Barrel Length for hunting

tiriaq said:
With an 18" barrel, an XCR-M would be a restricted firearm. It could not be legally used for hunting.
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The exact barrel length is 18.6", it is non-restricted and legal for hunting.

I've owned an 18.6" HB XCR-L 223 Rem for more than 2 years and it's a good 200 yards varmint rifle.
The XCR-M 308 Win should be a good 250 yard deer gun and anything that a 308 Win Savage 99 or 308 Win Remington 760/7600 does, it will do.
But limitations with trigger, weight and ballistics are still there.

Alex
 
Long barrels suck in thick brush. Yes, experience talking here. A few hundred more fps in velocity doesn't kill any deader. Poor rests are what affect accuracy most in the field, not long range ballistics. Yes, a 30-06 will work as well as a 300/338 SUPER MAGNUM BLASTER. I want a 338LM,but it won't make me a better hunter. A hunter I know is now whining about carrying his 26" 300WM long range rifle in the bush. Black rifles are usually heavier than their hunting cousins which is the biggest drawback I see, other than price for anything but an M305 (hard to beat this as a black rifle hunter). Triggers are less of an issue than most would think because you won't be shooting off a solid rest most times anyway. Loud? How many shots will you be taking at that animal???
 
I like 24" barrels on a hunting rifle best, but will use a 22" in some applications without complaint.
I believe Magnums [particularly from 6mm to 30 cal] benefit from the 26" tube that many wear.
Regards, Eagleye.
 
CaffeineSam said:
How can I make it more plain ? You are hunting. You have your gun in your hands and an animal in front of you. Provided you have the least amount of know-how, the animal does not see you as a menace and is not armed. It will not retaliate. You are unbelievably safe. No life depends on you shooting this animal before it shoots back at your platoon.

A military rifle is thought out and designed for a situation where gunshots are exchanged, sight acquisition is fast and fire rate high. Two or three lost bullets are no big deal if you hit the enemy enough with what's in your magazine so that you can take control of the situation.

A hunting rifle on the other hand, is thought out for the situation where there is no danger. You do not want to hurt or disable the animal, you want to put it down for meat. You do not want it to leave the premises and let you take over, you want it's body for meals (and some of you trophies). Fast sight acquisition is not as much a priority as precision, and you should make every bullet count. You have (almost) all the time in the world, and even a second and third chance with another animal in your sector, if need be.

It is a wholly different situation, your mindset will be wholly different, so will be how your body act.
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hmm, what if your hunting somthing thats being pushed outy of the bush? not much time for sight acqisition. What if there is the chance for more then one kill in a short amount of time. Fast precise shorts are key here. Not all hunting gives you [almost] all the time in the world. Its ok, I have this discussion with the guys who hunt with us. FAST sight acquaition fast folow up shot if needed and with the right sling, an effóf a lot faster to get up to sholder then the average hunting rifle handled by the average hunter... and regardless of what you use, training with it is all that matters. if your no good with it, it doesnt matter what you have
 
elker said:
too loud at the range,and still very loud in the field. short barrel is a no go.borrow one short barrel from a friend and shoot a few rounds,you will not like it. LOUD....

I can't appreciate those seasoned hunters keep pimping out short barrel to new hunters. it is like passing hard drug to a teenager
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1. At the range? Who cares when we all are wearing ear protection?
2. I used a 10 gauge blunderbuss in the past with it's 15inch barrel, no guff here. Same as my 19.5inch barrelled 30-06 Voere deer hunting rifle. My .458 American has a 21inch barrel and it is very accurate. In the northern boreal forest up here they are very manouverable while hunting in the green jungle of spruce. The reality is, the big game at normal hunting ranges will not care if the .30 calibre bullet fragments tearing up it's lunges originated from a 30-30 Trapper barrel or a long & fluted 300 Win Mag from a Sendaro.
IMO it's only on long distance targets that one really needs a long pipe.
To each his own.
 
308Win is one of the least sensitive cartridges when it comes to barrel length. You're losing less per inch with this cartridge than with most other decent hunting rounds. Anything that is 16inches or greater in 308 and you're doing well. With the 30-06 you want 22 inches, the magnums require 24 inches or more.

