Why are people cutting barrels off

[KsRancher]

I'm willing to argue with anyone about energy's lack of importance in making animals dead.

Someone feel free to kick the ball and I'll happily return it.

I want to kick it. Not to argue about it. But ask questions about. I have a 300RUM and a 308win. The 300 shoots great but I hate shooting it. It has a brake on it. Even with plugs and muffs to stop the sound, it feels like you get a concussion from the blowback. I am either going to cut it off or sell the gun. Thinking about selling the gun anyway and spending the money on another 308 and getting a nice scope on it. If I do that I would like to be able to effectively kill an elk at longer range. How far would you shoot an elk with a 308 if you could pick your bullet. And before anyone goes to railing on me. I try to get as close as I can. But sometimes the right shot is present at the right time and place.

 

[Stalker69]

I saw firsthand, a couple weeks ago, why some cut the barrels, and impair velocity . Unethical, illegal road hunters are able to stand the rifle up, between thier legs, while seated in the vehicle, easing down the road.

Now this is clearly a reason to cut barrels and add suppressors. Lol ( but kinda serious, there is a substantial benefit here) Kinda like the gang members and glock switches. But my hunting rifles do not benifit from cutting a couple inches off and or adding a suppressor. A couple buddies are into that, and they don’t kill any more animals or shoot any better then I do. None have made there guns more accurate then before the can. I mean especially hunting, big game what one or two shots, coyote maybe 4-6 shots a day ( hopefully). And I have yet to witness an animal that don’t hear the shot and react the exact same way suppressed or not. When we shoot , we all still wear hearing protection. And damn those cans are ugly. I don’t see any benefit, other then the “ cool” factor, really. I don’t by it, but I don’t play video games either, so there’s that. Lol

 

[Stalker69]

I want to kick it. Not to argue about it. But ask questions about. I have a 300RUM and a 308win. The 300 shoots great but I hate shooting it. It has a brake on it. Even with plugs and muffs to stop the sound, it feels like you get a concussion from the blowback. I am either going to cut it off or sell the gun. Thinking about selling the gun anyway and spending the money on another 308 and getting a nice scope on it. If I do that I would like to be able to effectively kill an elk at longer range. How far would you shoot an elk with a 308 if you could pick your bullet. And before anyone goes to railing on me. I try to get as close as I can. But sometimes the right shot is present at the right time and place.

I don’t mean this to sound rude or smart ass, seriously. But I know it does . But why not learn to get closer to the “ prey”, it’s hunting. And the hunting part seems to be a dying skill. And by far the best part of the hunt ! Now if your family is starving and you need the protein, and there’s no other way. I see it, but I don’t think any of us are in that situation. Nor are we going to starve to death if we don’t kill that animal. Bone envy, is the real reason.

 

[Lowg08]

I know the energy velocity discussion plays in but I’m already over 6’ tall and the ability to not look like I’m getting horse collar tackled in the woods was my number one reason. I have no intention to shoot over 200 yards and it’s got to be a special situation for me to shoot 100. My rifle buck this year was at 6 yards. I hunt thickets all the time so my max shot is probably 50 yards on a good day. I don’t feel like I lost enough to matter at those distances. If I ever decide to shoot an animal at over 200 yards I’ll go 300 win mag.

 

[drdrop]

Adverse effects to hearing hasn't been brought up yet, but that's one downside to shortening a barrel. Even if it's only 1 or 2 db, it's easy to forget that decibels are measured on a logarithmic, non-linear scale. So once you're already in a high decibel range like a rifle, that amount can be significant.

I'll be getting my 20" .270 Savage LWH barrel threaded, and I'm on the fence whether I should have it chopped down to 18" - I should be able to squeeze a little bit more db reduction out of it suppressed if I keep it at 20".

 

[adamm88]

I only cut one and planning on cutting s other this spring, the first i cut to 22 from 26(i think start) 270, where i hunt i need to be able to swing in tighter brush, it took a almost unusable gun to pefect.

