Short stalking rifle calibre.

[Twodogs]

G1 & G7 Ballistic Coefficients... What's the Difference?

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Have a read of this.
Bullets often come with a G1 or G7 number, if not may be able to find on manufacture website.

 

[muddy42]

308 with factory ammo has a reputation for accepting a short barrel. To be honest you can make pretty much any barrel length work with reloading - a powder that burns fully in the length of barrel and bullet weight. Even with factory ammo, the velocity loss from shortening barrels is meaningless. Walking with a long barrel and moderator is a miserable experience - the rifle slips off you shoulder or hits things overhead in a maddening way. Just chose one of the larger calibres, chop and get on with your life.

 

[WildBoarHunter]

I own a 20 inch 308 win and 22 inch 6,5×55 barrels for the same Blaser R8 system. I have used both extensively and have given a lot of thought about which one I prefer over the other over the years. The 6,5×55 with 22 barrel is the most accurate thing I ever shot and it's recoil is pleasant. It drops less at a distance than a 308 win. I really like it, I can hunt everything from fox to reds with it and I can do it with extreme accuracy and with nice low recoil.
308 win with a 20 barrel has a bit more drop, a bit more recoil and is not as accurate as my 6,5×55. But the overall rifle package is shorter, 308 manages shorter barrels better, it also balances better as the barrel is shorter and also lighter - considering the rifle bore is larger with 308 than it is with 6,5 mm. Both barrels have the same contour, but since the 308 win barrel has larger bore and is also shorter it comes out considerably lighter and better balanced when outfitted with a mod. The 308 win also packs more punch and is even very capable on driven hunts. I mounted a light Svemko Nano silencer on it (185 g) which does not make the rifle front heavy at all and Swarovski Habicht 1,5-6×42 scope which at 440 g is a very light and elegant scope. The whole package weights a bit more than 4 kg.
So since we are talking about a light short rifle I would give the overall edge to the 308 win. While I really like the 6,5×55, the 308 still comes out as more universal, shorter, lighter and more capable package, ideal for short woodland weapon.

 

[tackb]

my short woods rifle is a 45/70 marlin dark series , it is an absolute delight to carry!

 

[25 Sharps]

308 with factory ammo has a reputation for accepting a short barrel. To be honest you can make pretty much any barrel length work with reloading - a powder that burns fully in the length of barrel and bullet weight. Even with factory ammo, the velocity loss from shortening barrels is meaningless. Walking with a long barrel and moderator is a miserable experience - the rifle slips off you shoulder or hits things overhead in a maddening way. Just chose one of the larger calibres, chop and get on with your life.

Personal choice, as above, apart from the lever actions my stalking rifles have barrel 24-26”, all with Ase Utra moderators on the end. Doesn’t bother me walking with them in the slightest. But I am almost entirely on open ground. Woodland stalking would be another story.

 

[25 Sharps]

I own a 20 inch 308 win and 22 inch 6,5×55 barrels for the same Blaser R8 system. I have used both extensively and have given a lot of thought about which one I prefer over the other over the years. The 6,5×55 with 22 barrel is the most accurate thing I ever shot and it's recoil is pleasant. It drops less at a distance than a 308 win. I really like it, I can hunt everything from fox to reds with it and I can do it with extreme accuracy and with nice low recoil.
308 win with a 20 barrel has a bit more drop, a bit more recoil and is not as accurate as my 6,5×55. But the overall rifle package is shorter, 308 manages shorter barrels better, it also balances better as the barrel is shorter and also lighter - considering the rifle bore is larger with 308 than it is with 6,5 mm. Both barrels have the same contour, but since the 308 win barrel has larger bore and is also shorter it comes out considerably lighter and better balanced when outfitted with a mod. The 308 win also packs more punch and is even very capable on driven hunts. I mounted a light Svemko Nano silencer on it (185 g) which does not make the rifle front heavy at all and Swarovski Habicht 1,5-6×42 scope which at 440 g is a very light and elegant scope. The whole package weights a bit more than 4 kg.
So since we are talking about a light short rifle I would give the overall edge to the 308 win. While I really like the 6,5×55, the 308 still comes out as more universal, shorter, lighter and more capable package, ideal for short woodland weapon.

Can get well behind this apart from the .308 barrel being considerably lighter, must be 250 grams at most. Maybe I’m just used to heavy rifles but that seems fairly insignificant as a proportion of what you probably carry.

