Is an 18in barrel too short?

[MuleyFever]

I am looking to purchase a new rifle after the holidays and came across the Ruger Compact with an 18in barrel. This would be great for carrying but how would it effect performance in a 7mm-08?

 

[KHNC]

Well, I know from experience a 20" barrel is plenty good out to 500M. I have one in .308 in a HOWA 1500. I would think 18" should be good to that distance as well.

 

[bcimport]

I have an 18" barrel on my ruger, it's fantastic. What I lose in velocity I make up in weight, ability to get through the alders and just a better handling rig. I'm not a long range guy but its still plenty fast and accurate for 300-400 yard pokes.

 

[luke moffat]

Not at all too short. I have shot nearly all my big animals here in Alaska with rifles that have barrels between 18"-21".

In fact all of 2013-2014 season I hunted with a 18" rifle and took 2 caribou, a dall sheep, a deer, a mountain goat and a grizzly. And my mom used it to take her cow moose, and a buddy used it to take a black bear. Lots of trigger time for just one rifle and it worked just fine. I wouldn't hesitate to hunt with a 18" 7-08. All you are giving up is some fps. Often the shorter barrels can be more accurate than the longer ones as a barrel at 18" is much stiffer than the same contour barrel at 22-24". I am glad to give up 100-150 fps in favor or handiness to carry and maneuver in the woods.

Hope that helps

 

[MuleyFever]

In fact all of 2013-2014 season I hunted with a 18" rifle and took 2 caribou, a dall sheep, a deer, a mountain goat and a grizzly. And my mom used it to take her cow moose, and a buddy used it to take a black bear.

Hope that helps

It helps make me jealous.

Kidding aside, thanks for the input. My one concern is that the 7-08 is not a heavy hitter compared to the mags or 30's so is that loss in fps a bigger deal with the 7-08. Accuracy is not my concern as I have read a lot of tests that show shorter barrels are more accurate.

 

[luke moffat]

A .284 vs .308. Not that big of a deal in my opinion. A 140 accubond or the like from an 18" 7-08 will be plenty for all I would hunt with it including moose and if it's all I hard with me grizzly too.

 

[Hootsma]

If you subscribe to the 1,500 ft-lbs of energy minimum for an ethical kill, then that 18" barrel will limit you to about 350 yds. That's not a limit for me because I don't practice beyond those distances and have no desire to take a shot that far out. If you're of the same attitude, then at that max distance, barrel length is no issue. I much prefer my light and short rifle to a longer, heavier, mule kicking beast.

 

[luke moffat]

I

If you subscribe to the 1,500 ft-lbs of energy minimum for an ethical kill, then that 18" barrel will limit you to about 350 yds. That's not a limit for me because I don't practice beyond those distances and have no desire to take a shot that far out. If you're of the same attitude, then at that max distance, barrel length is no issue. I much prefer my light and short rifle to a longer, heavier, mule kicking beast.

Don't tell that to the caribou I have taken at 400 yards with 150 rem corlokts with my 308 win with a 20" barrel in my youth

 

[5MilesBack]

The compact Ruger also has a shorter stock so LOP is shorter. You'd have to check one out to see if you could shoot it comfortably. I have a compact Ruger in .17HMR for my girls and I have trouble shooting it because of the short LOP. But I'm also 6'6". YMMV.

 

[MuleyFever]

I can shoot my wife's youth Howa pretty good but the LOP is a consideration. I will have to try hers a bit more before I decide.

I just noticed Tikka makes a compact with a 20" barrel and you can get a spacer to get the LOP to 13.5". Wondering if Ruger did the same with a spacer option. Any suggestions on 20"-18" barrels appreciated.

 

[VAHunter01]

There's really nothing to sawing a few inches off a barrel and recrowning.

I'd much rather do that vs trying to add inches to a stock.

 

[mtswampfox]

Remember a remington 788 in 308 with an extremely short barrel. Bought one used for a pal in fl who did a lot of stand hunting white tail in ga. He later rebarreled it to 243 ai for a long range pd gun

 

[striker3]

Luke is right, the trade off is a loss of velocity. The standard constant for muzzle velocity lost per inch shortened is roughly 0.5-1.0%. For rounds shooting in the 2600-2800fps range I usually just use 25fps and it is close enough for rough comparisons. Break out the ballistics tables and see if your round will have the terminal energy and velocity at the distances you most commonly reach out of the shorter barrel. Don't forget to take into account the recommended velocity for your projectile to function as well.

For what I hunt, largest being elk out to 400 yards, I found that my 16" .308 AR-10 works. If I were to go for bigger game than elk, I would just have to take closer shots.

 

[GKPrice]

A .284 vs .308. Not that big of a deal in my opinion. A 140 accubond or the like from an 18" 7-08 will be plenty for all I would hunt with it including moose and if it's all I hard with me grizzly too.

the 7mm-08 is ballistically nearly identical to the 7x57 - I think that round's history speaks for itself and I'll bet plenty of them sport (or sported) short barrels - If ANYONE can give you accurate experienced info regarding shorter barrels it would be Luke

 

[GKPrice]

I can shoot my wife's youth Howa pretty good but the LOP is a consideration. I will have to try hers a bit more before I decide.

I just noticed Tikka makes a compact with a 20" barrel and you can get a spacer to get the LOP to 13.5". Wondering if Ruger did the same with a spacer option. Any suggestions on 20"-18" barrels appreciated.

the Ruger American has a cool changeable LOP system for their stocks on some models

 

[GKPrice]

If you subscribe to the 1,500 ft-lbs of energy minimum for an ethical kill, then that 18" barrel will limit you to about 350 yds. That's not a limit for me because I don't practice beyond those distances and have no desire to take a shot that far out. If you're of the same attitude, then at that max distance, barrel length is no issue. I much prefer my light and short rifle to a longer, heavier, mule kicking beast.

those energy tables were formulated prior to our new age of technically designed bullets, the availability of more accurate rifles and much better optics - just sayin' .....

 

[MattB]

In this day and age, it seems like the more practical consideration is the lower bound of the velocity range for proper performance of monolithic bullets. I've seen the lower end of the expansion range for Hornday's GMX bullet a 2,000 fps. The factor specs for the Superformance load list the 500 yard velocity at 2,026 fps (no barrel length listed). Assuming that was determined with a standard length barrel, shortening the barrel could very directly affect the maximum range of your rifle.

 

[Daniel Bybee]

Looks like savage just came out with a synthetic stock and stainless barrel, looks to be 20 inch. I think I'm gonna pull the trigger on one after the holidays.

 

[MuleyFever]

What Savage model is that?

Local shop had a Roger compact. Was kinda short for me.

 

[hodgeman]

I've got several carbine length rifles.

I've shot caribou with a 19" barreled .308 and my son has taken several caribou with a 20" 7-08. I just picked up a Ruger American Compact with the 18" barrel for him.

The only issue with a short barrel is that you have to match your bullet's impact speed and construction. On his longest caribou, a 140gr Fusion pretty well penciled through. That bullet is pretty tough for the meager speed at impact. Another shot at 50yds showed perfect expansion. For open country I went to the 120gr Ballistic Tip which should be much better.

I love how carbines carry and most will be easier to get to shoot well.