Thread: .308 barrel length

pros and cons of barrel length between 16' and 20' other than length.

If most of your hunting is in tight bush, then short (16in) is ideal. If a mix of bush & open stuff then 18in might be a good compromise

most of the hunting i do is in tight bush but then some shots out to about 200-300m. 18" inch would be a good compromise but im looking at running a tikka who dont do 18" as far as im aware. does the 16" kick like a mule?

16 with a suppressor will take it back to about the 20 inch

16 inch barrel without a suppressor will be quite nasty on your ears

https://bulletin.accurateshooter.com...cut-down-test/

a cut and recrown are usually under $100 and can always be done later,
recoil on a shorter barrel will barely be any more but the muzzle flash and noise will go up substantially

18" with a supressor is a nice all-rounder length. My .308, is my main hunting rifle for everything and at 19" it's great, not really losing much at all in terms of velocity. In my view 308 over 20" is a waste of steel, although probably don't want to go shorter if not suppressing.

16" would be a lovely compact hunting rifle for sure.

what brand of rifle do you use? 18inch does sound like the best bet, a nice middle ground. tikka dont seam to do one but i have also been looking at the ruger american predators that come in 18" but are a more "budget" range being blued

Vortex podcast did an episode on cutting down a tikka 308 and suppressing it. Heaps of positives, very few negatives. I think they cut it down to 16" with minimal POI or velocity change.

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Pros of 16" = handier and lighter.
Cons of 16" = slightly less velocity and louder than a longer barrel.

Pros of 20"= more velocity, not as loud.
Cons of 20" = not as handy due to longer length. A little heavier.

Originally Posted by Rn-85

Vortex podcast did an episode on cutting down a tikka 308 and suppressing it. Heaps of positives, very few negatives. I think they cut it down to 16" with minimal POI or velocity change.

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I listened to that. A discussion on short barrels and supressors like it was new...we've been doing it in NZ for 20 years!
Still they were correct in what they said and worth a listen.

I'm running the following;
Kimber Hunter and Savage Lightweight Hunter both 16" barrels with DPT suppressors.
Sierra Gamekings 150grn.
AR2208 46.5gr
2735 FPS.

Plenty enough grunt for 300m, cut em short and don't worry about it.

Originally Posted by farmdeerhunter69

what brand of rifle do you use? 18inch does sound like the best bet, a nice middle ground. tikka dont seam to do one...

Tikka are currently doing a 16 inch barrel .308 model in stainless if you decide to go down that route.

Had a Tikka with a 20 inch barrel in 7mm08. It was a good gun, but after I started throwing around a single shot with 16 inch barrel, the Tikka seemed so long and cumbersome. I like short rifles, what can I say?!

I've gone 12.5 inches in barrel length and getting 2500fps with a 155grn projectile, which will cover out to 250/300 1-6 scope is handy in the bush

This might come as a surprise to some.
I have a couple of 308 rifles and they have 22 inch barrels. And they work just fine.

If your looking at buying would seriously consider Bergara B14 Extreme hunter comes factory 18” fluted. Use mine from 10- 500 yards