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

Now that gunnut is a lean mean shooting machine and I love it! Pretty much exactly what I'd love in a .260 or a .308.

Dober

..............What you are going through, I`ve been there/done that. FWIW, I`ll offer my compact experience and why I own the brand of compact that I do. However, you choose the best compact rifle for your needs for handling, feel, barrel length, rifle OAL, chambering and so on.

Only you can best decide what barrel length and rifle OAL best suits your particular needs where better manuvering and handiness are concerned. You know your particular hunting situations better. I will tell you that the shorter OAL the rifle is, the better and easier the overall manuverability will be.

I like the shorty bolt carbines and have owned one since `07 for some of the same reasons or situations you`re talking about of which I also hunt in; ie from confined stands, in dense brush. I hate it when a muzzle or barrel gets hung up when slinged over the shoulder or while carrying the rifle by other ways, or if the barrel gets caught on something when in a confined stand. I wanted a compact rifle that can be quickly shouldered while also very capable of an open country 500 yard elk shot if needed.

My 300 WSM Ruger Frontier compact "for me" is ideal in those situations. At 6'3" 230 lbs, it is not too small a rifle. I use a Limbsaver slip on recoil pad if needed, which after a 3 second or less installation increases the LOP from 12.5" to 13.5". Or I can keep it off and leave the LOP at 12.5" when wearing thicker clothing. With the recoil pad on or off, the rifle butt doesn`t hang up on clothing when shouldering.

Many don`t like the shorty compacts in general because of muzzle blast, extra noise, and balance issues. I understand that.

The older Ruger Frontiers (some NIBers still around btw) differ from the newer Ruger compacts in several ways which imo are better.

Unlike the newer Ruger compacts, the Frontier optic options versatility is virtually unmatched. You can use a conventionally mounted scope, a fast EER scout scope, or just about any fast red dot. I use a conventional scope, a scout scope, and am looking at buying a quality red dot later on. Optics for any situation. Either one can be swapped out within a minute of each other while all holding their zeroes in the process.

Unlike all or most other short barreled light weight compacts where rifle balance is an issue for many, the Frontier uses a heavier barrel than do the newer version Ruger compacts. The Frontiers also have the additional (forward of the receiver) scout mount that the newer Ruger compacts don`t have. Those two combined for added barrel weight on the Frontier offer better balance imo than do the lighter tubed non scout Ruger compacts and other brand rifle compacts I`ve handled.

For deer, 250 to 300 yard kill shots from most cartridges chambered in the older Frontiers or in the newer Ruger compacts should be no problem. Don`t be fooled by that shorty 16.5" barrel, thinking that gobs of velocity are lost vs the 24" barrels. When using many varieties of identical handloadings side by side with two 300 WSM 24" ers over several weeks of extensive experimenting, mine ran on average 4.3% to 4.5% behind on the chrony. So anywhere from 4.5% to 6% of speed loss is a good ball park range. That probably holds true regardless of chambering where the Ruger compacts are concerned. I don`t think your deer or any hog will notice a 4.5% to a 6% velocity decrease.

Aside from balance, owning any shorty compact has some compromising drawbacks or tradeoffs. Extra noise and/or muzzle blast. No way around those two. While you gain a faster, more compact and easier handling/carrying rifle, you must deal with the added noise and/or blast. In those two depts, I am not bothered in the least. That`s just me. Some and most on the other hand, don`t have the tolerance level. My muffs when on the range and Walker Game Ears in the field work for me just fine.

Along with a trigger swap in `07, I had it bedded and floated earlier this year. Darn thing is one accurate shooter.

For your use and assuming your kill shots for deer and hogs are as you say "99% of the time" within 100 yards, then a 243, a 260, or a 7/08 chambered in a Ruger Frontier, the newer Ruger compact or in another brand of compact rifle all-together of your choosing with either of those chamberings would be perfectly ideal.

As long as you are aware of the compromises or drawbacks of the compacts and can handle them well, you can`t go wrong with using a compact in certain hunting situations.

Love my handy 300 WSM `lil Ruger boomer. That thing is not for the faint, and is not the chambering for your use.....:D

Good luck shoppin around.

I've done a lot of stand and blind hunting hunting so I know how you feel. I've been very happy with how my Ruger no. 1 RSI '06 and Hawkeye compact 6.8 handled in the blind. My Rem. 600 would also work very well for such hunting, though I've never used it.

You should treat yourself to a no. 1 RSI in 7x57. Find one with nice wood so you can enjoy looking at it while you wait for something to show up. Sounds like you already have the right bullets on hand, new dies and brass ain't no thang!

On a Model 7, 20". On a Model 600, 18.5". It's all about balance.



DMc

20"

The 338 federal is the most efficient of these cartridges with a short barrel. Velocity loss is about 15 fps for inch of barrel where as the other rounds will lose around 30 fps per inch of barrel and have more muzzle blast. Any of these cartridges will kill easily at 300 yds with an 18" barrel.

Shod

What are the spec's on this rifle? Damn nice!

Never have understood the muzzle blast issue with the short barreled carbines. My son hunts with a Ruger Compact 7-08 and with ear protection at range it is a non-issue and neither one of us has really noticed more than our longer barreled rifles in the field.

I know you lose velocity with the short barrel but as I have been taught quite passionately here on the 'fire, bullets from shorter barrels don't bounce off deer and as long as I know where they are hitting, shots at longer range really aren't an issue.

For carrying and handling in tight spaces that little Ruger is pretty sweet.

I like around a 20", If you will be rebarreling and you intend use the rifle primarly as a "box blind" rifle think about moving up one contour. It will be short but still enough weight forward to make it rock steady when shooting. It might be a little heavy, but thats not an issue if you are just carrying it to the blind.

I think 20" is a good length, its short enough to feel handy..but muzzle blast doesn't seem any worse than a 22"

I have a 20" 358 win with a 2.5 contour ER shaw barrel (the 2.5 from er shaw is like a #4 Douglas) and its a great rifle, short and easy to move around and heavy enough to be easy to shoot. Even if ER Shaw isn't everyones favorite barrel maker this one out shoots every cut rifle barrel I have.

I gotta agree with the folks who say 20" I have a Ruger M77 RSI in .308 and that 18.5" barrel is loud. Especially when shot from a covered shooting bench. So go 20" your ears will thank you.

Guys I understand the noise on the ears from the shorter barrels but I use ear protection in the field and especially at the range. I wish I had started using protection in the field years ago but I did when I started my girls hunting & shooting. These are easy to use. Before we shoot we just slid them on.

Below are the ear bands we use.

20" barrel is what I like. doesn't pick up too many branches as you're climbing into the deer stand. 22" ain't too shabby, and really seems to be a lot better than a 24" to me. When I take the 26" barrel Sendero hunting, it hits everything I go past.

But using the barrel length as the only measurement can be deceptive. I have a long action Vanguard with a 24" barrel and a long action Winchester FW with a 22" barrel, and when you lay them out side by side, the rifles are almost exactly the same overall length.