What is the ideal cartridge, barrel length, and suppressor length?

[CoStick]

Having the same situation, think I am settling with a .308 18” with an ultra 7

 

[crich]

I have a TBAC Ultra 7 in jail, so making the same decisions. I’ve got a tikka t3x lite in 7mm-08 that I’ve been thinking about cutting down to 18 inches. 7mm-08 is a pretty efficient round that shouldn’t lose too much speed at 18” and with the 7” can it should still be easy to carry. I’m thinking I would carry this for mule deer and elk inside of 300 yards. Thoughts?

I shoot 140gr Factory Nosler accubonds out of an 18in. I'm measuring 2620 at the muzzle. Not great but adequate. It works out to 33fps per inch lost over the box listed speed from a 24in barrel.

 

[Kimber7man]

I went with the Dominus CB. Shorter than the Ultra7 by 3/4”, suppression between the 7 and 9. So far so good!

 

[zrodwyo]

I bought a pouch for my suppressor, mounted it to the outside of my pack, and stopped worrying about barrel length.

I’ve been running it like that for 2 years with no complaints.

 

[z987k]

338 RCM with an 18" barrel.

 

[Tbuckus]

There are a few variables to consider depending on how far you intend to shoot but here's my take on this subject:
Last winter I put a 16" barrel chambered in 6.5 saum on my tikka.
It's incredible to shoot with my Banish 30 suppressor, the 7" configuration is pretty good but the full 9 is flat awesome.
My wife packed it around during elk season and loved it.

I'm in the process of putting an 18" barrel on my other tikka for the same purpose, I was thinking 284 win but now I might just go 7 wsm to shoot 180 Bergers.
ADG is releasing 300 wsm brass so it would be easy enough to convert it to 7 wsm.

So yeah I'd say go 18" and run a custom throated 7 saum/wsm or a 300 wsm.
Get at least a 7" suppressor, and if you don't mind an 8.4" can then have a look at the Nomad LT

If you hand load then use something like RL26 to keep the speed up.

I went with a 18” barrel with my 7wsm Tikka. which is the shortest that my can approves of for that cal.
By hand loading 155gr Hammers, I’m able to get some of my velocity back due to a shortened barrel.
it is still a little front heavy, but very tolerable.

 

[tdbaugha]

I built a 20” 7 SAUM w/ custom chamber on an XM action length. Run the Nomad TI on it. Perfect, wouldn’t change a thing.

 

[ID_Matt]

It is definitely a balancing act. Need to decide how much energy you want and how much recoil you are OK with first, then decide from there. In my opinion, for elk you are going to want a harder hitting cartridge unless you are keeping pretty modest distance for shots. Cartridges that do well in shorter barrel's that come to mind are: 6.5 PRC, 6.5 SAUM, 7 SAUM, 300 WSM.... short fat magnums. As for barrel length, I don't think I would ever go more than 22" with a can. My current setup is a 7 saum 22" with a 7" can. My next barrel will be 20".

 

[CoStick]

With much discussion and great CS from TBAC, I am chopping my .270 win FC to 20” and running the gen 2 Ultra 5. Is really a 500 yard rifle for me anyway. Great to carry, okay for a few shots if I forget ear pro. It is easy to overthink this things

 

[wildwilderness]

I have a 308 cut to 16” with a 9” suppressor. I shoot 124gr HH and can still get 3000fps.

Shorter the better! I don’t like long rifles. I also prefer to go larger bore since you can push an equal weight projectile faster to make up for the shorter barrel. The larger bore also offsets the weight of a heavier contour barrel which helps with stiffness and weight of the suppressor off the end, and a better shoulder to tighten it all together

 

[chutinlead]

I went with a 18” barrel with my 7wsm Tikka. which is the shortest that my can approves of for that cal.
By hand loading 155gr Hammers, I’m able to get some of my velocity back due to a shortened barrel.
it is still a little front heavy, but very tolerable.

My suppressor manufacturer recommended 18" for my 7SAUM as a minimum length but I know some say 20" for any Magnum. I don't regret going 18" for a minute.

 

[kharb22]

My suppressor manufacturer recommended 18" for my 7SAUM as a minimum length but I know some say 20" for any Magnum. I don't regret going 18" for a minute.

What bullet and velocities? I just ordered a 18in barrel for my SAUM from Carbon Six. What supressor are you running?