 

[muddy42]

Personal choice, as above, apart from the lever actions my stalking rifles have barrel 24-26”, all with Ase Utra moderators on the end. Doesn’t bother me walking with them in the slightest. But I am almost entirely on open ground. Woodland stalking would be another story.

Its so subjective isn't it. I have used a 24 inch barrel plus ASE Ultra - I hated it with a passion. In woodland it was constantly swinging off my shoulder, hitting things above my head (or the car boot) with resulting loss of confidence in zero.

 

[WildBoarHunter]

Can get well behind this apart from the .308 barrel being considerably lighter, must be 250 grams at most. Maybe I’m just used to heavy rifles but that seems fairly insignificant as a proportion of what you probably carry.

When you mostly drag your kit on hilly woodland terrain all year and don't even shoot it that much, anything beyond 4 kg is unnecessary. Even 250 g adds up a lot. Any unnecessary weight is just that. Unnecessary.
My other 6.5×55 kit has a nice Swaro Z8i (695 g) sitting on top plus 100 g Swaro flip ups and Ase Utra radien (350 g) on the barrel. With the heavier 6.5 barrel I'm on 5 kg and it's a true pain to drag around.

 

[25 Sharps]

Its so subjective isn't it. I have used a 24 inch barrel plus ASE Ultra - I hated it with a passion. In woodland it was constantly swinging off my shoulder, hitting things above my head (or the car boot) with resulting loss of confidence in zero.

Yeah, probably just what you get used to, my first stalking rifle was a 24” 6.5x55 (still have it) so that’s what I’m used to.

 

[25 Sharps]

When you mostly drag your kit on hilly woodland terrain all year and don't even shoot it that much, anything beyond 4 kg is unnecessary. Even 250 g adds up a lot. Any unnecessary weight is just that. Unnecessary.
My other 6.5×55 kit has a nice Swaro Z8i (695 g) sitting on top plus 100 g Swaro flip ups and Ase Utra radien (350 g) on the barrel. With the heavier 6.5 barrel I'm on 5 kg and it's a true pain to drag around.

25% I agree is a significant increase, 6% not so much. Most of my hunting rifle set ups are 6-7 kg covering some relatively hilly ground and I don’t struggle. Used the heaviest rifle in Scotland, definitely hilly, no issue carrying all day.

 

[Mrmjspice]

Personal choice, as above, apart from the lever actions my stalking rifles have barrel 24-26”, all with Ase Utra moderators on the end. Doesn’t bother me walking with them in the slightest. But I am almost entirely on open ground. Woodland stalking would be another story.

If I was shooting open fields I would certainly be going with a 24inch 6.5CM but as I almost exclusively shoot woodland only so I want the short barrel 308, which from the videos online and replies on here is more than capable in open fields and at range but I will need to be mindful of the drop is all. Plus I could use it for boar if I ever had the opportunity to do so.

 

[25 Sharps]

If I was shooting open fields I would certainly be going with a 24inch 6.5CM but as I almost exclusively shoot woodland only so I want the short barrel 308, which from the videos online and replies on here is more than capable in open fields and at range but I will need to be mindful of the drop is all. Plus I could use it for boar if I ever had the opportunity to do so.

At range drop is easy as gravity is a constant, it’s the wind that is tricky and will cause things to go wrong.

The .308 will cover all bases and work with a shorter barrel. I’ve just bought a 20” .308 so they must be fine .

 

[Scipio]

As mentioned by others the smaller the cal you're shooting and the more powder you need to utilize efficiently, the longer the barrel you'll need to do so.
So if you're going for 21-20 inches of barrrel a powder capacity seen in the cartridge families of 08 or x57 is probably about right, as i going for 7mm or larger caliber wise. So 308, 7mm08 , 358 winchester, 7x57, 8x57 and 9,3x57.
If you go from 20 to 18 or even 16 inches, you can probably stay in the same cartridge family/powder capacity range, but opt for the larger cals, probably 30 cal and up. For some reason, it is my impression that the 308 seems to do particularly well in short barrels.

 

[norsk]

Here you are! Tailor made for the purpose.

 

[HonestJohn]

Or a Persian m30

Had one, loved it! That Brno made Mauser was slicker than the best Oberndorf I’ve handled

 

[doric_prince]

.243 win on a 18.5” barrel with suppressor, use for hinds and roe. On the blaser platform this shaves 2-3 inches off the length of the action. Very compact for woodland and light!. Less drop than a .308, recoil and sufficient if you shot straight. Perfect for the 150 yards range you mention.