To cut or not to cut

[Jamie]

Shorter barrels mean less velocity, not less accuracy.

More importantly than the roughly half-pound of weight savings is the BALANCE you will gain from the shorter barrel.


And I would have to agree with this statement.


17" McGowen barrel at 100 yards 2 months ago, then same load today at 931 yards. You can see the fresh hits.


http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e112/sigshooter13/86ed985c-6529-4fbf-9ea8-b1b4cebe8305.jpg (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/sigshooter13/media/86ed985c-6529-4fbf-9ea8-b1b4cebe8305.jpg.html)
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e112/sigshooter13/20140515_174709.jpg (http://s38.photobucket.com/user/sigshooter13/media/20140515_174709.jpg.html)

[bflee]

I cut a 26" bull down to 20" and made a gun I use out of a closet queen! If its a bull like mine was it will make a huge difference in how balanced and handy it is. Accuracy was not affected at all and I only use it for hunting so Have not lost anything worth mentioning in velocity. I have a 6.5CM for long range. I cut the barrel myself and it turned out great. I did cut it at 21" first to see if I could do it!

[Chrazy-Chris]

My Hog Hunter is 20" and so far, initial load development is better than 1/2 inch at 100 yds. I don't think yours should be any different if you let the barrel cool between shots. Some cartridges (30-06) suffer at that length, 308 does not seem to at all, accuracy wise. It will lose a little velocity, but not accuracy.

I was just thinking about how accurate some people are getting their hog hunters to shoot when I read your question. I have a 24" 308 but I bought it for 1000yrd shooting. If I was using it for hunting I would want a 20", too. It seems that the key to cutting a barrel and maintaining accuracy is a quality re-crown, so if it were me I'd be willing to pay more than $50 bucks.