G'day all,
I recently sold my 7mm08 Kimber Montana as part of my move to all LH rifles.
I have picked up a LH Tikka T3x and need to get the barrel threaded and shortened as will be using it suppressed most of the time. It will be a hunting rifle mainly.
With my LH T3x in 223 I got the barrel shortened to 19.5 inches - what is the ideal compromise for 7mm08 in terms of performance and handiness?
I have spent several days reading articles and it seems on the one hand people say anything shorter than 22 inches impacts on performance too much and on the other the view is trim it to 18 and stick with lighter projectiles.
I reload and with my Kimber I mainly stuck with 120gr projectiles (Nosler BTs for hunting and Vmax and ProHunter for practice and range work), however it would be nice not to be limited to light projectiles.
What have others found in shorter barrelled and/or suppressed 7mm08s?

I'd chop it to 18" and have a total oal of 24" with my suppressor. My 18" rigs seem to kill stuff great and I like the handling. Doubt your twist rate would support heavies so shorter barrel length would be where it was at for me.

As long as you are burning modern smokeless gunpowder, figure 25 fps or so for every inch of barrel. Heavy or light bullets, doesn't matter.
Charlie

Thank you both for your comments.

20” is a good compromise. That is what my 7-08AI is and I don’t have a problem with the OAL of the rifle at all.

18" or 18.5". Have several factory Fieldcrafts in this length that I use with suppressors, and they are perfect. Also have a 20" 223AI I use a suppressor on and it's a bit too long for my liking. All lighter hunting rifles like yours.

I’d consider the overall length at least as much if not more than the velocity. In 2007 I chopped my 7-08 to 20” (never shot it full length)
At first I was disappointed in velocity using single base powders like 4350. I tried N550 and it sang with 140gr at 2,800fps. Now I shoot 120gr BTs under N140 or H4895. Suppressors have moved on and my long heavy can could be replaced with a shorter lighter model for the same overall length on a 22” barrel but I doubt the difference is enough to worry about for the added cost.
High energy powders are your friend when keeping performance in shorter barrels. No doubt it’ll wear faster but no more than or better than a CM pushed hard

Leaning towards 19inches as my compromise.
Suppressor ordered this morning and should be here mid-next week.
Then off to gunsmith for barrel and bolt fluting and fitting of the suppressor.
So far I have only been using ADI powders (mainly 2208 which I believe is Varget equiv) but if I can get some of the other suggested powders I will give them a try.
Thank you all for your input.

I went 19" on a creed and like it.

I had one cut to 16” since my suppressor is almost 8”. I’ve never shot it unsuppressed. Between the kids and me we’ve killed 2 deer and 2 elk with it. The bullets haven’t bounced off any critter.

Now you are just rubbing it in! Man, I wish our elected officials weren't such pansies when it came to suppressors.

Unfortunately it's not all sunshine and lollipops here. Our idiot labour government has just brought in registration of all firearms...because it worked so well in places like Canada...
And we need to obtain approval from police to purchase firearm parts, which now includes rifle stocks, bolt knobs etc.
I feel sooooo much safer...Idiots.

Not to take away from the original question about the 708 but would everyone feel the same/different if we were talking about a 280 or 280AI? Just curious if case capacities change people’s opinions? Thanks.

Yes, case capacity does change the answer. Most larger cases with heavier bullets need slower powders. Slower powders need more barrel to burn in. That being said, it isn’t a huge difference. I would recommend 22” for a 280 and 24 for the AI version. Otherwise you end up in 7-08 territory and you are just wasting powder.

Thank you for taking the time to reply but it was talking about for suppressors like the 708. My 280AI is 23” now will likely cut to 19”.

Sorry about the confusion. I was talking about a suppressed 280 and 280AI as well. If you cut your AI down to 19", what you will find is that you will be in same velocity range as the top end of the 7-08. If you handload, you can change to a faster powder that may help, but with the slower powders that the 280AI likes, I am not sure that 19" will give you enough tube to get the pressure (and therefore speed) up.

Sort of thinking my 6.5-284 may get chopped to 19" soon. Not worried about losing 25-30 fps per inch. I'd chop a 280ai too.

I believe I will when I get off my butt and get the suppressor process started. I’ve drug my feet on this something awful. I would rather be in 708 territory than 28”-30” territory. I might try different powders when the time comes or probably just turn the turret a little bit more. I appreciate all the opinions and advice.

18”