.308 barrel length

New Avon Arms
Jagged77

Jagged77

Well-Known Member
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I know it’s a subject that’s been discussed at length, however I have a choice to make and interested in other’s experiences.

I recently picked up a custom action in .308 barrelled with a 30” straight taper barrel. Needless to say I’m not in any hurry to take it around the woods even with a biathlon sling. Happy to leave the profile as is but will add some flutes and shorten. Question is should I go ultra short 16” / 18.5” or leave a little longer. Anyone else running a shorty?
 
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Thanks Scotch, definitely right place right time! Looking forward to the Manners MSC-LRH it’ll sit in too.

Totally agree on the performance and I think that’s why I’m having doubts on ultra short.
 
scotch_egg said:
Knowing that you were a lucky git and got this barrel attached to an original Surgeon action it would be blasphemy to do anything else, other than emulate a Tac Ops build and go with 21 3/4” which is optimal for almost every cartridge. It would create an excellent all round rifle in .308

Although the .308 performs exceptionally with short barrels it does drop off a cliff beyond 300 yards. So I would only consider going short if the rifle was solely to be used for stalking and with the knowledge long range performance is compromised.

A bit of light reading about the Houston Warehouse Project…

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Warning - Do not click on this link. I did and now have a virus on my phone
 
smoothly said:
I dont reply on open forums, too many keyboard warriors to fall out with, obviously the choice to shorten and by how much if at all is entirely yours, i like short or shorter stuff and have just about everything shortened, 222,223,22,250, 22hornet,22wmr, 17hmr, 2x 22lr, all shortened, 243s are 2 x howa 20" varmints so left them alone, 308 was gona be 20" but took it to18" i only use 150gn ammo and only hunt no targets unless a scope swop or a test and wont be shooting 300-or even 200 maybe regularly but it groups well at 200, wears a northstar mod and its a howa light barrel, dave at valkerie rifles is my barrel shortener, gunsmith, theres many capable as we know but that guy and his work are first class, anyway good luck on your quest.
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I did speak to Baldie the other day, he wanted to send off for reproofing after shortening and rethreading which he never used to. As I understood it that was only needed if it was resold. Appreciate the reply on your experiences with shorter barrels.
 
My preference would be ca. 22“ and definitely not below 20“. Except for the handling short barrels have nothing but disadvantages. Louder, more wear on the mod and less bullet velocity.
I don‘t know if you‘re using copper or are maybe planning to. They need speed to work properly.
 
Steff said:
My preference would be ca. 22“ and definitely not below 20“. Except for the handling short barrels have nothing but disadvantages. Louder, more wear on the mod and less bullet velocity.
I don‘t know if you‘re using copper or are maybe planning to. They need speed to work properly.
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Definitely a consideration for future but lead for now.
 
Steff said:
My preference would be ca. 22“ and definitely not below 20“. Except for the handling short barrels have nothing but disadvantages. Louder, more wear on the mod and less bullet velocity.
I don‘t know if you‘re using copper or are maybe planning to. They need speed to work properly.
Click to expand...

Speed isn’t a problem from a short barrel, 130gr TTSX out of my 16” .308 are travelling at 2900fps.
 
I have an 18 inch skinny barreled Sauer 202 in .308 that is a delight to shoot and decently accurate. If your new purchase has a skinny barrel I reckon it is perfect to cut down to 18 inches. If it is a heavy target type barrel that sort of clashes with the notion of a short handy light rifle so I would leave the barrel long and use it for precision long range work and get something like this light little Sauer for shorter range.
 

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HandB said:
I have an 18 inch skinny barreled Sauer 202 in .308 that is a delight to shoot and decently accurate. If your new purchase has a skinny barrel I reckon it is perfect to cut down to 18 inches. If it is a heavy target type barrel that sort of clashes with the notion of a short handy light rifle so I would leave the barrel long and use it for precision long range work and get something like this light little Sauer for shorter range.
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Is that a S202 Hardwood?
 
HandB said:
I have an 18 inch skinny barreled Sauer 202 in .308 that is a delight to shoot and decently accurate. If your new purchase has a skinny barrel I reckon it is perfect to cut down to 18 inches. If it is a heavy target type barrel that sort of clashes with the notion of a short handy light rifle so I would leave the barrel long and use it for precision long range work and get something like this light little Sauer for shorter range.
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Very nice. It’s a heavy barrel (very heavy…) but I’m more than happy lugging it around if cut down. I’ve got other .308’s for target shooting and this one will have the Manners long range hunting stock so want to use it in the field.
 
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