Savage 12 FV .308

Good morning. I think this is my first post on this forum but I have read a lot of posts. I have a question for people a lot smarter than I am.

I have a 12 FV .308 with a 26" barrel. I have not been very happy with this rifle so far but I have not shot it a lot. I do NOT like the stock at all. I am planning on buying a B&C Medalist stock from Stocky's. I wanted to get your thoughts on cutting the 26" barrel down to 20" when I take the barrel to get threaded? The purpose of cutting it down is to reduce the length of the rifle and the weight. The twist is 1:10 and I see other .308 rifles that are 18"-20" but I don't want to impact the accuracy or distance.

Thanks for your input!

velocity will suffer. Trade off.

What’s the rifle for? 1000yds an in? A 20” barrel will be fine and dandy. Do you want a real bench gun to shoot really well with lighter recoil? Then I wouldn’t cut it. If you need a more compact gun for the safe and carrying you might want to look at a folding stock.


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Originally Posted by gredden

Good morning. I think this is my first post on this forum but I have read a lot of posts. I have a question for people a lot smarter than I am.

I have a 12 FV .308 with a 26" barrel. I have not been very happy with this rifle so far but I have not shot it a lot. I do NOT like the stock at all. I am planning on buying a B&C Medalist stock from Stocky's. I wanted to get your thoughts on cutting the 26" barrel down to 20" when I take the barrel to get threaded? The purpose of cutting it down is to reduce the length of the rifle and the weight. The twist is 1:10 and I see other .308 rifles that are 18"-20" but I don't want to impact the accuracy or distance.

Thanks for your input!

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Best i recall from reading on cutting barrels, you could lose as much as 20 fps per inch you cut off. Not significant. Here's a guy who ran a test on it: https://rifleshooter.com/2014/12/308...ty-28-to-16-5/

Sorry if against the rules to post a link. Please delete if so and accept my apologies.

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Originally Posted by hamiltonkiler

What’s the rifle for? 1000yds an in? A 20” barrel will be fine and dandy. Do you want a real bench gun to shoot really well with lighter recoil? Then I wouldn’t cut it. If you need a more compact gun for the safe and carrying you might want to look at a folding stock.


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I will use it for target shooting and hunting. I have never made a 1000 yard shot but would really like to. I will be using this rifle for hog hunting.

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Originally Posted by TXRoadlizard

Best i recall from reading on cutting barrels, you could lose as much as 20 fps per inch you cut off. Not significant. Here's a guy who ran a test on it: https://rifleshooter.com/2014/12/308...ty-28-to-16-5/

Sorry if against the rules to post a link. Please delete if so and accept my apologies.

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I saw something like this while researching. Going to 20" would be about 110 fps loss. In my mind that would not make much of a difference at all.

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Originally Posted by gredden

I will use it for target shooting and hunting. I have never made a 1000 yard shot but would really like to. I will be using this rifle for hog hunting.

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Yea then I would hack it off nice and short. [emoji3]


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Took mine down to 18" and it really removes a lot of front end weight making easier to swing side to side. I crowned it with nothing more than a shell deburrer and it still shoots 1/2" groups.

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Originally Posted by celltech

Took mine down to 18" and it really removes a lot of front end weight making easier to swing side to side. I crowned it with nothing more than a shell deburrer and it still shoots 1/2" groups.

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Thats awesome. What kind of factory rounds does yours like?

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Originally Posted by gredden

Thats awesome. What kind of factory rounds does yours like?

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Federal GMM was the only factory load I tried. Then I made handloads with 150gr SST's.

Cutting it down will definitely effect top velocity as well as your ability to track a target at distance, or shoot fine groups because of less mass forward.

If it were me, I'd cut it to 21 3/4" and thread for a tuner. Then pick the ammo suited for the purpose and adjust the tuner until you get the accuracy you require. A great tuner/brake is made by Harrells. http://harrellsprec.com/index.php/products/tuner-brakes

A choate tactical stock would be a not very expensive upgrade and be useable for your intended purposes.https://www.eabco.net/Choate-Tactica...s_p_14690.html

Cut it down and you will be just fine. Lose a little knock down power but at end of day it’s all shot placement anyways.

I've chopped a few. I enjoyed the lighter weight but disliked the increased muzzle blast. I also lamented the 150 fps I gave up.

When I've taken a heavy barreled target rifle hunting I quickly got tired of carrying it and the target scope was hard to use for close/fast shots.

When target shooting with a lightweight hunting rifle I've wished for more weight and a higher magnification scope.

So my advice would be to keep your heavy barrel and set the rifle up for target shooting and then get another rifle with a sporter weight barrel for hog hunting.

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Originally Posted by Texas10

Cutting it down will definitely effect top velocity as well as your ability to track a target at distance, or shoot fine groups because of less mass forward.

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No question about loss of velocity.
Please explain your reasoning for the others. "Ability to track a target at a distance"; how so? Rifle doesn't have open sights (which only affect sight radius if the barrel is shortened, not ability to see the target), and it's completely irrelevant on a scoped rifle.

Ability to shoot groups?
A lot of variables here, and I do not understand what you mean by "less mass forward".
Competition shooters where weight is not a factor will always go with heavy contour barrels because their "mass" has greater ability to absorb heat from target strings. They will typically be long enough to maximize velocity because every little bit of bullet flight time that can be taken off is beneficial- but this will be of no consequence to casual shooters.

OP, if 20" makes it more manageable for your intended use, go for it. Fine for your application. Another shout out for Harrells, their muzzle devices are reasonably priced and effective- there's a drawer in my shop with a dozen of their brakes in it as I use, and recommend them frequently.

There is no correlation between barrel length, and accuracy. Sometimes shortened barrels of a light contour may exhibit better accuracy because shorter = stiffer, and this may improve harmonics. While a .308 can remain supersonic at 1000 yards even from a 20" barrel- it's far from a practical choice for that discipline. If you have a chance to bang some steel, practice out to 500-600 yards until you're competent; then you have a good excuse to buy/build another stick more capable for long-range endeavors.

I cut my 12fv down to 18 inches and never regretted it. It's a little louder, but a whole lot easier to carry, shoot, store in a case or safe.

Have a Savage 10 in .308 with a 20 inch barrel and always think it looks a little short. The 26 inch barrel of the the 12FV does look long, for appearances I think 22 inch looks right, guess that's what most of my hunting rifles have so that's what I would have one cut down to.