20" or 26" That is the question

[TapRackNGo]

20" is perfectly fine, even more so if you plan on adding a suppressor.

 

[Misterbill]

If you're shooting bench, why on earth WOULDN'T you go for 26 inches?

I understand 20-inches for tactical or hunting. From a bench? WHY NOT go big?

 

[10 Spot Terminator]

And this is exactly why I reload. Through the use of powders with different burn rates and the host of bullets available today I can usually come up with a load that splits the difference of the bullet speed loss due to shorter barrels and be happy ,,, or do my homework before I buy the rifle and find something in a cartridge that is known to perform better in what I would deem a "Mountain Rifle" and spend some time practicing the longer shots that would still have enough energy so as not to bounce a bullet off an Elks Butt ( You"re killin me here, dont stop ) !

 

[OregonPlinker]

Yeah Im going for the 26". I knew I would... The 20" seemed interesting for a bit. Only a bit though. If I want to play with something shorter Ill unzip... Hahahahaaaaaaa oh man where do I come up with this stuff?

 

[geometro]

SWAT Article BARREL LENGTH

 

[JC9995]

SWAT Article BARREL LENGTH

Very interesting....maybe its time to cut the 26 down.

 

[geometro]

Secrets of the Houston Warehouse

 

[OregonPlinker]

SWAT Article BARREL LENGTH

Good read, Thanks

 

[OregonPlinker]

Secrets of the Houston Warehouse

AWESOME read! Thanks!

 

[teflon6string]

Excellent articles above about velocity, powder burn rates, deployability vs. optimum length, etc.

Then there's human nature - that pesky quirk that makes us play mental "what if" games with ourselves every time we pull the trigger. As an accomplished expert in second-guessing myself, here's a short list of notions that would probably be rolling around in my beady little brain...

- Okay, that was a fine shot. Glad I got the 26.

- I wish I could tighten this group up a little. If only I got the 26 instead of the 20.

- This 26 is too long when I'm ducking under branches and brush.

- I'm a pretty good shot with either weapon and I prefer the maneuverability of my 20 in the field.

- Whoa, that's a beautiful buck in my scope, I hope this 20" barrel doesn't make me miss.

- It's my target rifle. How often will I really find myself stalking critters with it?

Then (in the field, at work, trying to sleep at night, etc.), I would replay some/all of these annoying thoughts in random order for years until I made myself completely nuts.

Is there a distinct gap in your collection that this one will be filling?

 

[erslll]

Secrets of the Houston Warehouse

Wow! Very good read.




I went from a 26" SPS Varmint to a 20" 5R and have no regrets. I am seeing very little velocity difference and my dope charts are all still the same or very, very close to the same.

 

[OregonPlinker]

Is there a distinct gap in your collection that this one will be filling?

Not really. I dont have a 308 bolt gun but I have a battle rifle in 308 so I have all the reloading stuff for one and figure I might as well get a bolt gun to mess with reloading for it. It will just be another horse in the barn I guess...

 

[10 Spot Terminator]

Secrets of the Houston Warehouse

My reloading world has just got a whole lot bigger . I now feel the need to go back to square one on brass and brass prep. People like myself who border on having OCD should not read articles such as this one.

 

[Tim K]

Go with the long barrel. If you hate it, have your smith chop it off. I doubt you'll hate it, but at least you have an option.

My guy put a Lilja on for me a while back and asked me how long I wanted it to finish out. My response to him was to take as little off as necessary to crown it and thread it for my can.

 

[brian niziol]

You're not the same guy that said that he'd seen a .270 bullet bounce right off of an elk's hindquarters, are you?

Don't want to be confrontational but while I have never had a bullet bounce of an elk I shot at a moose and was pretty darn sure I hit it. It was a cow moose that was bedding down. It stood up and I fired at between 200 and 250 meters. The moose walked away with no apparent injury. I found the bullet which looked like it had never been fired laying on the frozen snow where the moose was laying down. The bullet a imperial 130 grain saber tip (some kind of nylon tip on it) .270 Winchester. From a browning auto rifle which on a cold day say below -30 was nothing more than single shot. While the bullet did not bounce off it simply dropped to the ground right below where the moose was standing. Never seen anything like that or never will. What happened I do not know. But it did happen. It was pretty cold maybe -40. But I have taken lots of game in the dead of winter with that very rifle using that very same ammo.

 

[sealine]

Don't want to be confrontational but while I have never had a bullet bounce of an elk I shot at a moose and was pretty darn sure I hit it. It was a cow moose that was bedding down. It stood up and I fired at between 200 and 250 meters. The moose walked away with no apparent injury. I found the bullet which looked like it had never been fired laying on the frozen snow where the moose was laying down. The bullet a imperial 130 grain saber tip (some kind of nylon tip on it) .270 Winchester. From a browning auto rifle which on a cold day say below -30 was nothing more than single shot. While the bullet did not bounce off it simply dropped to the ground right below where the moose was standing. Never seen anything like that or never will. What happened I do not know. But it did happen. It was pretty cold maybe -40. But I have taken lots of game in the dead of winter with that very rifle using that very same ammo.

I'm sure since it's been 3 years since their last post, and your post above, they won't find you confrontational at all.

 

[David Bowman]

Going .308 you can use 20 to 24 and it won't be unwieldy or heavy, but ideally, if you are looking for more push, the longer it is in the gas envelope of the barrel, the more FPS you will get, which a 26" barrel will give you.

I like the .308 in no more than about a 24 in barrel, with a preference for 20 (for suppressor use), but anywhere in there is good for most 168 grain or 175 grain loads. Pushes them fast enough to reach out accurately and still carry energy enough to get the animal you are looking for.

 

[U8395279]

A 26 inch barrel is too short.

Get one of the new Savage F/TR rifles in .308 instead. They are only 12.6 lbs.

Now that is what I call a barrel!!

 

[U8395279]

Don't want to be confrontational but while I have never had a bullet bounce of an elk I shot at a moose and was pretty darn sure I hit it. It was a cow moose that was bedding down. It stood up and I fired at between 200 and 250 meters. The moose walked away with no apparent injury. I found the bullet which looked like it had never been fired laying on the frozen snow where the moose was laying down. The bullet a imperial 130 grain saber tip (some kind of nylon tip on it) .270 Winchester. From a browning auto rifle which on a cold day say below -30 was nothing more than single shot. While the bullet did not bounce off it simply dropped to the ground right below where the moose was standing. Never seen anything like that or never will. What happened I do not know. But it did happen. It was pretty cold maybe -40. But I have taken lots of game in the dead of winter with that very rifle using that very same ammo.

Sounds like an ammunition malfunction due to using real old ammo. CIL, the company that made the Dominion, Imperial and Canuck commercial ammunition brands has been out of business since 1976.

.

 

[Boboclown]

Necroposting isn't frowned upon here? Beginning to like this forum more and more if that is the case...

But 20" for hunting, 26 for bench. That's how I'd go about it for a bolt action rifle. Semiauto is a different story, but we're not talking about semiautos here anyways.