The gun im cutting down in the spring im take a 22 to 18 243 that will be my sons carry when hes old enough


Different hunting styles/scenarios require more compact guns especially in the east in the hills


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[Rich M]

It’s just the latest style. Mostly to handle supressors and maintain balance.

A 16 inch barrel is a tad bit short but in many rifles allows for complete powder burn.

I prefer 18 and 20 inches cause not shooting supressed and the 16 inch barrels will increase muzzleblast if you aren’t careful about it.

 

[KsRancher]

I don’t mean this to sound rude or smart ass, seriously. But I know it does . But why not learn to get closer to the “ prey”, it’s hunting. And the hunting part seems to be a dying skill. And by far the best part of the hunt ! Now if your family is starving and you need the protein, and there’s no other way. I see it, but I don’t think any of us are in that situation. Nor are we going to starve to death if we don’t kill that animal. Bone envy, is the real reason.

I get what your saying. And I somewhat agree. But a little about myself. I am 37 and have been hunting since 12yrs old. In that time I have only had 1 firearm deer tag and it was a muzzleloader tag at 15yrs old. Killed a 17pt at 25yds. Have been elk hunting for 12yrs and had 2 rifle tags in that time. Filled one, could have filled the second one. I had a nice shot at 675yds that I know I could have made but also knew I could get closer. Got to under 100yds but didn't shoot because my 16yr old son was along on his first elk hunt and couldn't see the bull. I wasn't going to shoot until he could see it. It was a REALLY nice 6x6. By the time my son could see it, the bull boogered.

I used drag my rifle out for our Kansas late antlerless season. Now I don't even do that as I have 2 sons that like to fill the freezer. (No, we are not starving. But love to hunt and enjoy the meat). I was just asking because I would like to know what he thought the farthest a 308 would effectively kill an elk with right bullet. I have always heard and read that 400yds would be a limit. But from my experience with my 308 I would think it could be double that.



Edit. I love to bow hunt. When I take the rifle out I am hunting. But I am usually planning on killing something. If I can get closer, great. If not, I am still planning on killing it. Wether it's a whitetail doe or bull elk. Close if possible, but if it's in my effective range. I am going to kill it.

 

[z987k]

I want to kick it. Not to argue about it. But ask questions about. I have a 300RUM and a 308win. The 300 shoots great but I hate shooting it. It has a brake on it. Even with plugs and muffs to stop the sound, it feels like you get a concussion from the blowback. I am either going to cut it off or sell the gun. Thinking about selling the gun anyway and spending the money on another 308 and getting a nice scope on it. If I do that I would like to be able to effectively kill an elk at longer range. How far would you shoot an elk with a 308 if you could pick your bullet. And before anyone goes to railing on me. I try to get as close as I can. But sometimes the right shot is present at the right time and place.

The reason it feels like you get a concussion from it, mostly is because you do. The pressure from that brake is not good for you. Also, plugs and muffs aren't directly additive. I'm not aware of any single or combination of hearing protection that can make it safe to shoot something like a braked 300rum. You get hearing damage every time.

If I was going to use a 308 to hunt elk at max range, I'd buy some lapua SRP brass and run it at 65kpsi with a 150gr badlands BD2 from an 18in barrel, suppressed. Effective range is about 450y.

 

[z987k]

It’s just the latest style. Mostly to handle supressors and maintain balance.

A 16 inch barrel is a tad bit short but in many rifles allows for complete powder burn.

I prefer 18 and 20 inches cause not shooting supressed and the 16 inch barrels will increase muzzleblast if you aren’t careful about it.

Complete burn of a powder in X length is completely dependant on what powder is used, and what pressure you're running it at. Something that will burn completely in 16in at 63kpsi may not burn completely at a lower pressure, say 50kpsi.

 

[Rich M]

Complete burn of a powder in X length is completely dependant on what powder is used, and what pressure you're running it at. Something that will burn completely in 16in at 63kpsi may not burn completely at a lower pressure, say 50kpsi.

