308 barrel length

How far you shooting, the legal minimum is 12" but to get accuracy you will need to find the correct bullet weight and load work up to achieve a decent velocity.
 
Got a 16" .308. Works well for any woodland situation as it's so fast handling. 10 twist barrel.
 
If you were to rephrase the question to "what's the optimum length barrel for a .308 using 165gr nosler BT's in a woodland setting no shots exceeding 200 yards on fallow"

I would say get a 7-08 run 18" barrel and nosler 140gr BT's lol.



But my 14" .243 is a belter on a Thomson encore single shot frame.



What what is your use?
 
As I understand it there's very little velocity loss in run-of-the-mill loadings down to about 21". From there things start to get progressively worse, but considerably shorter could still be fine depending on your use (bullet weight, power choice, target distance, etc.).

Cheers,
Jeff.
 
Sorry should have said, want to use 180gr bullets, tracking rifle, it's a Parker Hale, my friend is giving it to me, don't know the twist
 
Sorry should have said, want to use 180gr bullets, tracking rifle, it's a Parker Hale, my friend is giving it to me, don't know the twist

Heavy (for caliber) bullets will accelerate more slowly, thereby spending more time in the barrel, thereby giving the powder more time to burn for any given barrel length.

Still don't know if I'd go all the way down to 14" or 16", mind you, but I'm old-school.

Cheers,
Jeff.
 
I would not go below 20 inches, because you don't gain anything in handling or packing a rifle shorter than that. I own six or seven .308s with barrels of 18.5 to 20 inches.

Another thing to consider is the whole package. A 20-inch barrel on a slim stock still has balance. Just whacking off 2 or 4 inches from a heavy stocked rifle makes it really butt heavy.

Go handle some really balanced carbines in .308, all 20-inch:
Steyr Mannlicher Model L
Savage 99A saddle gun
Winchester Model 70 Compact
Remington Model 7
 
You do gain if it's moderated though. Think my shorty comes in at a shade under 21inches total barrel length with mod. Very handy indeed.
 
I asked a local gunmith to take my Howa sporter barrel down from 24" to 19" on my 308. He talked me out of it saying that the risk of un-burnt powder in the moderator could prove dangerous.

Anyone concur or dis-agree with his views?

FL
 
I run a 20" barrel and a friend runs an 18" barrel neither of us has problems with unburnt powder in the moderators and the loss in velocity isn't as much as you'd imagine , I'm running at 2650 fps with a 168 amax.
 
I asked a local gunmith to take my Howa sporter barrel down from 24" to 19" on my 308. He talked me out of it saying that the risk of un-burnt powder in the moderator could prove dangerous.

Anyone concur or dis-agree with his views?

FL
so what happens if you buy a Howa with a factory 20" barrel? sounds like BS to me.
 
we regularly build 308s with 18 inch barrels. accuracy is a matter of accurate ammunition, barrel quality and good crowning . Barrel length generaly is not a factor in accuracy per se. For the gentleman that asked for the twist rate for 180 grain bullets . In shorter barrels i normally fit 1:10 twist so you can shoot every bullet weight from 110 to 220 grains. Yours respectfully Mike Norris Brock and Norris custom Rifles
 
Back
Top