How does a 243 do in a 20" barrel vs how a 308 does in a 20" barrel?

Thanks

I have 2 20" 243s, a Remington 660 and Remington 7 and 2 20" 308s, also a 660 and a 7. All 4 rifles are capable of shooting good groups and, in general, the 20" 243s perform about like any other 243 and the 20" 308s perform about like any other 308.

My current favorite 243 is a Remington 700 parts gun that features a 700 ADL action, 700 BDL/SPS bottom metal, and a 24" stainless SPS barrel all bedded in a McM Remington 7 style stock. It is a little on the heavy side, but it balances well and shoots good groups.

My current favorite 308 is another Remington 700 parts gun that features a 700 ADL action, Williams 700 ADL trigger guard, 700 MR/Ti 22" barrel all bedded in a 700 Ti stock. Not too heavy, not too long, just about right.

Jeff

Have a 20" barrel on my Model 7 .243. Will shoot as straight as you can hold it. Balance is nice with the Bansner stock it sits in.

Dave

my 243 has a 21" barrel. shot great to 460 yards (the farthest i could shoot) about a month ago

Wife hunts with a 243 sporting a 20" tube. It is a remington SPS youth. I just replaced the stock with a standard SPS takeoff, and I can't hardly get her to let me use it anymore. Very accurate little booger, and handy as all get out. Thinking seriously about having my stainless sps in 7/08 trimmed back to 21" myself.

Both would be perfecto with 20" tubes. Anything from 18" to 22" is ideal for a short action round. opinions may vary, but why bother with long tubes.

CLB

I have a Remington 600 in .243,6mm,and .308.
All have 18.5 inch barrels and all are deadly accurate,lightweight,and have never failed to fall game.
And when it's late in the evening it's pretty neat to see the flame that comes jetting out of that barrel.

Kind of a vague question. Not sure what you mean by how it does. Performance, accuracy, ease of handling lighter to carry? Unless you want to wring every last FPS (are a velocity worshipper) it probably doesn't matter accuracy-wise. There is however a balance here. I don't consider 22" a "long tube". One greatly overlooked aspect of short tubes is muzzle blast. I had a Remington Model 7 in .204 Ruger with 20" tube. Recoil none. Muzzle blast-oh yeah. Not a fun gun to shoot. The only 20" or less guns I now have are both small caliber and truck or tractor guns. I think a .243 with a 20" barrel would be a fun gun to shoot-once before I got rid of it.

I'm with carlm, not sure exactly what you're asking. Not with him on the aspects of a 20" .243. The .243 in my son's 20" 700 ADL Youth did well enough to take his first elk last year, which is all that really matters to me. It's the first .243 in the family so I don't have much to compare it to in that caliber, but I certainly don't find muzzle blast to be excessive. It's about the quietest centerfire I've shot. That is comparing it mainly to 22" to 24" larger bore rifles from .270 to .338 and .35 Whelen. Won't count the .45-70 Guide Gun with porting.

My 21" Kimber shot standard (as in not hot) 165 grain handloads at just over 2,700 fps and Federal HE 180 gr. NPs in the mid 2,700 range. I don't think I would have lost much with another inch off the barrel. I will eventually have my new Featherweight .308 cut to 20".

Yes my question was kinda vague sorry, yes I was referring to velocity loss and muzzle blast. I am looking at putting a youth 243 in a TI take-off and was curios to peoples experience with a 20" barrel.

Thanks again

If you're using it for big game/coyote type stuff, I wouldn't worry about it; although I haven't chronoed it to really know how much velocity is lost versus the more typical 22" barrel. I've heard wonderful things about 700 Youth models in Ti stocks as far as handling and balance. With the plastic stock, they are are little clunky.

I think you're on the right track. If you want/need a 20" barrel I would worry about velocity or muzzle blast. I shoot a 243 out of a 15" barreled handgun and muzzle blast is noticeable but not too bad even at that length.

..........carlm............Well the next time you happen to be in So Caleee-fornia, I`ll take ya to the range and you can reeeeeeally have some great fun shooting these two `lil pea shooters. I`ll even cook up some good reloads for ya too.

You`ll love these! ......A 16.5" barreled 300 WSM Ruger Frontier and then followed up with a 20" barreled 375 Ruger Alaskan.........Say 40 rounds apiece???