Short barrel rifle build questions

Moser40s&w

Moser40s&w

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So I am wanting to start my newest build this spring but have a few questions

First off is I want it light, short as possible, good out to 200meters, 1moa is fine even 1.5 will work, heavy bullet (180 grain perferred) and I want it to be efficient (use up all the gasses ASAP and such)

Calibre? I am looking at 300blk,.308, 338 federal (leaning towards this)
What else does well in a short barrel? I reload as well

Velocity isn't super key since I know short barrel and speed don't go hand in hand

What would you use for a stock? Bedded HS? Xlr?

Remington action SA or LA?

What is the Canadian law for barrels? How short can we go on a bolt gun?

Really looking for some good input and ideas and I know this is the place to ask so have at er haha

Mostly gonna be a light weight short range hunting rifle. Maybe occasional moose or elk mostly deer and fun toy at the range

Thanks in advance!!!
Cheers
 
What is the Canadian law for barrels? How short can we go on a bolt gun?
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There's a sticky on this at the top of the page. How short do you want to go?

Calibre? I am looking at 300blk,.308, 338 federal (leaning towards this)
What else does well in a short barrel? I reload as well.
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Remington action SA or LA?
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Remington has some short barelled (16.5") 700 SPS TAC model rifles in .300 Blackout and .308 Winchester that just arrived in Canada. There's a thread that's likely still on this front page if you want to read it. If you're considering a factory offering, this is a great way to get your foot in the door.

A .308 Winchester or the .338 Federal you mentioned are going to burn 2x the ammount of powder the Blackout will so be prepared for a LOT of noise and flash in a short barrel. In fact, it might be intollerable for you. If you plan on going hunting with this rifle, you'd better have hearing protection with you in the field.

None of the cartridges you mentioned require a LA.

What would you use for a stock? Bedded HS? Xlr?
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Depends on your tastes and preferences. Personally, a conventional stock looks fine. I'm partial to 700 LTR stocks for copact builds as it has a shorter forearm and is generally more compact than a 700P or varmint style stock.

Mostly gonna be a light weight short range hunting rifle. Maybe occasional moose or elk mostly deer and fun toy at the range
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If you planned on hunting deer sized game I'd say you'd be fine with the .300 Blackout, however, if moose or elk is a possibility I would say the cartridge is a poor choice. .308 Winchester would be more practical under the circumstances.

There's a lot more to this than what you might think. Especially, if hunting is a consideration.
 
bulldog284 said:
30 30 winchester sounds more like what you need,

1.5 moa
short light
shoots a 180 grain bullet
short barrel
velocity isnt super fast
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Balistically, the .300 Blackout & .30-30 are very close together. Depends on how short of a barrel, load, ect.


Tikka223 said:
Check out the CZ 527 in 7.62x39 maybe ...
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It would definitely do the job. Depends on how short the OP wants the barrel to be. He won't be able to cut the factory barrel below 18".
 
Awesome thanks for the replies

I've been looking at the new offerings from Remington an the short .308 is nice but am definitely wanting to go custom

Want 16" or under if possible but also want that round to suit the barrel length and not just some round shot from a short barrel

300blk is out due to lack of energy needed on bigger game

Anyone have any experience with the 338 federal?
 
Moser40s&w said:
Awesome thanks for the replies

I've been looking at the new offerings from Remington an the short .308 is nice but am definitely wanting to go custom

Want 16" or under if possible but also want that round to suit the barrel length and not just some round shot from a short barrel

300blk is out due to lack of energy needed on bigger game

Anyone have any experience with the 338 federal?
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At less than 16" barrel lenght, there are better choices than cartridges based on the .308 case.

As I'm sure you're well aware, .338 Federal is basically a necked up .308 Winchester. At 16" or less, it's going to be a boomer for sure. You'll definitely wanting to be choosing powder choices on the faster side.

Have you ever given consideration to a .338 BR? It's a 7mm BR case necked up to .338. You could even use high quality 6mm BR Lapua brass. For the barrel length you want, this cartridge may be a better choice. You could shoot subsonics or super sonics with ease. Case capacity is considerably less than the .308 based case, however, the cartridge will be more efficient with the use of shorter barrel lengths.

