Thoughts on a 16" .308 hunting rig

[pepper savage 111]

Hi guys. I'm thinking about cutting my model 11 sporter to 16". Does anyone have any experience with hunting rigs this short? Better yet, pictures would be awesome.

Thanks!

[stomp442]

What's the reasoning behind such a short length? Short barrels are much louder and you effectively cut performance off with every inch.

[pepper savage 111]

So I will be primarily hunting in the north woods of wisconsin. Mostly deer and coyotes. I'm lucky if I find a clearing longer than 100 yards. The short barrel will be for ease of carrying as the woods are very thick.

From the articles I've read, .308 hardly loses velocity per inch cut. And since my shots will be so close, I seriously doubt the minimal loss of velocity from a short barrel will matter.

But more importantly, I love the look of carbines so I would like to have one.

As for the noise, we use electronic ear protection and since we hunt from the loft of my garage it won't be an issue. We've shot .308 strikers at tagets without any issues with noise (to us).

[daniel87]

You might look at say a .300 black out at 16 inches. That caliber burns all its powder way before 16 inches.
The 16 inch .308 win will work fine just understand you need to check on real world what your velocity is to verify the loads shot will expand at the impact velocity relative to the range.

Good luck and happy hunting

[pepper savage 111]

Thanks Daniel. Yeah I thought about 300 black out but I have 3 .308s and a ton of brass so I'd like to keep it as a .308. I think I should be good with a solid charge of IMR4064 and 150gr pills through a 16" barrel. I mean, the .308 strikers are game worthy so I'd imagine the 16" barrel shouldn't be an issue in terms of velocity/expansion.

[daniel87]

Thanks Daniel. Yeah I thought about 300 black out but I have 3 .308s and a ton of brass so I'd like to keep it as a .308. I think I should be good with a solid charge of IMR4064 and 150gr pills through a 16" barrel. I mean, the .308 strikers are game worthy so I'd imagine the 16" barrel shouldn't be an issue in terms of velocity/expansion.

On another forum with skill and a relativly heavy barrel people "made hits often" at 600 yards. Like i said velocity and drop.

I stuck with a 20 inch hog hunter barrel its small enough. when in brush i carry the rifle like an ar 15. Were the stock is up over shoulder and the barrel is down . It works for me. To me two inchs is the length of an aac black out flash hider

[snowgetter1]

I have found most barrels gain or lose about 25fps per inch added or removed to barrel length. You will be fine.

[jbjh]

I did (over-did) it.
http://savageshooters.com/showthread.php?t=31086

The blast, especially from the bench, is impressive to be sure. I can ring steel out to 700 yards pretty easy though. if I were to do it again, I would probably do 243, or 6.5.
I plan on hunting it in Texas with some 130gr TTSX loads

[LoneWolf]

You'll be fine at 16" if you stick to your stated plan. Plenty of buddies are hunting with 14.5" AR10's. Even out to 600+ yards. Right powder and bullet is the key. A good 150gr will do just about everything you want concerning North American game.

[Gary8907]

I found that I lost about 100 fps of velocity going from a 20" barrel to a 16" barrel in my .308. That's the same as "Snowgetter1" reported in his post above. You'll be fine going to a 16" barrel.

[pepper savage 111]

Awesome! Thanks guys.

[Stockrex]

I have an open sight short barrel walking/drive hunt rig, you will be fine.

[big honkin jeep]

Do it. No problem. Here's a 16" model 11 (not including brake.) Super handy little rig. I whacked a pretty good bit off the stock too.
Yeah it's been seen here a few times but here's a pic.

[lrshooting]

I don't personally think your gaining anything. I hunt some if the brushiest stuff I've ever been in right around home with a 22 inch barrel on a rem 700 and 28 inch shot gun with foster slugs. Never had a problem.

I did try a short gun one. Didn't like it. You can start to move the gun more like a pistol and you'll be pushing brush and realize the gun barrel is starting to point towards you or somebody else

But don't let that discourage you. That's just my personal opinion. Everybody situation is different. I like short guns for rabbit hunting for quick swings, I just don't think I do on edeer rifles.

[bsekf]

Nothing wrong with short barrels, as long ans they are legal. Better check your game laws if you are around the 16 inch mark.