Should I Chop my Suppressed 30-06?

[TH3 BULLET]

Currently I have a 22", 1 in 10 twist, 30-06 and I was thinking about getting it chopped to 20" (or even shorter if suggested) to help compensate for the added length of my new suppressor (SOCOM 7.62). The rifle is a stock Savage 116 and will be primarily used for hunting out to 500 meters. Soon, I am going to get the barrel threaded and I wanted to hear the Hide's opinion on whether I could shorten up the barrel to improve handling.

I am also worried about possible accuracy degradation. Currently, this is a 1.5 MOA gun using cheap 180 grain Federal ammo and I would hate to loose any accuracy if a barrel chop is performed.

This rifle has a lot of sentimental value to me so buying a new rifle for this purpose is out of the question. I just want to gain some knowledge from experienced shooters regarding cutting the barrel on the old 30-06 to 20".

I am looking forward to finally receiving my first suppressor and hearing the effect on my rifle!


Thanks everyone for your time and thoughts,
Josh

 

[Got Diesel]

Re: Should I Chop my Suppressed 30-06?

Because the rifle holds sentimental value to you have you thought about fringing a new barrel for it. You could order a pre-fit that is the length that you want. It could already be threaded for a suppressor and they is a good chance that it would shoot better than what you already have. You can have the barrel swapped in about 10 minutes. Then when or if you ever wanted to go back to the original rifle just put the old barrel back on.

 

[blade]

Re: Should I Chop my Suppressed 30-06?

After suppressing one of my 308s I was in the same boat. My barrel was at 22" and could shoot 1/4 minute all day as long as I did my job.

I cut it to 18.5 and it still shoots 1/4 minute. I'm using Federal 168 GMM and did lose a FEW fps but nothing to have great concern about.

The furthest I've had it out to since the cut is 700 and it performed very well.

Cutting your barrel back a couple of inches should increase barrel stiffness which leads to better accuracy.

My experience is with the .308 but if your looking for a 500 yard gun I think you'll be fine.

 

[TH3 BULLET]

Re: Should I Chop my Suppressed 30-06?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Got Diesel</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Have you thought about fringing a new barrel for it? </div></div>

I have considered buying a new barrel for this rifle but I still am not sure regarding the length. I would hate to order a 20" barrel and find out that even that is still to long with the suppressor attached. I would appreciate any feed back regarding 18" to 20" barrels on a 30-06 specifically.


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: blade</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> I cut it to 18.5 and it still shoots 1/4 minute. I'm using Federal 168 GMM and did lose a FEW fps but nothing to have great concern about.

The furthest I've had it out to since the cut is 700 and it performed very well.

Cutting your barrel back a couple of inches should increase barrel stiffness which leads to better accuracy.

My experience is with the .308 but if your looking for a 500 yard gun I think you'll be fine. </div></div>

Thank you for your post and response to this issue. I really appreciate the knowledge regarding shooting shorter barrels.

Would you recommend cutting the barrel even shorter than 20"? When the suppressor finally arrives, I will be adding another 8" back onto the barrel so I am trying to figure out exactly how short I can go while maintaining both accuracy and enough energy to kill deer/elk out to 500 yards.

Thanks again everyone for your knowledge and time,
Josh

 

[Goin'Hot]

Re: Should I Chop my Suppressed 30-06?

It makes no sense to chop a 30-06. If you want a super short suppressed 30 cal, build a 16.1" 308. The whole idea of the extra case capacity of the 30-06 is to be able to burn more powder. If you want to burn more powder, you need a longer barrel.

If you want short, short, short, save your pennies for a 16" DTA...