APR Custom LH Hunting Rifle Build Questions

[ChevyKevy]

Hey all - could use some words of wisdom from the community.

Backstory - looking to do my first ever 'custom' rifle build. This will be as much of a one all be all rifle (yea yea I know it's never your only rifle) in most aspects. It will be used here in Colorado for elk, deer, and pronghorn in the rocky mountain backcountry. My goals are to build a nice light weight rifle in .308 to run suppressed at all times. My realistic expectation is a 400-500 yard MAX shot. I try to practice smart shooting/placement in the backcountry. If I find myself wanting to take longer shots I will simply build another long range rifle for that.

I've been in contact with Alamo Precision who has been extremely helpful. I will be going with them on this build. I will most likely be going with their 'APR Classic Hunter' for a spruced up classic style hunting rifle. I do like the appeal and classic looks.

I will be using the McMillan APR Hunter stock they provide along with Defiance Anti action, and Proof Research (most likely) carbon wrapped barrel. This will hopefully net me a sub 7.5 lb rifle without optic and suppressor. Hoping to stay under 10 lbs all in (optic, suppressor mounted, loaded).

My biggest hang up right now is selecting barrel length with the suppressor. They have in stock a 16.5" Sendero Lite barrel and I could have this build on it's way fairly quick. My gut is telling me to go with an 18-20" barrel but maybe that's just misinformation. I know I won't lose a ton of velocity only going 2-4" shorter? I do have a Ruger Gunsite Scout in left hand .308 that I was actually going to use before I decided to go custom. That has a 16.1" barrel on it - so I'm not sure why now I have such reservations about barrel length. It's probably because the cost of this build is going to far exceed the cost of my Ruger. I just want to make sure I'm going about this right the first time around.

Any insight or recommendations would be extremely appreciated. Furthermore - if there is anything about this build that you would do differently, I'm all ears as well. Thanks

 

[ID_Matt]

I can't comment a ton on the short barrel 308 performance but my experience with suppressors is that anything longer than 22" seems a bit long, also depends on what can you have. 16.5" seems awful short to me, especially with elk on the menu - would be really lobbing them in at 500 yards. Have you considered a different cartridge? A 20" 300 WSM would be a great elk killer for the distances you mentioned.

 

[ChevyKevy]

Thanks for chiming in!

You know, I did consider 300 WSM but with ammo the way it is these days - .308 is just so much easier/cheaper to find and shoot. So I did take that into consideration.

16.5" on a .308 does seem shorter than the norm, for sure. I know people that take shots up to 400-500 yards with that short of a rifle but maybe that's just me having wishful thinking on my behalf. My gut is somewhat telling me to go 18-20" but I also don't want this to become a cumbersome setup either. On one end I see people saying going shorter on a .308 doesn't leave much if any on the table - and others saying longer is preferred (but then you lose somewhat the lightweight and svelte setup).

The can I'll be running is the Silencerco Omega 36M.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Why not a short barrel 30/06? Would provide a decent boost in velocity and ammo is out there.

 

[ChevyKevy]

I'm not opposed to 30-06 at all. I was just under the impression that ballistically, a .308 suppresses better? Am I wrong?

 

[WeiserBucks]

I'm not opposed to 30-06 at all. I was just under the impression that ballistically, a .308 suppresses better? Am I wrong?

The only thing that will be suppressed is the sound, has absolutely nothing to do with ballistics. 308 will be a tiny bit quieter than an '06, but hardly enough to notice.

 

[Antares]

I think 20" is a nice compromise on a .308. Short enough to be handy, long enough to maintain some of the .308s (meager) velocity. If you're getting ready to do some really thick brush busting and the length is bugging you, just spin the can off.

If you're wanting to shoot 400-500 yards you'll want to maintain some velocity, especially if you're shooting monos.

 

[ChevyKevy]

I think 20" is a nice compromise on a .308. Short enough to be handy, long enough to maintain some of the .308s (meager) velocity. If you're getting ready to do some really thick brush busting and the length is bugging you, just spin the can off.

If you're wanting to shoot 400-500 yards you'll want to maintain some velocity, especially if you're shooting monos.

Yea I hear you for sure. The can won't be coming off in any situation though. I wear hearing aids and this setup is primarily to save what hearing I have left - shooting un-suppressed is not an option unfortunately.

 

[zion zig zag]

From my own research for a 7mm-08, which is somewhat similar to the 308, I came to the following conclusions: an 18" barrel shooting 140 grain accubonds would give me a max range of around 500 yards on mule deer and max range of 350 yards for elk. I'd say 500 yards for elk is out there for a short barreled 308, but I am sure there are people that will tell me my numbers are too far.

Again, this is just personal opinion from recently typing some loads and speeds into a calculator.

 

[204guy]

My 30-06 which is just a factory rem take off cut @ 18" will push a 150 to 2850 and a 168 to 2750, for reference.

 

[BAKPAKR]

You might want to quiz APR a little more about the Hunter stock. When I was talking to them about it, I am pretty sure that the grip, while still useable by a lefty, is geared towards a right handed shooter (palm swell not symmetrical ). That was a deal breaker for me.