Best Cartridge for 18-20” Barreled Hunting Rifle...

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marksman13

marksman13

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I’m probably about to send a Ruger No. 1 off to Pac-Nor to be re-barreled and turned into my idea of the ultimate North American medium game rifle that I don’t mind putting in the rain and snow. The short action of the No. 1 lends itself to an overall compact rifle and I’d like to take full advantage of this by keeping the barrel in the 18”-20” range. I’ll also have the barrel fluted, threaded and Cerakoted (along with the action and stocks). I figure with the short, lightweight profile barrel I can keep this rifle around 7.5 lbs with scope and short enough that it will be easily maneuverable even with a suppressor. My mind is made up about the rifle and scope choice, but I am not decided on the cartridge choice.

Parameters for the cartridge:
1. Must be .30 cal or smaller (My suppressors are all .30 cal.)
2. Factory ammo must be readily available. I don’t reload and don’t really intend to start.
3. Must be capable of cleanly killing deer, pigs and antelope out to at least 350 yards. I realize my barrel length constrain some cartridges.

As far as I can tell, the 308 Winchester is my best option, followed closely by 7mm-08. I have 308 ammo. I don’t have 7mm-08, but I know I’ll be able to find some before next deer season. Might be expensive. Might be limited, but I’ll be able to find some. Another option is one of the various 6.5s. I have plenty of 6.5 CM and 6.5x55 laying around, but I do have a No. 1 International in 6.5x55 which meets all my parameters other than being able to suppress it and it is entirely too pretty to Cerakote.

Is there another cartridge I am forgetting? There are a ton of wildcats out there, but I’m not going to reload. 338 Federal would be great if I had a .338 cal suppressor. The various short magnums and even the 30-06/270 cartridges really need a longer barrel to take full advantage of their potential. I’m curious to hear the thoughts of others. Thanks in advance.
 
You can't really go wrong with either of those three, 308, 7-08 or 6.5 CM. In theory the 308 will be the most efficient, the 6.5 the least, but you're really splitting hairs. Either the 7mm or 6.5mm will shoot bullets with better BC's that will still make up for the slightly slower muzzle velocity. Either of those will take the game you want to hunt well past 350 yards if you're good enough to make the shot.

The biggest negative to larger cartridges in short barrels is noise. Yes, they are less efficient. A 30-06 or 300 WM will lose more speed from a 20" barrel than a 308 from a 20" barrel compared to a 24" barrel. But the 30-06 or 300 WM from a 20" barrel is still going to be a lot faster than 308 regardless of barrel length. Ruger used to make a 16" barreled bolt gun in 300 WSM.

If you just want to use a bigger cartridge you could. I wouldn't go below 20" with any of them because of noise and how the rifles balance, not that concerned about performance. I have an 18" 308 that shoots fast enough to use at pretty long range, but it is loud.
 
A 308 will do the job well. It's nothing fancy, but it'll be the most efficient 30cal that'll do the job.

A 300wm will be going faster, but double check your cans are rated for that barrel length. And if you're going lighter, recoil will be brisk.
 
marksman13 said:
I’m probably about to send a Ruger No. 1 off to Pac-Nor to be re-barreled and turned into my idea of the ultimate North American medium game rifle that I don’t mind putting in the rain and snow. The short action of the No. 1 lends itself to an overall compact rifle and I’d like to take full advantage of this by keeping the barrel in the 18”-20” range. I’ll also have the barrel fluted, threaded and Cerakoted (along with the action and stocks). I figure with the short, lightweight profile barrel I can keep this rifle around 7.5 lbs with scope and short enough that it will be easily maneuverable even with a suppressor. My mind is made up about the rifle and scope choice, but I am not decided on the cartridge choice.

Parameters for the cartridge:
1. Must be .30 cal or smaller (My suppressors are all .30 cal.)
2. Factory ammo must be readily available. I don’t reload and don’t really intend to start.
3. Must be capable of cleanly killing deer, pigs and antelope out to at least 350 yards. I realize my barrel length constrain some cartridges.