If that doesn't appeal to you and you want more energy on target with a very short barrel length I'd suggest something more exotic like a .458 SOCOM.
 
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Well, buy Marlin 336 carbine in 35Rem, load 220gr Speer FP to 2200fps and you will be ready for anything in Canada inside 200yds. Low noise, light rifle, light recoil, very good accuracy, unmatched cartridge efficiency and cheap reloads with cast bullets for plinking and hunting. What else I can say, I have one and it's a winner anytime I go alone bush hunting where all the animals are hidding....
 
You might want to define your requirements a bit better, so you end up getting what you actually want. The positives of shortening a barrel are a reduction in weight and an increase in handiness/maneuverability. The main negative is increased muzzle blast. Minor negatives that matter little if any are a (surprisingly) small reduction in muzzle velocity, and some increase in recoil and muzzle jump.

Legally, you are able to make the barrel pretty darn short (though there are various technicalities that you have to be sure to comply with).

If you want a full power rifle suitable for big game (and you expect to have pretty much full-power performance on the target), no matter what you do you are going to end up with a rifle that is a handful to shoot (some combination of muzzle blast and recoil)

As you make the barrel shorter, the noise and muzzle blast grows in a double-whammy manner:

1 - because the bullet is uncorking the barrel when the pressure is higher, a shorter barrel produces more noise
2 - the shorter the barrel, the closer that puts the muzzle to your ears/head.

If you want to use this for hunting, you'll quickly reach the point where it's not feasible to shoot it without hearing protection. If that's acceptable, then you can have the barrel as short as you wish. Otherwise, you might not have something that is shootable in then intended manner in your intended role.

If you are only going to want to shoot it at game out to 200m, you could afford to accept a round with a much steeper trajectory than an ordinary highpower hunting rifle (especially since it sounds like you actually know how to shoot and regularly shoot at a range). Provided you are able to handle increased recoil, you can go to a heavier bullet, a larger bore and possibly a (somewhat) smaller powder charge. This will reduce muzzle exit pressure, which will reduce the blast.

A 16"-barrelled .338 Federal with perhaps a 225-250 grain bullet will produce a fair bit more recoil than a 16" barrelled .308 Win with a 180.

But because the 338 Federal has the same amount of powder gas as the .308 but it is expanding to a larger volume (16" of travel times .338" bore, vs. 16" of travel times .308" bore), it will have less muzzle blast. And that might more than payoff against the added recoil.

A step further along this path that you might want to consider would be a .358 Winchester, i.e. a .308 case with a .35 caliber bullet.
 
gunrunner8 said:
Well, buy Marlin 336 carbine in 35Rem, load 220gr Speer FP to 2200fps and you will be ready for anything in Canada inside 200yds. Low noise, light rifle, light recoil, very good accuracy, unmatched cartridge efficiency and cheap reloads with cast bullets for plinking and hunting. What else I can say, I have one and it's a winner anytime I go alone bush hunting where all the animals are hidding....
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Well, given this is the "Precision Rifle Forum" and he wants some target and hunting capability, do you think a Marlin 336 is going to satisfy the OP given his preference for a bolt gun?
 
Along these lines, I have a take-off XP-100 barrel, 14" long, in 7mmBR. Have often thought that it could be used to make an interesting little carbine on a 600 or 700 action. Also have a take-off 10 1/2" XP barrel in .221 Fireball. That would be a real shorty! Nice thing is that these are factory barrrels, so there would be no question about them being cut downs.
 
2bad4u2 said:
Well, given this is the "Precision Rifle Forum" and he wants some target and hunting capability, do you think a Marlin 336 is going to satisfy the OP given his preference for a bolt gun?
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My Marlin beats many bolt action rifles in accuracy department and will easily put 3 shots inside 1,5" at 100m as desired by Moser especially with both 180gr & 220gr Speer FP bullets.
 
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