Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting 20" or 24" barrel on 7mm08 ??

Balance wins but 20" everytime....portability and handiness beats 75 fps or an additional 50-75 yards or so on mpbr for you Kentucky holdover guys...

I'm thinking I"m going to chop mine to 18 or 20 inches, and go the suppressed route. Currently it sits at 24".

Fully support....

Good to know Greg.

Hell ya!😀👍

I recently had a suppressed 19" cut down to 16" (which as everyone knows, is the shortest the law allows)

If you go 24" might as well make it 1/2" longer and chambered in 7 mm rem mag , you can allways download it to 7-08. Easier to ride a fast horse slow, than a slow horse fast...yup mb

A 22-inch barrel is my choice in a 308 Win brass based cartridge. The 7mm-08 ballistically betters the 308 Win on one end and the 6.5 Creedmoor on the other. Notice I said ballistically, as for hunting use they all have their own individual benefits.

A 20”-22” barrel with 8, 8.5 or 9 twist on a 7mm-08 may be the best carry, reduced recoil, long range payload (bullet weight, BC and WD) out there.

As others say, balance matters most (with reasonable portability, of course). Noise matters second most. Velocity is probably third, at least with a 7mm-08.

20-22" sure seems like the sweet spot. I've used a couple of 18-18.5" models and they were a bit too loud for me. I have a 20" barrel at the gunsmith right now, being cut to 16.5" and threaded for a can.

Just recently got one of those in a 6mm Creedmoor. I’ve only shot it out to 600 yards so far with factory ammo.


In terms of the original question by the OP, my only advice is choose the length that you want.

Rather than choose one barrel length, I shoot three 7mm-08 rifles: a Model 7 FS with an 18 1/2" barrel, a Howa Alpine with a 20" barrel and more recently I picked up a Remington 700 CDL with a 24" barrel.

Each rifle is set up to shoot specific bullet in different weights. For example the FS shoots TTSX pills, the Alpine Nosler E-Tips and the CDL 160 grain Barnes TSX bullets.

Being a rifle looney means you don't have to limit yourself to just one.

My go to, whitetail setup is a GAP NT 7mm-08 with a 23” Bartlein that I absolutely enjoy. The rifle balances very well. My second 7mm-08 is a REM Mt Rifle with factory 22” bbl. It’s fine and I use it occasionally, since the GAP gets the nod more.

My next build will be either a 20 or 18” to run suppressed. Considering a 7 SAW but this project is still in infancy stage.

Well it's free velocity ... a little. More important are your hunting style and balance preference. Hard to go wrong.

Not worth it me in a short action cartridge like 7/08
I have a hells canyon speed with a 22” and that is as long as it needs. I run 140 partitions at 2922 fps with big game powder. If you don’t mind the longer rifle, shoot a 280. That may give you what you want if you feel 7/08 is not gonna get the job done

Yessir, that's good medicine too.

A 20 barrel seems a little jumpy with a 308. But if I were to choose a 7-08 it would be for it’s efficiency and ability to be less jumpy with a 20 inch barrel. Something like a Micro Midas maybe.

....although this isn’t likely what I’d choose for a dedicated “long range” hunting rifle, I do think it would be acceptable out past 250 yards a bit.

+1

I like less concussion at 24", and I have never felt like it swings slow. I prefer the 150g ElD x for the short range stuff, throated properly. As range gets extended, I then bump up to the 280 Rem with 180g ELD m at 2700(smidgen of powder), throated to match said bullet. Thanks, Stick!

Some things you just have to see to believe, 180g ELDM, .796 BC....impact velocity will make a true believer out of you!

I agree with this for a whitetail blind rifle. Barrel contour about #3 or a Rem mag. barrel profile to about 21" would seem a perfect build to me.

If I was worried about velocity?

It go 24 with a bigger cartridge.
Ya gotta decide.

Why worry about trivial velocity differences when the STW, Ultra, or
Nosler....exist.



20 would be great.
18" would be ok. But loud(er).