Hey Guys,

I currently have Remington 700 bolt guns in .223 and .308 both with threaded 20" heavy barrels. I shoot almost 100% of the time suppressed and will probably never shoot over 500 yards. I also have a 7mm-08 and .243 with longer barrels I can use if necessary.

I am considering cutting both to 16.5" to make them a little more handy and lightweight for shooting and hunting with a suppressor and am looking for opinions from those who have shot the shorter barrels or anyone having any experience with it.

I am concerned about increased sound, velocity loss, and accuracy loss....will a 16.5" barrel be noticeably louder with or without a suppressor?

Thanks for your advice!

Anyone?

no you'll be fine although you will loose a bit of velocity.

kt

I've seen a lot of 16" .308's reaching out and getting the job done....

We were getting solid hits at 800 yards with 16 and 18 inch 308s the other day using 168 Fed gmm ammo. 18" is my favorite 308 length but 16 is very handy.

I got rid of my 20" SPS Tac AAC in lieu of the 16.5" model. Both are tack drivers and both will kill out to 500 yards easy if I do my part. The shorter barrel loses a little velocity and probably has a little more muzzle flash and boom but I shoot with a can so haven't been bothered by the sound or flash. I will cut all of my non-mag bolt guns down to 16-17" eventually, just prefer them short.

Form 1s, do it!

A 16" barrel will cause significantly more recoil...I'm not sure if a suppressor will assist that. A muzzle break will fix that

If I ever get a Savage, I plan on it.

Loss of MV. Other than that, there's no negative. Suppressors reduce recoil anyway, and hold the flash inside, so you're good to go. I'd just go 18" and leave the ATF out of it though.

ATF gets involved on sub 16" rifles and sub 18" shotguns.

Plus, short bolt guns are sexy.

Whoops! Wrote the wrong number. Thanks!

Google 16 vs 20" velocity .308 and one of the first few results should be a really nice chat that a guy did for a physics project, cutting an inch of barrel at a time. Velocity loss wasn't all that dramatic, maybe 150 fps if memory serves. It will be louder but not horribly so. I had a Ruger compact .308 with a 16.5" barrel, it wasn't real fun on the bench but very easy to tote.

Thanks guys, I guess I'm gonna go ahead and cut them both down.

Flip, I love that rifle!

Yeah, I thought about going down to 12" or so on the .223, but I doubt I will do it anytime soon. Maybe if I get a Mossberg MVP.....

Thanks Doc, it's a factory 16.5" SPS Tactical in 300 Blackout with a Manners stock.

It will get the job done. Without the suppressor, the 16" will be louder than the 20". I don't know how loud it will be in relation to the 20" with the suppressor on though.

all of my .308s are 16" barrels but they are semi-auto, I do have a 20" barrel bolt action 30-06 w/ a can on it and its stupid quiet and almost no recoil, but it's long! I can't imagine there being any noticeable differences cutting the barrel down to 16" and running it suppressed.

Make sure a follow up with some pics on this thread! I'd like to see the end result. I also have the SPS Tac in .308 with the 16.5" threaded BBL also and just got the stamp back for the AAC SDN6 to go on the end. Should be a nice little rig.

if you go to a shorty rifle like that and use a suppressor, i understand it will help w/ velocity, and stablize the bullet...