I should have said cartridges instead of rifles. Can you imagine the flame out of a 16 inch 300 wb mag?

 

[dieselchessy]

I want to kick it. Not to argue about it. But ask questions about. I have a 300RUM and a 308win. The 300 shoots great but I hate shooting it. It has a brake on it. Even with plugs and muffs to stop the sound, it feels like you get a concussion from the blowback. I am either going to cut it off or sell the gun. Thinking about selling the gun anyway and spending the money on another 308 and getting a nice scope on it. If I do that I would like to be able to effectively kill an elk at longer range. How far would you shoot an elk with a 308 if you could pick your bullet. And before anyone goes to railing on me. I try to get as close as I can. But sometimes the right shot is present at the right time and place.

Maybe try a half/partial step down to a 300 WSM or 300 PRC, maybe even a 30-06.
I shot a RUM a few times. I didn’t enjoy it.

 

[dieselchessy]

In general I don’t like short barrels, muzzle blast, loudeners, ect. For me 22” to 24” seems about ideal.
But I have a few barrels I cut down to 18-20” for suppressor use and some AR barrels that are 16-18”.

I cut barrels down below 22” for suppressor use so the finished length is in or very near that 22 to 24” window.

 

[pods8 (Rugged Stitching)]

Show us on the doll where the short barrels touched you… cause some of your egos seem mighty fragile around barrel lengths. vs just talking actual pros/cons without emotion involved.

 

[mtwarden]

Show us on the doll where the short barrels touched you… cause some of your egos seem mighty fragile around barrel lengths. vs just talking actual pros/cons without emotion involved.

Some of these weight reduction proponents (for chopping) are probably in the 6.5 Creedmor, less recoil, crowd favored by the women and feeble old men.

 

[HingleMcCringleberry]

Based on what I've seen here, there aren't many old men who favor the 6.5. They seem to be the opposite.

Correct, old fudds demand the finest, most technologically advanced cartridges, from the 1950's.....if it doesn't say Weatherby and have a 30" barrel, just how in the world are you gonna sight it in at 400yds for MPBR shooting?!

Hipsters and their low recoiling efficient cartridges are just sissies.

 

[mt100gr.]

Most guys under 40 can't handle the blast or recoil of the 300 Super Fuddmoore. (Which, by the way, won't burn even a grain of powder in less than a 26" barrel) Fact. Hard stop.

The great thing about it is 1, 2, or 6 shots fired in a hunting scenario (because you don't hear it!!) doesn't hurt your ears....much....

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

 

[Mike D Texas]

Velocity isn't quite over rated as it's the most important component to Energy. Energy equals mass (off the bullet in this case) x velocity squared. So losses in velocity have much more impact on energy. Cutting your barrel reduces velocity typically by 50 ft/sec per inch. So by losing that velocity, the bullet energy drops more than linearly...hence the need for better bullet construction

Very few (if any) cartridges lose 50fps per inch, 20-30fps is average.

And energy isn’t as critical as expansion which in turn is driven by velocity.


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[Mike D Texas]

I doubt I will ever cut a barrel. A 22" barrel in a standard caliber is not long at all. I would rather have the velocity.

IME, there is a 40-100 fps gain loss with barrel with each inch of barrel length lost. There is a point of diminishing returns in both directions and the added benefit of length varies wildly among cartridges.

Generally, longer barrels can shoot slower powders better. Thus, shooting a 26 vs a 24" barrel in my magnum guns makes a gigantic difference.

I really am only concerned with a couple guns where I care about getting the most speed. Most of my guns, I only look for accuracy.

If I could shoot a suppressor here in CA, I definitely would.

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Can you show me anything that proves 40-100fps loss per inch?


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[Rudymissouri]

Well thank you for all the replies, I don’t think I’ll ever retire my old Lazzeroni though or cut the barrel down. Still a firm believer in magnum cartridges, I do believe a lighter caliber with a newer bullet will kill them just as dead. Though sometimes you do make a poor shot and I feel that big piece of lead haulin ass sure helps put them down. Thanks again for answering my question