Welcome guest, is this your first visit? Create Account now to join.
  • Login:

Welcome to the NZ Hunting and Shooting Forums.

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.

Alpine Terminator


User Tag List

+ Reply to Thread
Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast
Results 16 to 30 of 32
Like Tree44Likes

Thread: Barrel length

  1. #16
    Caretaker - Gone But Not Forgotten jakewire's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    here
    Posts
    7,477
    In the thick shit it doesn't matter how fast a shortened 243 goes, it's still a 243.
    Unless your only hunting Fallow in the Blue Mountains or similar, I'd look at exchanging the least favoured 243 for a 308.
    mikee, Shearer, Moa Hunter and 1 others like this.
    Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

  2. #17
    Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2021
    Location
    Twizel
    Posts
    366
    Shptyened my mates 243 to 16"and suppressed it great bail gun and still perfect to shoot 200-250 easy and he's got his 22" 708 for more range good combo

  3. #18
    Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2021
    Location
    Twizel
    Posts
    366
    Another mate runs a 18" 243 for most general hunting out to 350-400 no issues and has a heavier 26" one that he has pushed out to 700 on light game

  4. #19
    Banned
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    North Canterbury
    Posts
    5,462
    Quote Originally Posted by Shooter6 View Post
    Shouldered. Through the thick shit when 2 hands are needed to stay upright.
    @Shooter6 Righto, know your pain. I chopped a Shilen select match back for the same reason and rue that to this day. Why? because there is a simple fix!
    Buy a German made Niggeloh sling, remove the sling stud from the fore-end of the rifle stock, fit the sling so that the end that would normally be around the the swivel forms a firm but sliding loop around the barrel, fit the bottom end in the normal way and adjust for length / position.
    I have four centrefires set up like that and will never go back

  5. #20
    MSL
    MSL is offline
    Member MSL's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Waikato
    Posts
    6,474
    Quote Originally Posted by Moa Hunter View Post
    @Shooter6 Righto, know your pain. I chopped a Shilen select match back for the same reason and rue that to this day. Why? because there is a simple fix!
    Buy a German made Niggeloh sling, remove the sling stud from the fore-end of the rifle stock, fit the sling so that the end that would normally be around the the swivel forms a firm but sliding loop around the barrel, fit the bottom end in the normal way and adjust for length / position.
    I have four centrefires set up like that and will never go back



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Moa Hunter likes this.

  6. #21
    Banned
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    North Canterbury
    Posts
    5,462
    Quote Originally Posted by MSL View Post



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Imitation (copying) is the greatest form of flattery ! But in this case I think it is 'Great minds think alike' !! You havent chucked the stud out, drill a hole parallel to the barrel and fit a Blaser style bipod mount
    Q where is the double thickness of pushbike tube around the objective end of the Z5 and the car tube skirt over the turrets ?

  7. #22
    Banned
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    North Canterbury
    Posts
    5,462
    Quote Originally Posted by MSL View Post



    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Imitation (copying) is the greatest form of flattery ! But in this case I think it is 'Great minds think alike' !! You havent chucked the stud out, drill a hole parallel to the barrel and fit a Blaser style bipod mount
    Q where is the double thickness of pushbike tube around the objective end of the Z5 and the car tube skirt over the turrets ?

  8. #23
    Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    Manuwatu
    Posts
    733
    Gunwerks podcast in the states do a good episode on barrel length. worth a listen. They do talk about their rifles a bit but there is alot of relevant information.

  9. #24
    Member stagstalker's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2018
    Location
    North Island, New Zealand
    Posts
    2,178
    I see you’re in the hawkes bay so you probably have fun in that front country scrub around the kawekas. If you genuinely drag yourself through bush and scrub on the regular then just chop it and forget the rest. Everyone’s hunting persona’s are different due to the style of hunting they prefer or the terrain they favour using, as a result opinions on setups vary.
    Mooseman likes this.

  10. #25
    Gone................. mikee's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Location
    Nelson, New Zealand
    Posts
    9,812
    I have a 28 inch barreled gun, used only for target shooting. I cannot imagine taking it all round the hills. Be heavy and awkward. Is it accurate, yes and it has plenty of clout but definitely awkward

    All my other guns are shortened. Longest is 20 inch 300WSM and shortest currently is a 308 @ 16 inches. I shoot heavy for calibre projectiles generally I would have no issues with carrying a suppressed 10 inch 308 if I could find a regular stock with a shortened forend.
    Yes you will lose energy with a short barrel (180gn Amax @ 2073 out of a 10 inch barrel holds over 1000ft/lb energy to 350m) but again the reality is if it will do the job well then........................................ its really down to your particular use.


