Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What barrel length for a carbine bolt action?

As I was sitting in my shooting house/box blind this past weekend, I again got to thinking about my desire for a short barrel carbine rifle. As I shouldered the rifle to take possible shots at deer that never appeared, my 24 �barreled rifle was very clumsy to maneuver around. If I had to make a quick shot at some angles getting the rifle into position may have been an issue.

Looking at the barrel on my rifle I got to thinking what would be the best barrel length for me? For 99% of my hog and deer hunting the shots will be less than 100 yds. but as is the case this past weekend, while hunting the orchard I could have a shot out to 300 yds. So what barrel length works for shots at 30 yds. to out to 300 yds.? Most carbine rifles come with 20� barrels but I am not sure if that is short enough, the older model sevens had 18.5� barrels and the Ruger Compacts have 16.5� barrels.

What length do you guys feel is right for hunting in stands, pop up blinds, shooting houses and the thick woods but can stretch out to 250-300 yds. if that is what is needed?

How tall are you roughly? I'm about 5'10" and a short action rifle w/a 22" barrel feels about right to me. If you're not concerned about velocity the shorter the better to a point. I'd say anywhere from 18 - 22" is a good combination of velocity and handyness in .308 based cartridges. Keep in in mind, you want enough barrel to counter-balance the weight of the action which varies by maufacturer, otherwise, if the barrel is too short and light, the butt of your rifle wants to drop when you lift it to your shoulder.

21", no shorter no longer it's the magic number...and .6" at the mzl.

Dober

Depends on the case capacity, but I'd say 20 to 22"

I have one at 20" and another at 21".

If you're in a stand, blind or house, I don't see much benefit of a carbine. But for carrying thru brush, carbines rule.

I like 20" in .308, 7mm-08, and the like. 18" is getting kind of blasty for me. Balance also becomes an issue with really short barrels, especially the really thin ones. A 20" medium sporter barrel and a reasonably light stock will give good balance, whereas a 20" pencil barrel in a laminated handle will often be of poor balance.

I mainly want a shorter barrel for the handiness of it in the blinds. I am 6'4" and full grown so there is not a lot of maneuveruring with me and a 24" barreled rifle. I do a lot of spot & stalk for hogs too and pushing the brush with a more compact rifle would be appreciated too.

I enjoy hunting and shooting my 260 and 308 with a 20" barrel, never really enjoyed 16" centerfires due to noise, the 18s are tolerable.

For a short rifle, the Encore platform is hard to beat as you can keep barrel length a little longer and still have a short OAL. There is even a collapsable 6 position stock that fits the Encore which can shrink OAL even more.

20" is just right for some of the stands/blinds I use, and 300 yards is not a safe distance away from the short barrel for a deer to hang around.

I have a BUNCH of 21" tubed rifles and that's about my standard. That said I have a few 20" that I love and the newest RSI 250 Savage with an 18.5" tube is nice. Not much blast from a 250 Savage but I'd not want a 25/06 with an 18.5" tube.

I'd say 20".

I have a couple 21"s also and like them. I used a Ruger 308 with 18.5" out of a box blind and it was deafening. Plus I do not like the feel/balance of the shorter barrel.....

Cartridge will be one of the following: .257 Roberts; 7mm-08; .270 or .338 Federal.

Start at 20" and go from there. If you think it's too long, cut another 1" off and so on.

I'd not go too light, the M7 with an 18.5" tube is a miserable handling rifle to me, far to muzzle light.

The worst thing you can do is shoot a short barreled carbine from an enclosed tower stand. I had a 18.5" Model Seven in 7mm-08 that would blow fireballs at dusk....

The Ruger compact is not bad with a mild cartridge like the 6.8 SPC. The rifle is a little to small for my liking.

Had a 22" barreled Ruger Hawkeye in .338 Federal that wasn't bad from a tower stand.

21" is perfect for a short action.

I had a tough tough time trying to decide this same thing on my last build. My favorite Win 94 was a 16" Trapper, my favorite 10/22 has a 16.5" barrel on it. But when I wanted to do a .243 I had a tough time pullin my head from my behind. First 18, then 20, the back to 18, then maybe 19. Settled on 18.5". I can tell you it was much appreciated in a blind a month or so ago. Personally, I think you'll be happy with anything 18-20".

Speaking from experience; a 20" 270 has a lot of muzzle blast - the ringing in my ears as I type this can be traced back to my first 270 with a 20" barrel - and lack of hearing protection. JOC once said of a short barreled 270 he tried that "...it would knock the ears off a brass Buddha" (if I recall it correctly).

A 270 burns 10 or more grains of powder than does a 7mm-08 and I notice the difference in blast.

So of the cartridges you listed a 270 would be my last choice in a short barrel.

I agree that blast could be an issue with a 270. If I went 270 I would load this down to about 7x57 velocities with a 150 gr. Partition.

The cartridges I listed are the ones I want to choose from because I have so many components hoarded for these.

I have experience with all of the cartridges you list except the 338 Fed.

I'd go for a 7mm-08 with a 20" barrel. I bought a M70 compact in that caliber for my DIL and it had a 20" barrel. It did not seem too objectionable.

Even when hunting now I try not to shoot without hearing protection. A few years ago did some hunting w/o protection and a 257 R. made my ears ring. Tinnitus is nothing to take lightly. Until a couple of months ago I had just a little that I would notice when things were very quiet. But all of a sudden it is much louder and pretty much constant. Can't put my finger on a reason for the change. Talking to my Dr. didn't help. He said it just gets worse as you get older -- and I am older .

I've got one of the Ruger 223's with the 16.5" barrel, it'll get your attention pretty quick. Mom shot at a coyote off her covered carport with it one time, she said her ears didn't feel the same literally months afterwards.

I would go with a 20" barrel in the 7-08 And shoot a fast powder. Forget the 270 in a barrel that short. The 6.8 in a 20" tube really interests me, and it still shots the same bullets as the 270.