how short of a barrel is too short .308 mountain rifle

[Blaw]

For what it's worth, I just had my non-fluted Tikka cut to 18.5" (and threaded for a suppressor). Going from 22.3" to 18.5" I lost 4.4 oz on a .308 bore barrel. But on a Tikka anyway, it looks really unbalanced with the relatively long forearm and a short barrel. Not something I would do for normal carry.

And since somebody will ask, with a Wildcat stock and the cut barrel I was at 5.5 lbs naked. 7.25 lbs with scope and suppressor screwed on.

On the topic of conversation, I've owned and still use several short barreled rifles from 18.5 to 21". 20" is really as short as I like. 18.5" is doable, but tougher to shoot well and barks pretty hard. Physics says that an object (barrel) with more mass further from the pivot point has higher moment of inertia, and is going to be more resistant to movement. I've found that to be generally true.

good to know, maybe ill chop it at 20 first and see how it looks

 

[jherald]

I've had a 20'' barrel on my .308 for years. It does just fine, save for being slightly louder but I wear ear protection when I hunt. Shooting within reasonable hunting ranges, there is no need for a barrel longer than 20'' on any hunting rifle. The handiness of a shorter barrel is hard to beat.

 

[Vurtle]

I run my long range rifle in 308 on a 16.5" bartlein barrel with a 1:9 twist and 175 smk. It is mounted in a masterpiece arms chassis. I built it with Todd Hodnett's philosophy in mind. He runs a 20" 300 Norma and shoots it at 2K yards. Slower velocity doesn't bother me as long as it is consistent and I know my dope. I have no problem with 12" plates at 1K. I have shot with some custom creedmoor rifles and my "short" 308 hangs right there with the creedmoors at 1K. Maybe the creedmoors were just having a bad day and I was having a good day. Cut it as short as you can. As long as it is cut and crowned properly, you won't regret it. Thread it and put something like a trifecta flash supressor on it to protect the crown.

 

[Blandry]

My Kimber Adirondack 308 sits at 6.7lbs 18'' barrel, Zeiss 3.5-15 HD5 with buttstock cartridge holder, scoped and slinged.. It's belted magnum imo past 4/500 but I love this rifle under that.

 

[Jimbob]

Dream work to do on my tikka

1. Cut barrel to 20" and flute
2. flute bolt
3. add a titanium bolt handle (still waiting for someone to make a full titanium handle)
4. add wildcat stock
5. add titanium recoil lug

For now though I need other gear before I spend it on e a rifle that works perfectly fine.

My son a has the ruger american compact and it is so handy, I love short guns.

 

[JP100]

Go short as you can! haha.
Ive got a 21 on my 300wsm and might even go shorter. have a mate with a 300wsm with a 19".
Have seen guys with .308s and 10" barrels haha.
out to 400 with an 18 will be no problem with the right bullet.

Good powder choice and reloading you can still get good velocity with a short barrel, and the handiness on a rifle is so much improved.
These are some velocity from guys here who make up custom guns etc.
They do a heap of shortened and suppressed rifles(as does everyone in NZ). You dont loose as much as you think. You carry your rifle 99% of the time, shooting is only 1% when hunting. having a shorter rifle makes that 99% of the time much easier on your self.



260 – 100gn TTSX @ 3050 fps or 95gn V-Max @ 3100 fps out of a 16 inch barrel

7mm-08 – 120gn TTSX or 120gn Ballistic Tip @ 2950 fps out of a 16 inch barrel

308 – 130gn TTSX or 125gn Ballistic Tip @ 2950 fps out of a 16 inch barrel

284 Win – 162gn A-Max @ 2750 fps or 140gn Accubond/E-Tip/TTSX @ 2950 fps out of a 16 inch barrel

7mm SAUM – 162gn A-Max @ 2950 fps or 140gn TTSX @ 3150 fps out of an 18 inch barrel

 

[Dirty-D]

I shoot at 18.5" Kimber Adirondack in 308... the thing loves 130gr TTSX bullets, getting right around 3000fps even with the shorter tube...

 

[BrushyHillGuide]

.308 does well all the way down to 16” and the stiffness of short barrels lends itself to accuracy but, unless you’re running a suppressor, I’d probably stay at 18” or above just to hang onto all the velocity you can. For hunting, velocity sure helps mitigate errors in judging (or misjudging) distance. Plus, you need a certain amount of velocity for proper terminal performance, so accuracy is not your only concern.

If your desire is packability, you might consider a folding stock. I’ve been wondering when someone would come out with a folder that uses titanium hardware. I saw a custom short barreled bolt action 300 blackout in a folder that the guys at O’Neill Ops built for coyote hunting and it was AWESOME! Fit between his frame and bag on a day pack with nothing but a little suppressor sticking out the top. Seriously got my wheels spinning! Lol! If only I wasn’t already involved in another custom.

-My wife thinks I only have factory rifles! Lol


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[Blaw]

ok here ya go!
I cut my barrel to 18"
fluted bolt
titanium bolt handle
leupold 2.5-8x36mm

6lbs 10oz

 

[TwoTikkas]

My Kimber Adirondack 308 sits at 6.7lbs 18'' barrel, Zeiss 3.5-15 HD5 with buttstock cartridge holder, scoped and slinged.. It's belted magnum imo past 4/500 but I love this rifle under that.

What are you running in that rig? How does she shoot?

 

[Blandry]

Barnes ttsx 130gr factory loads. Sent it to hill country rifles for smith work. 1/2 moa now.


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[TwoTikkas]

Pm in bound Blandry.

 

[False_Cast]

Blaw: Good looking rig.

Barnes ttsx 130gr factory loads. Sent it to hill country rifles for smith work. 1/2 moa now.

No way.

 

[kowalski]

Anyone else running short 16 or 18inch back country rifles? Would love to see some examples of 16 inch guns.

 

[SkunkCabbage]

I'm in the process of waiting to build up an uberlight 18" adirondack 6.5cm. Hopefully in a few months I can have something I can show off.

 

[jpcolt]

I have a 24”, 20” and 18”. 24 is the most accurate for me 20 would be the shortest I would go

 

[Brendan]

Posted this on another thread recently.

Kimber Adirondack .308

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

I have a Savage Lightweight Hunter in 308 Win. Total weight is right at 7 pounds. Absolute pleasure to carry and shoots sub-MOA.

With commercial Precision Hunter my average velocity is 2518 FPS. The 20" barrel does cut down on what distance I can hunt with it. Using 1800 FPS for expansion, I can hunt just over 500 yards with it. Anything past that and it starts to fizzle out pretty quickly.

 

[Shotshill]

I hunt pigs in the sierra foothills and coastal range with a Rem LTR 20” 308... its a bit heavy these days
For me at almost 60yrs old but it works great and is not over done with a too long barrel.

 

[mtwarden]

I loped 3" off my Kimber Hunter (22" ->19")- shoots great, very handy in hand (and strapped to a pack) and a smidge lighter

probably would have been fine at 17-18"