The Ruger GSS comes with an 18 inch stainless barrel and backup iron sights. You would be very hard pressed to find a better all around hunting rifle unless you were going for grizzly bears, that's when you start considering a bigass magnum
 
ht tp://www.bellmtcs.com/store/index.php?cid=580

Here is an interesting article from Mike Bellm as it relates to the barrel length vs accuracy of the Thompson Pro-Hunter/Encore
 
^ But having a lighter, more accurate rifle doesn't matter to the fudds because they like the way a 26 inch barrel "swings" and "holds steady" lol
 
Matt308 said:
how was the 10g Blunderbuss? That would have been cool
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March-hare002-1.jpg

Yes my friend, cool was my choice of word(s) also!
At about ten yards through thick brush, no problem.
Meat was hardly torn up at all, as most of the shot load was used up tearing through interveening limbs & branches.
 
CaffieneSam's thoughts are not 100% well communicated I think.
I'm thinking his opinion is a bit off centre personally.

Our country is very well stocked with many chopped down surplus WWI & WWII bolt action and some semi-auto rifles. And try to convince the boys from Torbay or North Mountain that the L.E. 3-0-3 is a poor choice for hunting WT deer or moose. Not too long ago, leverguns were thought to be "military hardware" and issued to the PCMR during WW2. During the early reign of the NWMP in the Canadian West, repeating leverguns were forbidden for us mere peons to own. Look at the well deserved cult of the 6.5x55 Swedish.
One could easily argue it's ballistics at long range outclass the 308/7.62 NATO in it's original configuration.
Which each passing decade, the water becomes more and more muddy IMO.

Yeah, respectfully I don't agree with CaffieneSam.
 
elker said:
too loud at the range,and still very loud in the field. short barrel is a no go.borrow one short barrel from a friend and shoot a few rounds,you will not like it. LOUD....

I can't appreciate those seasoned hunters keep pimping out short barrel to new hunters. it is like passing hard drug to a teenager
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I have a Handi 45/70 with 18.25" of barrel and I love it.
I'm thinking if shortening ALL my rifles except my Ruger1B 270win.

AlexF said:
Black rifles have 3 limitations:
[*]short barreled 308 Win ballistics
[/LIST]
What does that mean:
  1. 308 Win is an excellent all-rounder but the short barrel means a 50-75 yards shorter effective range
Proper training and motivation can easily solve issue 1) and 2).
Issue 3) is not an issue for medium sized game but is a limitation for long range hunting and means that large game hunting is restricted to medium range.


If possible you should try a good 24" 270/30-06 Win bolt-action rifle and a 308 Win Norinco M14 at 200 yards target to see the difference right away.

Alex
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You ARE Kidding, Right???

CaffeineSam said:
How can I make it more plain ? You are hunting.
Fast sight acquisition is not as much a priority as precision, and you should make every bullet count. .
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So, you are saying those super accurate Black rifles that are being built by folks what can put 10 30cal bullets in to 1/2" time and time again are not precision enough, because they are based on a Military action???

Really, is that what you are saying?

pisces-guy said:
20-22" barrels on standard calibres are best, and 24-26" on magnums.
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Who says?? Dr Laura?

Come on..... You can't be serious, can you?
 
If you always wear hearing protection while hunting, barrel length makes little difference to the ballistics or lethality of most hunting cartridges like the .308. Some prefer the handiness of short barrels. That's perfectly OK, except for muzzle blast! Muzzle blast increases exponentially with shorter length barrels.
Hearing damage is cumulative and irreversible. You don't notice until it is too late. I have permanently damaged my hearing by shooting way too many shots without hearing protection. Tinnitus is also no fun - think about living with a high pitched whine in your head every waking moment.
In addition to those "fun facts", you often must hear in order to hunt effectively. Even though I know I must protect what hearing I have left, I find that sometimes in the heat of the moment I take a shot without hearing protection.
So, If you think you are invincible, or if you never shoot a shot without hearing protection, choose a short barrel for its handiness and "cool" factor. If you want to enjoy a normal life with all your senses when you aren't shooting, you may want to consider a "normal" barrel length of 22-24" for hunting rifles.

My comments above also apply to muzzle brakes and porting. I will not shoot a rifle so equipped because my hearing is way too precious to waste on a hobby.
 
.308Winchester is a very good general purpose cartridge for all big game in Saskatchewan. The barrel on that rifle is long enough for hunting.
 
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