As far as I can tell, the 308 Winchester is my best option, followed closely by 7mm-08. I have 308 ammo. I don’t have 7mm-08, but I know I’ll be able to find some before next deer season. Might be expensive. Might be limited, but I’ll be able to find some. Another option is one of the various 6.5s. I have plenty of 6.5 CM and 6.5x55 laying around, but I do have a No. 1 International in 6.5x55 which meets all my parameters other than being able to suppress it and it is entirely too pretty to Cerakote.

Is there another cartridge I am forgetting? There are a ton of wildcats out there, but I’m not going to reload. 338 Federal would be great if I had a .338 cal suppressor. The various short magnums and even the 30-06/270 cartridges really need a longer barrel to take full advantage of their potential. I’m curious to hear the thoughts of others. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
6.5 grendel. No joke, any factory ammo for any chambering is a guess at best right now but the grendel will do it.
 
308 Win and 6.5C are both good choices for the constraints you've laid out; they both will work well in the barrel lengths suggested and within your intended ranges, they both will work well with a can, and they both are well supported in terms of factory ammo choices. Almost anything else is going to struggle to meet those constraints - either in terms of factory ammo choices (e.g. 7mm08), or suitability for use with a can on a relatively short barrel (most any magnum), or be harder to use at range on heavier game.
 
I really like the 7mm-08, but if you don't handload, .308 ammo is cheaper and much more available. 6.5 CM is a little more overbore and suffers a bit more velocity loss in shorter barrels, but won't be too bad at 18"-20"

I have a Stevens 200 22" 7mm-08 and an integrally suppressed Mossberg Patriot 7mm-08. The Mossberg barrel is 18", but it's ported starting at 14.5, and I'm still able to get over 2,600 FPS with 150 gr. bullets.

Short action cartridges definitely do better in the shorter barrels, though the .30-06 doesn't suffer all that bad in a 20" tube. .25-06 or .270 do, though. They need more tube.
 
For an overall hunting gun Id say the 308 is a really good choice. I might be just saying that because Im about to have a custom 308 built.... Haha.

However, my current target rifle is a 6.5 Creedmoor with a 22 inch barrel. I get 2750 FPS easily out of that length barrel with a 140 grain bullet and 41.5-42 grains of H4350. Hell even factory ammo gives over 2700 FPS. Chopping that down to 20 inches or 18 isn't going to cut a huge amount of muzzle velocity.

I actually just looked up videos real quick of shorter barrel 6.5 CMs and found a Snipers Hide video where he was getting 2650 FPS in a 18 inch rifle shooting factory Hornady 140 AMAX.
 
I like both the .308 Winchester and the 7mm-08 Remington. Rolling your own when I first took to the 7mm-08 Remington I sized down countless .308 Winchester to make my own 7mm-08 Remington. I may lean a little towards 7mm-08 only because it shoots flat. :)

I also like the 6.5 cartridges but my choices for your question would be a .308 or 7mm-08.

Ron
 
jmr40 said:
Yes, they are less efficient. A 30-06 or 300 WM will lose more speed from a 20" barrel than a 308 from a 20" barrel compared to a 24" barrel. But the 30-06 or 300 WM from a 20" barrel is still going to be a lot faster than 308 regardless of barrel length.
Click to expand...
Years ago I read an article that actually cut an inch at a time and chronographed the results.
They (308/30/06) both stabilized about the same at 18.5".
Actually very little loss from either and the respective velocity stayed the same...
About 100fps faster for the '06.:cool:
 
I used to have an RSI International in 30-06. Impressive muzzle blast and fireball!

I would go with .308 due to ammo/component availability, then 7mm-08. Would also stay with 20"
 
Pretty sure I’ve been convinced that 308 is the way to go from a practical standpoint. May still end up with a 7-08 just because I like variety. This rifle is definitely going to piss off the No. 1 purists, but I want something different. Cerakote and fiberglass stocks may not belong on a classic, single-shot rifle, but it‘a definitely going to happen.
 
Under those parameters, 308 or 30-40. Take the extra 2" and go 20.

30-40 in a Ruger is essentially a rimmed 308 in terms of performance. I have a Ruger no. 3 in 30-40, 22" barrel. Of the two, I prefer a rimmed cartridge in a single shot.
 
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