Thread: What length to shorten a 7m08?

Hey lads just spent the week over waikaremoana with my oldest son age 7.
He shoots my tikka .308 with ease and has had his first kill. He has been asking me about a kids size .308! As it turns out I have been offered a ruger 7m08 for free from an uncle. I was wondering about the minimum length to shorten the barrel for my boy?
Any suggestions?


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I have shortened a 7mm08 to 15" and with handloading can push a 120g at 2900.

Thats dam short, basically work out what suppressor you are going to use first and shorten to point that the suppressor sits nicely back against foreend of stock.

If you weren't going to handload I prob wouldn't go quite that short.

Originally Posted by GWH

I have shortened a 7mm08 to 15" and with handloading can push a 120g at 2900.

Thats dam short, basically work out what suppressor you are going to use first and shorten to point that the suppressor sits nicely back against foreend of stock.

If you weren't going to handload I prob wouldn't go quite that short.

What powder are you using to get that speed?

Mine,Sako to15 inch,DPT can 139 sst @ 2690

Originally Posted by MDub

What powder are you using to get that speed?

CFE223

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Mines 18" with a Gunworks suppressor. Using Barnes 110gr TTSX and H335 powder, getting 3000fps.

Originally Posted by GWH

I have shortened a 7mm08 to 15" and with handloading can push a 120g at 2900.

Thats dam short, basically work out what suppressor you are going to use first and shorten to point that the suppressor sits nicely back against foreend of stock.

If you weren't going to handload I prob wouldn't go quite that short.

Just setting up for reloading for .308 so I guess I will be reloading for 7m08 too now.
Quite like the idea of having the rifle as short as possible for the boy. It will be handed down to the two younger boys too.
What suppressor are you using?


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Mine is 18inch with Dan can shooting 140g Berger doing 2660 so nice and mild, my 12 and 9 shoot it.



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Originally Posted by Manu

Just setting up for reloading for .308 so I guess I will be reloading for 7m08 too now.
Quite like the idea of having the rifle as short as possible for the boy. It will be handed down to the two younger boys too.
What suppressor are you using?


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I run Dpt, light, cheap and they work well.

Hey mate. This is what I have learnt about barrels and loads thus far (because both are equally important);

I currently use a 7mm08 T3 light barrel.
19inch in length;

Load development;
Winchester 748 powder; 43.5g
140 Nosler Ballistic Tips
Gun works - Spartan suppressor

History;
2770fps - need to re shoot through a crono though, think it's closer to 2800.

Ideally this all depends on your purpose.
The above load/barrel is solid for deer at 500m and will probably push gongs out 700-900m (with my 3.5-10x44 sightron - so easier with bigger scope).

Hits gongs around 660m easy as.

TBH Nosler BTs cost a fair bit for tgt shooting, mostly done the gongs to build confidence in ranging targets. Great hunting round for you guys though (if you re-load).

A little off track there....

Velocity:
Ideally, if you are achieving 800fps at the killing end, you will be fine.
Factory rounds:
Remington core locked 140g shoot at about 2450 fps +/- out of this barrel which would be quite slow if you want to be humane out 500+/-. Closer ranges - all good.
High velocity doesn't = accuracy but it does = impact/killing power. So it's a balance between velocity and accuracy (Barrel vs powder vs round etc) to meet your requirements.

Softness wise:
If you chuck on a muzzle brake at any length, you will notice a massive drop in recoil for your boy. Suppressor will go a long way to help as well, and may actually help with velocity in a shorter barrel.

Remember; The shorter the barrel, the louder the bang due to the gunpowder burning out the end and (generally) the less accurate it is.

Unsure on the twist in your barrel, but an armourer should be able to give you a minimum length of cut pending on the lands, grooves and twist in that make of barrel.

In summary;
I know there is some random info here, but I hope you can pull some relative points from it.

Personally I would go 18-20inch (pending on your barrels twist), factory 140g Remington core locked rounds and muzzle brake it if your shooting goats, because they really don't care about noise and it will give you a nice short/comfortable but midrange/accurate hunting barrel. Get a good mid range scope and a Harris bipod of sorts. He will be dropping animals at ranges out to 300-400 with a velocity of about 2400 at the barrel.

My $1s worth lol.

Thanks Hunter_killer for the info.
I have picked up the rifle this evening. I'm leaning towards the 18inch mark and a Hardy's can.



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If it's for a child to shoot I wouldn't be running a muzzle brake. Noise and muzzle blast also plays a part in 'perceived' recoil, suppressor the only way for kids especially if the rifle will be used in a spook and shoot tyre situation.

One unprotected shot from a muzzle-break could ruin a lads hearing for life. Far too risky. Use a suppressor.
And there is no co-relationship between barrel length and accuracy.

I'm using a 16.5 inch barrel and a hardy can. No science to length, just ended up there to get suppressor close to stock. 120 ballistic tips with 45 grains 2208 is getting me 2800 fps. Not fast but effective. Shot a few deer over the last year to 300 yards and no issues. If I did it again I'd get a DPT and put another baffle on it to drop the noise a bit more.

Originally Posted by Ginga

I'm using a 16.5 inch barrel and a hardy can. No science to length, just ended up there to get suppressor close to stock. 120 ballistic tips with 45 grains 2208 is getting me 2800 fps. Not fast but effective. Shot a few deer over the last year to 300 yards and no issues. If I did it again I'd get a DPT and put another baffle on it to drop the noise a bit more.

If your running 7mm08, 2800 isn't bad at all.