308 Hybrid precision/hunting rifle barrel selection

[Normal308Guy]

I am building a new bolt action 308 and I would like some advice on barrel selection. I will be using one of the Howa 1500 barreled actions in 308 from Brownells with a KRG Bravo chassis.

I would love to get into precision rifle shooting but there are no ranges over 100 yards in my local area, so I will mostly use it target shooting at 100 yards or deer hunting in West Virginia. For deer hunting my max yardage would be 300-400 yards. I would also like to take a long range shooting course so I would like the rifle to be capable to 1000 yards, but not necessarily optimized for that. I think of it more as a hybrid precision/hunting rifle, similar to a Bergara HMR.

The 3 options I'm considering for the barreled action are a 20" heavy barrel (6lb), a 22" standard barrel (5lb), and a 24" heavy barrel (6.65lb). All three are threaded. Given my use case, which makes the most sense?

My thoughts are either the 22" standard or the 20" hbar. Two years ago I hunted with my 18" scoped AR10 (11lbs without ammo). It was definitely heavier than my standard hunting rifle but wasn't really a big deal, as I'm mostly walking logging roads and setting up in blinds. I can see the weight being more of a factor if I was hiking long distance in the mountains out west. The total weight with barreled action, stock and scope for the 22" would be 9.5lb, 20" is 10.5 lb, and 24" would be 11.15lb.

For my use does the extra 1 lb for the hbar 20" make sense?

 

[Faronth]

Seems like if you using it as a primary hunting rifle with a self imposed max range of 400yds any of them would do fine provided they group well. Not sure what the advantage of the extra weight for the Hbar would provide for max three shots at your game. If you want to reach out the 1000yd line the extra velocity of the 22" or 24" would be nice. I have never shot any of my .308's to beyond the 600yd line, only my .300WM and .300WEA, but plenty of folks with experience can chime in on that extra velocity would make a big difference.

I will say this though. If you are coming out here to hunt in the mountain west its not the distance so much as it is the lack of oxygen at 9,000asl and incline that will make you pay dearly for that extra pound. Choose wisely.

 

[wpeach1912]

22” should be plenty and 20” would probably work fine too. 308 gets plenty of muzzle velocity out of 20”, especially for 3-400 yards. A little extra velocity will help for shooting 1000, but 20” functions well. If you want to shoot a class, the heavy barrel will be nice for the resistance to heat buildup. Having a shorter barrel is nice too for handiness in deer blinds

 

[BuildingConceptsllc]

I would do 22" IF, you truly want it to shoot to 1000 yards. I've shot my 22" 308 to beyond 1000 many times with a 175smk. If you are cool with shooting 800 years then go with the shorter barrel and save yourself some weight on what you will actually use it for most of the time.