Short barrel elk/deer round

[2DaMtns]

alot of overthinking going on here....
people get so hung up on short and handy...a couple inches of barrel is nothing when you consider all the other gear you might carry.
I'm loving my kimber 84m rocky mountain edition in 6.5 creed.
weighs like 6 pounds and has a 21inch barrel. it's almost to light which makes it awkward to sling

I overthink everything.

 

[osprey]

For you and your outlined parameters I think you would not have to look any further than .a .308. For me a 20" tube and chambered in 7mm-08 would tickle my fancy.

 

[Joe13]

12ga or 30-06 for me

308 for a 16-18" barrel though

 

[pharmseller]

I'm wondering why you would want to shoot lefty as well as righty.




P

 

[Joe13]

I'm wondering why you would want to shoot lefty as well as righty.




P

Tactical corners

 

[pharmseller]

Tactical corners

Good point, I hadn't considered shooting from cover.



P

 

[Member 5605]

I can get 2700fps out of a 20" .308

 

[2DaMtns]

I'm wondering why you would want to shoot lefty as well as righty.




P

I don't want to do it routinely. But if I can shoot acceptably well left handed, I can cover a lot more ground by only moving the rifle and not my whole body. It basically doubles my effective area while minimizing movement. Most of the places I've found to hunt don't offer shots more than 75 yards, so it's a bigger deal than if I was shooting one from the next ridge. And it will be a lot easier to shoot minute of vital area at that range.

 

[2DaMtns]

Also, I broke my right arm twice when I was a kid, and got used to doing a lot of things kind of ambidextrously. I swing a bat and axe the way lefties do. I can still write fairly legibly left handed. Figured it ought to be a fairly mild learning curve but will find out soon enough. Have a lever action 22 I'll start with, then the .357, then the BLR (when I buy it).

 

[DeanMk]

...changing my answer....

I'm a big fan of 7mm-08 and .358 Winchester, so my suggestion would be for either of those.
You're going to be doing this to a BLR.
I hunted for years with a 94 Winchester. My dad came up with the idea of setting the front sling swivel way out near the end of the barrel.
This way, the end is not so prone to catch on overhanging branches.
I just measured his gun and the front of the swivel sits about 7.5" away from the end of the barrel.
When slung on your shoulder, this puts the barrel of the gun just over your shoulder.
You, unfortunately, don't have the advantage of attaching the swivel to the barrel, so how long would the barrel be if you cut it so that it stuck about 8" past the end of the forearm?
You could even go a little longer, if it makes you feel better. Maybe 10"-12" past the end of the forearm.
I would advise not going to short with the barrel (and 16 1/4" is too short in my mind). You lose performance as the barrel gets shorter, so try to work with the minimum amount.
...but really, the barrel on the BLR is only 20". That's not short enough?
Also, I would urge you to think about a low powered scope.
1.5-6X would be perfect if you could find one.
1.5X is great for deep woods hunting, because it allows you to "see" through the brush without losing too much perspective of where it is you're looking (especially nice in low light conditions, like early in the morning).
On the other end, 6X is strong enough to allow you to easily see a target 200 yards away.
...but its a hard power range to find.
You might have to go with 2-7X, as those are a dime a dozen.
A compromise for use, but its better than the giant 50X scopes you see "hunters" usually sport these days.


Dean

 

[lucky guy]

A 308 shooting 150 ttsx's over H4895 if it's accurate in your rifle.

I agree with Dean about 20" bbl length. You'll get decent velocity, and even a 308 size cartridge gets a little loud if you go too short.

 

[2DaMtns]

I've got a 1.75-5x scope I'll put on it. It'll be all I'll ever need on it. And I figure I'll just get the 20" BLR and carry it a bunch and see if I need to shorten it any.

 

[DirectDrive]

The new-ish family of Ruger Compact Magnums would be worth a look for this project.
On my phone, otherwise I'd put up some links.

Ruger RCM was my first thought when I read the thread title.

 

[DeanMk]

I've got a 1.75-5x scope I'll put on it. It'll be all I'll ever need on it. And I figure I'll just get the 20" BLR and carry it a bunch and see if I need to shorten it any.

HOLD THE PHONE!!!

When you wrote "The base rifle is gonna be a stainless BLR,…", are you saying that is the rifle you're thinking about using and NOT the rifle you already have?

If so, THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING.

If you're not limited to a BLR, because its the rifle you already have and its economically more feasible to you to use what you already have, then there are other choice you can look into.

For instance, two Remington's come to mind right off the bat.

The Model 7 and The Model 660.

Both gun are lightweight, accurate rifles that are based on a short action and feature 18.5" barrels!
The Model 7 is still available and has always featured the 7mm-08 as one of its chamberings.
In fact, its literally the "7mm-08 rifle". The two go together like ham and eggs!
The 660 was a product of the 1960's and 1970's. Features a laminated stock and was chambered for the very powerful .350 Remington Magnum.

Try to limit yourself as little as possible when designing a rig. There's SO MANY options out there, offered by so many manufacturers, its almost mind boggling.

...that being stated...

If you're already dead set on a BLR, because you must have one, then fine.
There's nothing wrong with that gun, or any Browning firearm. They're all high quality and accurate pieces.

If that's the fact, though, you should've stated that in your opening statement. We can't help you unless we know what it is you're asking about.

...consider this thread, now blown, wide open.

 

[2DaMtns]

That IS the rifle I'm gonna use. But I don't own it yet. I've looked at the sevens, 600's, Kimber Adirondacks and similar. I've considered about every commercially made option I'm aware of, and the BLR is what I've decided on, mainly because I want a lever action.

 

[DRZ400S]

The original what? Short action magnum commercial failure chambered in the ugliest rifle?

I have a 350 Rem Mag M-7 not ugly at all. Its lightweight and drops anything, I shoot in it's tracks!

 

[madmax]

308, Brake action, 16" threaded

 

[DeanMk]

The original what? Short action magnum commercial failure chambered in the ugliest rifle?

I don't think the model 600/660 was so terrible looking....



....guess this is a case of The Eye of The Beholder.

 

[orygun]

I don't think the model 600/660 was so terrible looking....

View attachment 693788

....guess this is a case of The Eye of The Beholder.

In the early 70's, when I was just a wet behind the ears punk, I drooled over those Remingtons! They just floated my boat. In fact, they are one of the few Remington rifles that still hold my interest. Anyone got one in 350 Rem Mag they wanna part with?

 

[JRuby]

I would think the 358win would be perfect in this setting. Large bullet short range but a reloadlng proposition. Some one would need to put it together. It would be my choice.