Whitetail Hunters - What barrel length do yo prefer?

[bharv2221]

I'm curious what people like to use for their barrel length. I hunt in Wisconsin, often in public forests. So most of my hunting is from a climber but also hunting drives. Most of my shots are within 50-100 yards. Seems like a shorter barrel would make more sense in my situation.

What do you guys use?

 

[Shortschaf]

If I never shot over 200 yards, Id run 16" suppressed barrels on everything

 

[Sam Colt]

16 1/4” .300 BLK much of the time. 19” .308 most of the rest.

 

[Ashy Larry]

22” 7/08
20” 308
26” 25-06

I’d love a 16-18” 1894 44 mag again.

 

[robtattoo]

If i never hunted outside of Tennessee whitetails I'd chop all my rifles to 16" in a heartbeat.

 

[willtim]

20 inches.

 

[bharv2221]

If i never hunted outside of Tennessee whitetails I'd chop all my rifles to 16" in a heartbeat.

I'm sure I there is tons of information out there but have you experienced any accuracy loss at 16"?

 

[robtattoo]

I'm sure I there is tons of information out there but have you experienced any accuracy loss at 16"?

Quite literally the opposite. Every single rifle I've cut or had cut to 16" has caused a measurable increase in accuracy, in every caliber from .223 through to .308. Velocity loss? Yes. But I'm not going to pretend I'm taking shots at anything over 300yds with a short barrel anyway. A solid 95% of my local shots are within 200 & more than half of those are inside of 100.

 

[sconnieVLP]

I have a 20” 6.5CM and a 16” 1894 in .357. The 1894 is my go-to for drives and a few stands where the shots are all <50 yards.

 

[Macintosh]

Hunting from a stand I dont care how long the barrel is. Still hunting and similar where im in the brush, or on the way in to a stand, I dont see any reason not to have as short barrel as I can. I wouldnt want a 24” barrel with a 7” suppressor, but within reason I dont feel like an inch or three in either direction matters more than once in a very long while…when its thick and the gun gets unwieldy, its still unwieldy whether its got a 16” or a 24” barrel. Im shooting stuff 99.9% of the time well under 100 yards so I dont give a rats behind about the velocity loss for this use. My 7600 has an 18” barrel. But the difference is hardly noticeable compared to my bolt gun with a 22” barrel.

 

[Kenai_dtracker]

Remington 7600 30-06 carbine. 18" barrel. Good for all of my whitetail needs.

 

[wind gypsy]

Yeah, 7" can on an 18" barrel is longer than ideal yet. Was thinking about how a break action would be shorter than the bolt.. Also considered hunting with the 14.5" AR now.

 

[WCB]

If my shots are in heavy cover and 100 yards and under. I'm running my 20 gauge slug gun (20" barrel). or as I have my Rem 600 with an 18.5" barrel.

Overall the 20 gauge is 4" short than my next shortest rifle with 22" barrel (besides the 600). My M600 is 6" shorter overall.

 

[Wolfshead]

My first rifle was a Remington 700 in 30-06 with a 24” barrel.
I’ve taken many deer with it.
i bought a Tikka T3x compact in .308 Win. With a 20” barrel, and it’s what I hunt with now.
I can shoot a softball sized group (off a rest) with my handloads at 300 yards confidently.
i won’t shoot over 300 as I’ve never shot it that far before and don’t have the need to. 300 is plenty far for where I hunt.
I love my 700 and it also has some sentimental attachments to it, but I hunt with my .308 now mostly as it’s as much as two pounds lighter, much more agile in the thick woods, and easier to carry all day.
I can shoot 300 yards across a Ag field , or up close and personal 20-100 yards in the woods.
I actually took a nice Doe last night at approximately 60 yards sitting against a tree.

300 yard group on 6” target


my rifle

 

[mcseal2]

I'm hunting open country where shots can get long. I got my buck at 340 yards this year. I use a 264 win mag with a 25" barrel and a 5-20x50 Huskemaw. I have shorter rifles and use them on occasion, but only for deer drives, timber, or similar situations. I should use a shorter rifle more, but that gun has been lucky for me and filled my freezer plus decorated my walls. It's hard for me to choose anything else unless there is a really good reason.

In high school I hunted with Remington 760 in 270 win pushing 150 grain Partitions. If I was to hunt where shots were all under 200 yards I'd likely get a similar gun in 270 or 30-06 and shorten the barrel to 20". Add a good scope for low light and I'd be set. I've always liked those old guns, especially after adding a good recoil pad and a trigger spring kit. A 20" bolt gun would be just as good, I just like the old pumps.

To me binoculars capable of seeing what I'm shooting at the fringes of legal light, and a scope capable of taking advantage of those minutes are way more important than the firearm. I bought good binos years back, and then had to upgrade my scope to match. It was sure frustrating not being able to shoot what I could see. I've taken some of my best bucks on overcast, foggy/misty/sleeting hunts where usable light was scarce during legal hunting time.

 

[Boarmaster]

22.

 

[saltfork]

20 inch

 

[Long Cut]

I’ll say this till the cows come home.

Break action rifles in 16-20” barrels are the way to go for Southeastern deer hunting

 

[zusmc]

I like my Windham Weaponry AR-10 18" barrel with suppressor. Carries well and very balanced and still shorter than most bolt guns with the suppressor attached.

 

[Sccritterkiller]

18" barrel with can...made shots from 45yd to 450yds...