped to 16.5"! I shoot 175gr Sierra Match Kings to .75" at 100, same for Hornady HPBT 178s.

Yes... velocity will suffer, but even at 16", a 175gr bullet remains supersonic out to about 750yds as I remember. A 20" barrel drops below supersonic at 850-900.

Basically, as long as you're shooting inside 500 yards, you should still get deep penetration and decent expansion for hunting, and accuracy won't suffer.

With my Omega suppressor and brake attached, my barrel still runs <24".

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MJF1911
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Re: Barrel length?

Post by MJF1911 »

I have an 18" on my Ruger GSR and it works quite well.
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