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

 

[crich]

With much discussion and great CS from TBAC, I am chopping my .270 win FC to 20” and running the gen 2 Ultra 5. Is really a 500 yard rifle for me anyway. Great to carry, okay for a few shots if I forget ear pro. It is easy to overthink this things

This entire forum is dedicated to overthinking

 

[jgekeren]

I have 3 hunting cans. Harvester which is my favorite. Gemtech tracker and Dead Nomad ti.

The Nomad is only 6.5". It'll end up on a 24" barreled 280ai. The Harvester will end up on a 22" 7mm RM. Total length ends up about the same.

I've been carrying a harvester on my 620" 6.5CM for the past couple years. The 20" barrel makes it nice. We'll see how the 24" barrel with a suppressor feels using the nomad which is relatively short.

No perfect combo. They are all an exercise in compromise.

Why do you like the harvester over the nomad TI? I’m trying to decide on what to get to switch between my 30-06 and 243, and these 2 cans are are the top of my list. Does the harvester give you good recoil reduction?

 

[Doc Holliday]

Check out the Bergara SP (special purpose) in 308. I picked one of these up a few weeks ago and have been impressed with the fit, finish, and accuracy for the price. Feels perfectly balanced with my suppressor and shoots Nosler 165 BT/AB handloads 1/2 MOA. The only 2 criticisms I can make are: 1. Bolt knob would not stay tight out of the box...some red loctite fixed that. 2. Safety is stiff...might be a little loud if whitetail hunting in a climber in timber, but shouldn't be an issue in mountains.....thinking it will loosen up over time with use.

Bergara B-14 Ridge SP (Special Purpose Short Bbl) .308 Win Synthetic Stock 18" Rifle B14S511

Bergara B-14 Ridge Rifle SP (Special Purpose Short Barrel) .308 Synthetic Stock 18" B14S511 For Sale

www.eurooptic.com

 

[Longleaf]

Love my 18" B-14 Ridge, shot a .26moa group the other day with hand loads (6.5CM)

Just ordered a KGM 6.5" Ti suppressor to go on my 24" 6.5 PRC. 8.5oz and has tunable ports on the end. May still consider cutting the barrel to 22"

Precision Rifle Suppressors – KGM Technologies

kgm-tech.com

 

[z987k]

Check out the Bergara SP (special purpose) in 308. I picked one of these up a few weeks ago and have been impressed with the fit, finish, and accuracy for the price. Feels perfectly balanced with my suppressor and shoots Nosler 165 BT/AB handloads 1/2 MOA. The only 2 criticisms I can make are: 1. Bolt knob would not stay tight out of the box...some red loctite fixed that. 2. Safety is stiff...might be a little loud if whitetail hunting in a climber in timber, but shouldn't be an issue in mountains.....thinking it will loosen up over time with use.

Bergara B-14 Ridge SP (Special Purpose Short Bbl) .308 Win Synthetic Stock 18" Rifle B14S511

Bergara B-14 Ridge Rifle SP (Special Purpose Short Barrel) .308 Synthetic Stock 18" B14S511 For Sale

www.eurooptic.com

If they could figure out where they put the 2lbs of lead in that thing and remove it, I'd have bought one awhile ago.

 

[Doc Holliday]

If they could figure out where they put the 2lbs of lead in that thing and remove it, I'd have bought one awhile ago.

The barrel is a #5 taper so there is weight is there. Nice to have a 5/8-24 thread so you can use a direct thread suppressor.

 

[z987k]

The barrel is a #5 taper so there is weight is there. Nice to have a 5/8-24 thread so you can use a direct thread suppressor.

There's better ways to achieve a 5/8 thread than a super thick barrel. Unless you specifically want a barrel like that.... glances at the fieldcraft.

 

[Doc Holliday]

There's better ways to achieve a 5/8 thread than a super thick barrel. Unless you specifically want a barrel like that.... glances at the fieldcraft.

Haha. Im not here to convince anyone to buy a B14 SP, but in this conversation of having rifles made for a suppressor, I thought it was worth mentioning as an out of the box option. Probably also worth noting that the Fieldcraft costs 2.5X as much. I have had Forbes and Fieldcrafts, they are cool, but not everyone has an issue carrying an 8-9# rifle.....some even prefer it.