Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire 22 vs 24 vs. 26 inch barrel on .308

Hey guys few different rifles i have been looking at purchasing for next elk season have barrel lengths ranging from 22-26 inches in length. What length do you guys recommend? Will the 22 inch barrel effect my guns accuracy? And also will the change in fps from 24 to 22 inches change the ballistics a lot? Most ammo companies test out of a 24 inch barrel and I can't find a lot of 22 inch barrel ballistics info. Please give me your experiences/ recommendations. Thanks

Personally, I like a 26' barrel on a commercial rifle for the additional velocity.

That said, there's a lot of other things I'd worry about first, such as overall accuracy. In that department, barrel quality will matter more then barrel length.

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These guys answer your questions as to velocity. As AS says, you can have accurate barrels of all lengths if they are of good quality.

https://rifleshooter.com/2014/12/30...arrel-length-versus-velocity-28-to-16-5/

I cut mine to 16 inches,and it still does everything I need it to do , all the way out to 1000 yds, very accurately. Benchmark barrel.

Both of my 308s - a Browning Lever Action and a Remington Model 7- have 20” barrels. Not crazy muzzle blast but definitely a little more than some other 308s out there. I’ve heard that shorter barrels are stiffer and tent to be more accurate but so much depends on the rifle and round itself that I’ve never seen much of a difference. I’d recommend the 22”, out of a short action round I don’t think you’ll gain a lot with a longer barrel except some hassle when walking through the bush.

For a hunting rifle, barrel length from 22 to 26 inches doesn't mean a thing.....(in all practicality).....it's simply a matter of personal preference....me?....I like 22"!

Accuracy is not affected by shortening a barrel and as a matter of fact may even improve it.....assuming the shortening is done with an appropriate crown.

A fair rule of thumb is that you rill lose about 25-35 FPS per inch shortening a barrel....if your loading data shows 3,000 FPS with a 26" barrel you may assume that from a 22" barrel velocity loss will be about 100 FPS.....No elk will ever know the difference.

Focus on gun handling and forget about the velocity....you'll be elk ahead of the game.

This!

I've always been a fan of shorter barrels....never worried about velocity loss because its not that great....why carry the extra weight of a long barrel....heavy timber or brush short is better.....

Look at it this way most AR-15's in 5.56 have 16" barrels....how many do you see with barrels over 16" not many....if people were that worried about velocity they would be putting longer barrels on.....

I've never seen a 308 with a 26" barrel. Most are 22", I believe and that's what I prefer with a 308, or shorter.

Somewhere between 18"and 22" is about all you need in a 308. Any velocity gains beyond 22" are minimal, and anything lost down to 18" is minimal. Between 18" and 24" expect to see 10-15 fps difference for each 1" of barrel. If you drop below 18" then you lose velocity in bigger chunks. Going longer than 22" and you won't see more than 5-10 fps for every inch.



There is no guarantee that rifle "A" with a 24" barrel will even shoot faster than rifle "B" with a 22" or even a 20" barrel. A difference of 25-50 fps between any 2 different barrels of the same length is typical, and I've seen as much as 130 fps difference. I've seen individual guns with 20" barrels shoot faster than other guns with 22" and equal some with 24" barrels.

I have four 308's with barrels of 18", 20" and 22". One of the guns with the 22" barrel is always 30ish fps faster than the other 22" gun. The faster 308 is only 60 fps faster than the 18" barrel and my handloads come within 20 fps of published 308 load data from 24" barrels. The slower 22" barrel only about 30 fps faster than the 18" rifle. The rifle with the 20" barrel is new to me and I've not shot it over a chronograph yet but I'd not be surprised if it isn't right with the 22" guns.

It comes down to handling. If you hunt elk in wide-open places, a longer barrel is fine. You'll cuss one if you hunt in heavy cover, crawling through blowdowns and vines.

Remington's had 'em for years.........

I saw an AR 10 with a 24 inch barrel and green stocks when I was a kid.

I still want one.

Yep, very common actually, well enough so that I am aware of them.

Happen to have a Rock 26 on our 308 but its not an elk gun...

Have a 28 on a 7mag...

I look at the 308 as a mid-range cartridge (about 100-350 yards for me) and prefer a 20" barrel on 308 rifles. I'd rather have the maneuverability in the woods, than the long distance. I'll use a 300WM if I think anything past 350 yards is in the forecast.

The shorter rifle is just easier to carry and shoulder in timber and brushy places. I don't worry about the velocity on the 308 because I'm not using it at the extreme end of it's effective hunting envelope.

Depends on how far you are going to carry it. If you just drive around on a 4-Wheeler then longer is fine. If you get out and walk then the shorter barrel is the way to go. 22" give good velocity and gets the noise away from the shooter enough. Should be good for 1/4 mile if the shooter is. Really no reason a good hunter needs to shoot elk over about 400 yards anyway.

I think I'd go up-cartridge before I'd go to a 26" 308. Even just stepping up to a 30/06 is worth something.

You have to know how far the 308 is good for on elk to you.

If I wasn't shooting more than say about 300 yards or so there is no way I'd have a long tube personally. Something on the order of about 20 inches would suffice for that part for me.

The reason for the long tube on our 308 is we use it on deer etc..... and am totally comfortable there out to 800 or so yards at this time.

That said, put the right bullet in the right spot and nothing much else matters.

The only bad thing is when you don't get the right shot or hit something you should not hit,thats were the margin of error of larger rounds MIGHT help. Might not either.

I've owned, or own, .308's with 26, 22 and 18 inch barrels. Frankly, if you are worried about velocity, don't be. As has been said, the elk won't notice the difference. Don't be worried about accuracy either. Any reasonably well made rifle will be plenty accurate enough. After all, the animal you need to kill is the size of a horse.
The big difference will come in rifle weight and handling characteristics. Are you going to walk a long way ? Doing any climbing at altitude ? As another experienced hunter here once said, "nobody comes back from a mountain hunt and wants a heavier rifle."
How are you going to be shooting and what distances ? Extra rifle weight makes hitting stuff way out there a lot easily. Particularly if you can't use a very solid rest. I once shot a group at 547 yds. from a sitting position with a shooting sling that measured 6 inches across for five rounds. The rifle was a 10.5 lb., 26 inch barreled .308. Can't do that with any of my lighter rifles. E