Thread: why shorten a .300 wsm barrel

So today I drove up to Lacey WA to Cabelas. While I was there I was looking at the used rifles and found a good looking Remington 700 SPS in .300 WSM. Everything looked great on this rifle except someone had done a really good job and cut down the barrel and re-crowned it. I bought it anyways because it was a really really good deal and I can get another barrel for it. My question is why would someone have gone to all the work to shorten it to 16.5" from 24"?

Because it looks "cool" despite the major velocity loss. Duh!

haha what was I thinking?

Not to mention the sweet flash burn from the huge muzzle flash!

It makes no sense at all. I don’t think it even looks cool. Talk about handicapping a round. A 16” barrel makes for a handy 30-30 lever gun but only destroys the capability of a cartridge like 300WSM. What the heck you got a good deal out of it.

yeah picked it up for $300... Now I got to decide what new barreled caliber to go with.

What the previous owner accomplished was turning his "Short Mag" into most probably an anemic .308. Maybe he owns stock in a powder company and was single-handedly trying to boost sales, or perhaps he enjoyed the dual benefit of igniting all vegetation around him for a warming fire after the shot.

So it would fit on his ATV? Golf bag?

Ever try and hunt the coast range? 200 yards into that salal, salmonberry, blackberry and vine maple thicket would make that barrel mod seem brilliant.

Originally Posted by KalamaMark

Ever try and hunt the coast range? 200 yards into that salal, salmonberry, blackberry and vine maple thicket would make that barrel mod seem brilliant.

Yep, Marlin 1895 Guide gun, short handy levergun with big slap and fast follow up shots