For reasons I care not to go into publicly :-X, I have a 24" barrel on my .308 rifle that by weeks end will be either 20" or 18" depending on which I choose. 22" is out of the question.
The barrel I'm shortening is a Varmint profile with muzzle dia of .820" right now.
I won't be using this rifle beyond 700-800 yards and want to use 175 gr bullets primarily.
I've heard various suggestions that the 20" about the shortest to avoid marked loss of velocity in most .308 cartridges but that the 18" isn't all that much slower and doesn't harm performance all that much as long as one sticks within the design parameters of the .308 (as opposed to the limits various individuals push it to).
Anyway, I would like to hear the various ideas as to which, the shorter 18" as it's more rigid or the 20" just to maintain as much length as possible.
Also, why are so many barrels "even" in their length measurements. I see references to 22", 24", 26", etc but rarely 22.5", 24.5" or odd numbers like 23" or 25", etc. As my kids always said "How come's that"???
The barrel I'm shortening is a Varmint profile with muzzle dia of .820" right now.
I won't be using this rifle beyond 700-800 yards and want to use 175 gr bullets primarily.
I've heard various suggestions that the 20" about the shortest to avoid marked loss of velocity in most .308 cartridges but that the 18" isn't all that much slower and doesn't harm performance all that much as long as one sticks within the design parameters of the .308 (as opposed to the limits various individuals push it to).
Anyway, I would like to hear the various ideas as to which, the shorter 18" as it's more rigid or the 20" just to maintain as much length as possible.
Also, why are so many barrels "even" in their length measurements. I see references to 22", 24", 26", etc but rarely 22.5", 24.5" or odd numbers like 23" or 25", etc. As my kids always said "How come's that"???
