Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Lightweight short barrel hunting rifle?

I have tried some shorter barreled hunting rifles, since I hunt here in the northeast as well as out west;and frequently hunt thicker cover out there, too.

Being honest with myself I have yet to find anything much better than a pre 64 M70 FW chambered 30/06 with a 22" barrel.A light synthetic does not hurt.The rifle and chambering just works.

I do use a 270 just like it now and then. I have also liked a 7/08 but that one had a 20" barrel...I really did not like it as well and would prefer 22".

If I were in Alaska or Africa I might consider a light 375H&H with a 22-23" barrel.

I agree Bob, my years of short barreled rifles are behind me, and the shortest I'll use anymore is 21", with 22'-24" suiting me better, depending.

My 308 Kimber MT has such a short receiver, that its 22" barrel "feels" shorter.

Both my M70 375 H&H's had 22" barrels, and that's as short as I'd go with that round. 4 of my 338 WM's had 22" barrels, which is about right, but I'd definitely not go shorter. Had a 22" bbl'd 300 WSM, but think the round needs a 23-24" barrel, and wouldn't go any shorter than 23."

And so on...

I shoot a TC Encore with a 17" MGM barrel in .260 Rem. Brad is right - the perceived muzzle blast when I have it set up as a carbine is noticeably worse than when shooting it as a pistol.

I've had Rem. 600's in .308 and .243 and an early 700 ADL in .30-06 w/ a 20" bbl. My view is that the short action rounds have less muzzle blast (noise and flame) than the long ones, so much so that I re-barrelled the .30-06 w/ a 24" .270 bbl. The 18.5" on the M600 .308 was also pretty "active", so my current bush gun is a Kimber Classic in .308 w/ the barrel shortened to 20". Blindfolded, I have a hard time telling the difference between it and my Rem. 504 (until the trigger is pulled). This is about as much noise and recoil as I am willing to tolerate any more, and the short, light receiver makes up for any weight/handiness saving you might get with a shorter barrel.

Just my 2 cents.

Matching cartridge to barrel length is the key. I've had short barreled .350 Rem Mag, 376 Steyr and even a 18.5" barreled 7mm-08 that where real flame throwers.

Cartridge efficiency is key to short barrels. I generally do not have any shoots past 350 yards, so a "big gun" is not needed.

The original poster needs for Elk might rule out any cartridge suitable for super short barrels (16"-18").

If going with a .308 based cartridge I would recommend 19" plus.



Going lower than 18.5" it would be something in the smaller class.

6.8 SPC is pleasant out of super short 16.5" barrels.

I'd not go below 20" anymore, though I do own some 18.5s. They're too loud for me in anything past a 223.

I prefer 21 or 22 for all-around.

Brad: Yup!

At the end of the day for me it's 22" to 24" on a BG rifle.

I just wrapped up a 20" Kimber MT build in .308. Shooting it tomorrow for the first time.

That looks very nice. It appears that you put a bit heavier contour on it than factory?

No sir, just trimmed it back to 20".

Ceracote and a repaint?

Looks very nice.

IonBond metal finish and I'm buddies with some guys at McMillan, so I had them shoot the stock with their textured black paint.

This started off as a half-hearted "I think it would be cool if..." sort of project, and it turned out to be a pretty sweet rifle in the end. I'll know if it's a keeper after I shoot it tomorrow.

Thank you.

Did you bed it?

I'm not familiar with IonBond, will have to look that one up.

Let us know how it shoots... again, really nice work, looks great!

Yes, pillar bedded. If it doesn't shoot, I'll set the bbl back a revolution and use a match reamer to clean it up. If THAT doesn't work, I'll have a Krieger screwed onto it.

Thank you for the compliments! After handling it, I'm pretty dedicated to making this form factor work.

I'll post target pic's under a new thread over the weekend.

Thank again!

I myself prefer 18-20" on most of my hunting rifles. Though my Ruger 338 still wears a 24" barrel plus muzzlebrake for a total length of around 25.5" and my Kimber Talkeetna still has the standard 24" barrel on it as well though I wish it was around 21".

I find the balance is still fine with 18"-20" in my rifles and still can shoot them fine. But mine are strictly for hunting so not really too concerned about if my 3 shots can be covered by a time, but more or less concerned that its within 1.5" at 100 yards and I can still keep it inside 6" circle from field positions at 300 yards.

I really like short rifles with 18-20 inch barrels. But, over the years, I've found I shoot better with a 24 inch barrel, especially on running game.
I have the impression that a longer barrel puts more weight out in front where it allows the rifle to swing more smoothly and allows the rifle to settle down faster as I'm getting ready to shoot.
I'm also of the opinion that one should buy his rifles as he wants them. If you can't decide between say a 22 inch barrel and a 24 inch one, then buy it with a 24 inch barrel and hunt it a few seasons. After that, you may or may not want to cut it shorter. E