Thread: Do you really need a long barrel? Chop it or not?

With the exception of two shot with a 303 at over 100y probably my first 50 deer could have been shot with a pistol.
I grew up in the no deer on tops or river flats era, if you wanted to find a deer you had to go bush..and do plenty of miles.

These days mostly I hunt open country after being a bit slow to discover they were back out there

I went from a stuffed 303 to a stuffed 308 because the 308 had a scope and was cool it was shortened 4" already with a hacksaw very crooked as the end of the barrel was bulged from a blockage, cost me $80....shot 3-5 inch groups at 100 paced yards.claimed many deer pigs and countless goats.
Upgrading to a Sako 308 saw a whole new world open around me! suddenly I could shoot things at incredible distances and things just fell over dead! 150y 200y 300y it was amazing!

I got cocky and had a couple of cock ups after that due to range estimation fails and a range finder was next on the list.

If you are starting out hunting I would suggest keep factory length unless you are never going to hunt open country, and if you are before you even leave the shop you should have a range finder and a understanding of how your caliber and ammo perform.