    For what they get used for shorter is better and if I am honest all the deer I have shot in last few years are closer than 350m. All have either been in the bush or on the edge of it.

    A short light handy rifle is much easier to maneuver virtually everywhere and lets face it carrying it is what you will be doing mostly.

    If you only hint the tops or open ground then a longer barrel would /maybe more sensible but its a personal choice

  11. #26
    Van
    Van is offline
    Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    Wellington
    Posts
    55
    Quote Originally Posted by mikee View Post
    I have a 28 inch barreled gun, used only for target shooting. I cannot imagine taking it all round the hills. Be heavy and awkward. Is it accurate, yes and it has plenty of clout but definitely awkward

    All my other guns are shortened. Longest is 20 inch 300WSM and shortest currently is a 308 @ 16 inches. I shoot heavy for calibre projectiles generally I would have no issues with carrying a suppressed 10 inch 308 if I could find a regular stock with a shortened forend.
    Yes you will lose energy with a short barrel (180gn Amax @ 2073 out of a 10 inch barrel holds over 1000ft/lb energy to 350m) but again the reality is if it will do the job well then........................................ its really down to your particular use.


    For what they get used for shorter is better and if I am honest all the deer I have shot in last few years are closer than 350m. All have either been in the bush or on the edge of it.

    A short light handy rifle is much easier to maneuver virtually everywhere and lets face it carrying it is what you will be doing mostly.

    If you only hint the tops or open ground then a longer barrel would /maybe more sensible but its a personal choice
    I use the LSS chassis for my little 308s, smallest being 10 inches, although optimum without losing too much velocity without going to crazy fast burning powders is 13 inches. The latest 13 inch got to 2750fps with 150s, which is perfectly fine for well, anything really.

    The 10 inch gets the 150s to just over 2550fps. Rem700 action, trueflite ultramatch, with a Sightron s3 6-24x50 sits at 3.2kg.
    mikee likes this.

  12. #27
    TLB
    TLB is offline
    Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    Napier
    Posts
    488
    Yeah I'm in the shorten it category. If my 16" barrel .223 can kill deer fine at 250 yards with minimal energy then I think any larger caliber will be fine.
    I think matching the projectile to the range you're shooting is far more important.
    I also purchased a .243 last week and after putting 10 rounds through it to make sure it was shooting fine it got cut to 18". 18" seems to be a good happy medium for velocity loss. Shot 5 Red stags with it so far and none have made it further than where they were standing, out to 250 yards.
    Approximately 40fps per inch as seen here:
    https://rifleshooter.com/2016/04/243...h-on-velocity/
    stagstalker and Shooter6 like this.

  13. #28
    Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2021
    Location
    Hawkesbay
    Posts
    14
    Thanks for all the comments. I think I'll chop it to 20 and see how it goes... I have access to a machine shop so not a drama to chop more at a later date.
    Micky Duck likes this.

  14. #29
    Member Micky Duck's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    Geraldine
    Posts
    24,735
    enjoy it....dont overthink it and have fun.
    75/15/10 black powder matters

  15. #30
    By Popular Demand gimp's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Location
    The Big H
    Posts
    9,500
    Haven't noticed my 18 inch barrelled .223 not killing deer, which makes every other cartridge/barrel length question seem ludicrous. Anything works, chop it down

 

 

Similar Threads

  1. Barrel length
    By Ace86 in forum Projects and Home Builds
    Replies: 11
    Last Post: 28-04-2020, 10:03 AM
  2. .243 Barrel length, over barrel or forward mount suppressor
    By Strider B in forum Projects and Home Builds
    Replies: 12
    Last Post: 14-04-2018, 01:52 PM
  3. Minimum legal barrel length and overall length for firearms
    By A.J.P. in forum Firearms, Optics and Accessories
    Replies: 65
    Last Post: 27-07-2015, 12:30 PM
  4. best barrel length for a .308 ?
    By dale in forum Firearms, Optics and Accessories
    Replies: 30
    Last Post: 12-08-2014, 08:26 AM

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
Welcome to NZ Hunting and Shooting Forums! We see you're new here, or arn't logged in. Create an account, and Login for full access including our FREE BUY and SELL section Register NOW!!