22 vs 26" DTA rifle

[Q-Unit]

I have a 26" DTA SRS on order at the moment and my vendor is telling me that most people get the 22" because there is very little advantage after 22" in 308.

I plan on pushing this gun out to 800 yards for deer hunting (I plan on getting a 338 in the future for longer distances and for elk).

I have tried to search the internet for data on what the difference would be in muzzle velocity for these two lengths but I seem to only be able to find shorter length comparisons that seem to be comparing them for police applications.

Does anybody know what an average round's velocity difference would be for these 2 calibers? If it is just a few hundred FPS then I am thinking of switching to the 22".

 

[Lowlight]

22' is about perfect in a 308... will easily reach 1000 yards. Still most would probably not recommend using a 308 on Deer at 800 yards, there are much better calibers out there. Even the best barrels at 26" are gonna be cutting it ethically close.

The MV differences depend on the load, and barrel. Some see none, some, if the barrel is better see the 22" work better. Your handloads can certainly make up any differences.

If you are concerned you can always get another barrel later, it's a DTA, you can change them anytime that is the beauty.

I would get the 22" then order a good 6.5 barrel for living stuff beyond 600m

 

[Q-Unit]

Thanks, that kind of reaffirms what I have been thinking was the case. Luckily I was able to change my order.

 

[Dogtown]

I would get the 22" then order a good 6.5 barrel for living stuff beyond 600m

Good advice and there are three different 6.5 conversions to choose from. And if you do go that route you'll already have the bolt and mags, so you'll only need a barrel, which should save you a few hundred bucks. The long .308WIN barrels are best used in FTR competitions, outside of that they're unnecessarily long. In fact, I ended up sticking with the 16" covert barrel in the long run.

 

[Q-Unit]

Is there any reason to go with 6.5 for over 600m instead of the 338LM conversion kit I plan on getting? I hear the 6.5 is one of the nicest shooting conversion kits, but the 338 should be plenty accurate for big game I would think.

I plan on getting the 338 because I am fortunate enough to have a place that I can shoot it at its limits. I have never shot that far before, but I'm excited to try.

 

[Lowlight]

The 338 will cover just about anything 800m and beyond... the only issue is really cost. It's a lot more expensive.

But if you are hunting it should be a non-issue and take care of everything with 1 round. The 338 is really the ultimate when it comes to that stuff.

 

[Dogtown]

For hunting, you might consider the 18" .300WM conversion. It'll be quite a bit lighter, both on the rifle and the wallet, and still pack a punch. This is assuming you get a Covert handguard (every SRS owner should have both...just sayin').

 

[long range newbie]

IMO 338 lapua is too big for hunting, 300 win mag is perfect for long range hunting, and the reason why is someone told me a story of a person hunting elk with a 338 WIN and it went thru the first elk and killed the second. I mean 5000 ftlbs is a lot of energy especially since it only takes around 1500 to kill an elk.

 

[RyanScott]

Energy is no proper measure of killing power. The extra capacity is to use bigger bullets and faster, to make hitting easier, because that is the difficult part of shooting in the field. The killing is easy if the hitting is done well.

 

[mikeltee]

Wow man. Never shot out far and are wanting to take dear at 800 yards, as well as "harvest" animals with the 338lm in North America?

 

[Q-Unit]

Wow man. Never shot out far and are wanting to take dear at 800 yards, as well as "harvest" animals with the 338lm in North America?

I shot out to 500 yards several times, but I do not have a gun capable of shooting much further with any kind of accuracy at the moment. I have a good gun on order and I have it coming in 308. It will serve my hunting purposes pretty well. There seems to be a lot of "that gun is too small" when I talk 308 or "that gun is too big" when I talk 338. Maybe in the future I will have a 300WM. I would love to, but money kind of slows me down on having every range and energy covered.

What's wrong with thinking ahead? I'm spending a lot of money and would like to only do it once if I have to.

 

[VKC]

Go with the 22" for 308, you won't lose much velocity. But if you reload why not just get a 6.5 Creedmoor or 260 rem to start with? Better ballistics, less recoil and less wind drift.

For extended distance hunting, I would go with a 7wsm, better ballistics than a 300win with less recoil. Less barrel life but non-issue with a DTA, just swap it out for a new one when you need to.

 

[dreamlander]

I have killed plenty of deer with a 338LM. Why is too big? Does it kill them too well? I guess I didn't realize that was a problem.

 

[Cobracutter]

IMO 338 lapua is too big for hunting, 300 win mag is perfect for long range hunting, and the reason why is someone told me a story of a person hunting elk with a 338 WIN and it went thru the first elk and killed the second. I mean 5000 ftlbs is a lot of energy especially since it only takes around 1500 to kill an elk.

Many states require 1000-1200 Ft-lbs of MV as the BARE MIN to kill whitetail deer, which are a fraction of the size of elk.

Without me getting into how unethical it is to be taking deer or elk at 800 yards outside of a survival situation, .308 is a VERY poor choice for any game past 500 yards or so. it doesn't retain enough energy or speed to really penetrate at that distance and the ballistics make wind and elevation errors magnify.

.338LM would be a much better all around choice for long range hunting. Flatter shooting (more forgiving of shooter error) and more energy to penetrate hide, tissue and break bone.

6.5 would be a much better choice than .308 if you are dead set in using a baby round, but I would still advice against taking game at that distance with that class of round.

 

[Cobracutter]

I have killed plenty of deer with a 338LM. Why is too big? Does it kill them too well? I guess I didn't realize that was a problem.

Exactly. Its not like a .338 is going to blow a deer up like a 40mm at 100 yards. A little less meat in exchange for much greater hunting flexibility and range..... its a no brainer unless you live where 100-300 yard shots are max.

 

[Archer762]

In Oregon it is minimum .223 for deer and .243 for Elk. We have the 2nd most elk in the nation after Colorado, but we also have the Roosevelt species which have bigger bodies. Hunting is all about SHOT PLACEMENT not energy. A .223 in the lungs will drop a deer. A .338 in the guts and it will run a mile or more.

If energy was all that mattered in ballistics, why did I kill a blacktail buck with an arrow with 70 ft lbs of energy? Oh I remember now- I drilled it through the lungs.

As far as hunting ethics is concerned, if you cannot hit a 12" steel plate at 800, then you should definitely NOT be trying to hunt at that range. Many people try to shoot at distances that far exceed the ranges they practice- and they practice while sitting in a chair, resting on a bench. To me this is very unethical, and I'm disgusted by the wounded animal stories that flood the hunting forums.

Anyways... on topic: if I didn't reload, I would get a 22" .308 and a case of ammo.