Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters .30-06 from 20" Barrel and .308 from 18" Barrel

Well, my quest for the ultimate truck and saddle bolt gun has brought me to two Rugers, the .308 Ruger Scout (18.7" model) and the Ruger Guide gun in .30-06.
There are things I like about both rifles. For instance, the Scout already has a peep sight and it's somewhat shorter and lighter; but, I prefer the Guide Gun's hinged floorplate and it doesn't have a ridiculous rail on the barrel that will leave empty screw holes when I take it off.
But one thing I don't know is how either of these cartridges perform from these barrels lengths. So, can anyone tell me how the muzzle blast of a .30-06 from a 20" barrel compares to a .308 from an 18" barrel?
Also, and I know I'm splitting hairs here, but does anyone have an idea about the velocity differences these two setups would show using factory ammunition?

18.7" barrel will be LOUD!

20" isn't all that bad for noise to me.

Anything less seems to be exponentially more annoying.

Wyoming262,

I have a super-accurate 20" barreled T/C Venture in .308. The Black Hills Match 175-grain BTHP load chronographs around 40-50 fps slower than in a couple of rifles with 22" barrels, which fits right in the with general rule of 25 fps/inch. Have killed several deer with the T/C and never noticed it being all that loud, but never tried an 18" barreled .308.

About 20 years ago had a custom .30-06 a military FN 98 Mauser action with a 20" barrel. It got just under 2900 fps with the 165-grain Ballistic and 58.5 grains of IMR4350, which is very close to the same velocity from the same load in several 22" barreled .30-06's. It also didn't seem all that much louder than 22" barreled .30-06's.

Years ago I bought a 19 inch 25-06 and my buddy tried to outdo me by ordering an identical rifle in 300 Win Mag.
They were both loud but he said after sighting his in he would put it away. It was to obnoxious to practice with.
I shot prairie dogs with some guys and they complained every time I fired.
whelennut

I have an 18" Ruger Predator in 308, have had a 20" Winchester carbine in 30-06. My brother had one of the 20" tang safety Rugers in 30-06.

Concerns over lost speed and noise are greatly exaggerated.

No the noise is not greatly exaggerated, I can certainly tell that the shorter barrel and higher exit pressure is louder. Considerably so.

you'll want ear protection even when hunting. i have both in 18" they're not bad otherwise.

I know I'm the uneducated one here asking the question, but I wonder just how much of the noise of short barrels depends on powders and loads. I've heard of people getting their Remington 7400 .30-06 carbines pretty quite with intelligent loading.

Jwp475, as long as somebody is telling the truth, you got no business discointing their own personal experiences; I'd expect every adult to know that. But then, I'd expect that quote in your signature line to make you feel pretty stupid by now too, so who knows.

You should go even shorter

The Rem 660, in 308 is not bad. The Model 7 18" 243 is loud.

My 760 carbine with 18 1/2 inch barrel in 30-06 is bearable to me for a shot or 2 at deer, but when sighting in or just shooting it I like ear protection.

Never had anyone else complain about it but I never shot in close proximity to anyone either.

I used to hunt in a swamp with my brother on a hill in a stand about 600-800 yards or so away from me, with other hunters sort of around my general vicinity. My brother said he could always tell when I shot a deer because the other rifles cracked, and mine was a loud boom.

Last weekend I was shooting a batch of a mild 308 target load (LC brass, 39.5 gr IMR3031, 168 Amax) through three rifles with 26", 24" and 20" barrels. Even with that easy going load and hearing protection, the blast from the 20" barrel clearly had more pop. It wasn't obnoxious, but it was noticeable.

Say it's not so!

I had a Rem Mohawk 600 in .243 that had an 18" barrel, and my daughter always said at the range that it was really loud, even from several tables down.

Now, I ALWAYS wear hearing protection, but I can say that the new 20" barrel I put on it in 7mm-08 is definitely more comfortable to shoot, sound-wise.

Well, I've owned .308s with 16.5, 18.5, 20, 22, and 24" barrels.

The general trend was that the shorter the barrel, the louder the muzzle blast...

To me all centerfires are loud. Some are just louder than others.

Remember a buddy who bought a .222 Remington when I was 20. This was back when hearing protection was just starting to be acceptable (not mandatory) for a lot of he-men, and I'd been reading for years about how part of the reason the .222 was such a good varmint round was it's "mild muzzle blast." So I didn't use any hearing protection when we took it out to shoot the first time. It was LOUD!

I'd expect that quote in bold to make you feel pretty stupid

New a guy who picked up a Sako Mannlicher carbine in 375H&H for cheap back in the 90s, sold it for cheap also.