What and why?

Suppressed? If not I like 20”

Depends on what you are trying to do with it. Military just went to a 16in csass rifle. It works well to a given different. If you wanna try to push the distance you will need a longer barrel

Yes

500 max.

Minimum is 16" without a tax stamp.

Shorten to that barrel length, and lighten the bullet to 155 gr, to pick speed back up.

All of my short action bolt guns are 16.25".

16" suppressed

Yes. 20" gets all the performance without a concussion. 16" Suppressed gets you 90% of the performance without sacrificing maneuverability.

I'm kinda thinking 18" for my next .308 Win.

We'll see. Probably won't go suppressed but will leave the option open.

I would go 16in. Moving up barrel length will get you a bit more FPS but not enough to make a difference at 500.

150ish grain bullets will get a bit more velocity back, but run the numbers to compare against some of the 175ish bullets for ballistics.

If you reload move to a powder that is on the faster side of the burn table for that caliber. Chad was making some 308 ammo optimized for 12in barrels. You would have to ask him if that would get better performance then normal ammo which generally has a slower burn rate

I run a 16 with a can and 178 ELDX
works great

I had my barrel chopped to 18” and run a can. Animals can’t tell the difference.

Out of pure coincidence, all 3 of my .308s have 18" barrels and I like them all. A bolt action Ruger GSR, M&P 10, Kel Tec RFB.

26 inch varmint contour.

About 90% of the animals I have taken in my life have been taken with a 150 Grain Nosler Ballistic Tip at around 2900 fps from a 26 inch barreled Remington 700V in .308. It works lol.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

#metoo

I took a Remmy 700 26” Varmint and chopped to 18”. I toiled with idea for a long time and I’m so glad I made the change.

Did you chop it for shorter OAL with a suppressor, better handling, shorter stiffer barrel being theoretically more accurate?

Just my curious .02,
LeonCarr

I’ma big fan and going through a phase of short and light. I’d go 16” and 150’s. I like the Lapua Scenar 155’s specifically....but there are lots of options.

I cut it down to run a suppressor, better handling and reduce weight. Gun has always been sub MOA and you can see the shorter barrel didn’t affect accuracy. 5 shot group with Hornady 150 grain Interlock with 46.5 grains of Varget.

Nice Group

I'm surprised at how many folks here are for the short barrels. I see that the shorter barrels tend to be more precise but you really need every bit of speed if you want to stretch the range. Mine has a 22 inch med-heavy contour and struggles to get to 1,000 yards. Still MOA or better at 800, then somewhere around 900 goes to crap.

I think the primary purpose of the shorter barrels for most people is suppressed hunting VS shooting to a 1,000 yards.

100%! I have other rifles if I want to get out to 1K from the deer stand. That's why I run a 16" 308 for hunting suppressed when my shots might be 200 yards or less. With the right bullet and load, a 16" bolt gun in 308 can easily get to 1K. It has a lot to do with the right bullet choice, not the velocity of the round. I have taken my 16" 300 blk bolt gun out to 1K yards, so I know a 308 will do it.

16" is the minimum for no stamp. I prefer 20" minimum.