RUTGERS95 889 Posted January 2, 2022 anyone build a 308 bolt gun? I'm thinking about trying my hand at building a 16" 308 bolt gun. Thoughts, suggestions, etc.? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnnyB 4,289 Posted January 2, 2022 I would suggest a longer barrel choice for accuracy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RUTGERS95 889 Posted January 2, 2022 8 minutes ago, JohnnyB said: I would suggest a longer barrel choice for accuracy. barrel length doesn't address accuracy. Barrel length impacts velocity and barrel harmonics impacted by composition, taper, cut. affect accuracy. 16" barrels are every bit as accurate at 20" or 24" as long as you know ballistics but of course, range gets reduced. what I want is a shorter barreled set up with sliding stock. Plenty of places you can buy a set up but was thinking of building one. Doesn't look to hard, ala ARs, but have never mounted a barrel to short action before. I imagine it's not too difficult Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnnyB 4,289 Posted January 2, 2022 1 minute ago, RUTGERS95 said: barrel length doesn't address accuracy. Barrel length impacts velocity and barrel harmonics impacted by composition, taper, cut. affect accuracy. 16" barrels are every bit as accurate at 20" or 24" as long as you know ballistics but of course, range gets reduced. what I want is a shorter barreled set up with sliding stock. Plenty of places you can buy a set up but was thinking of building one. Doesn't look to hard, ala ARs, but have never mounted a barrel to short action before. I imagine it's not too difficult I figured with a .308, you would want to reach out more. I have never built a bolt action rifle but I don't see it being any harder than an AR! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RUTGERS95 889 Posted January 2, 2022 1 minute ago, JohnnyB said: I figured with a .308, you would want to reach out more. I have never built a bolt action rifle but I don't see it being any harder than an AR! I hear you I just want a new project and this is something different. I did think about doing a sidecharging 308 but have seen some pics of shorty 308 bolts and now I've got that itch 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Scorpio64 5,120 Posted January 2, 2022 What receiver are you going to use. Barrel length will depend on what purpose in life you will assign the rifle, but by far the most popular general purpose high accuracy length is 18" bull or target profile. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
medved11 71 Posted January 2, 2022 Depending on budget, I’d suggest going with going with something like a Defiance, Big Horn, or Defiance action so that you can easily swap out the barrel if you decide you want to switch out caliber or barrel length in your garage with a few tools and a vise. If I recall correctly, the Big Horn TL3 allows you to swap out bolt heads so you could run a .223 barrel with a quick swap Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RUTGERS95 889 Posted January 2, 2022 4 minutes ago, medved11 said: Depending on budget, I’d suggest going with going with something like a Defiance, Big Horn, or Defiance action so that you can easily swap out the barrel if you decide you want to switch out caliber or barrel length in your garage with a few tools and a vise. If I recall correctly, the Big Horn TL3 allows you to swap out bolt heads so you could run a .223 barrel with a quick swap good stuff thanks. I was looking at definance earlier but a lot of options to look at. I do like the idea of caliber or barrel swap. I'll research this more. thanks! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
medved11 71 Posted January 2, 2022 1 minute ago, RUTGERS95 said: good stuff thanks. I was looking at definance earlier but a lot of options to look at. I do like the idea of caliber or barrel swap. I'll research this more. thanks! also, If you want to use a Remington 700 action, you could look into West Texas Ordnance switch lugs. With those, you can do a barrel swap at the range with just a Torx wrench. The only downside is that the barrels need to be spun and head spaced to your action. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shooter28 153 Posted January 13, 2022 Not building a 308, but I’ve been looking at Defiance and Lone Peak actions for my next elk rifle build. Still up in the air if I want 300prc or 6.5prc Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
124gr9mm 857 Posted January 13, 2022 About 3 years ago I did a budget .308 bolt rifle build. MUCH easier than the AR build I completed a couple of months ago. Howa 24" .308 Heavy Barrel Action from Brownells B&C Varmint stock Athlon scope Knock-off Harris-style stock I took my time assembling, but everything went together very well. The only challenge i found was that the travel of the bolt was sluggish when I had everything bedded/torqued in to the stock. I took everything apart and put it back together a few times and realized that the channel in the stock behind the bolt wasn't quite deep enough, so the bolt was rubbing against it. This meant the line of travel wasn't straight and there was friction against the metal frame. I used a light tough with my dremmel tool to make the channel big enough for the bolt, and the action is smooth as silk. Before: After: 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
124gr9mm 857 Posted January 13, 2022 On 1/1/2022 at 10:03 PM, RUTGERS95 said: barrel length doesn't address accuracy. Barrel length impacts velocity and barrel harmonics impacted by composition, taper, cut. affect accuracy. 16" barrels are every bit as accurate at 20" or 24" as long as you know ballistics but of course, range gets reduced. what I want is a shorter barreled set up with sliding stock. Plenty of places you can buy a set up but was thinking of building one. Doesn't look to hard, ala ARs, but have never mounted a barrel to short action before. I imagine it's not too difficult Here's an article where the author tested .308 velocity on different barrel lengths as he CHOPPED his barrel from 28" down to 16.5"!!!! https://rifleshooter.com/2014/12/308-winchester-7-62x51mm-nato-barrel-length-versus-velocity-28-to-16-5/ So if you're shooting 168 gr bullets from an 18" barrel you're still floating around 2500 fps. Not going to get you out to 1000 yards, but not going to limit you to 200 either... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
124gr9mm 857 Posted January 13, 2022 Article from same author on his 15.5" tactical bolt rifle build: https://rifleshooter.com/2013/11/super-short-precision-rifles-a-16-5-308-tactical-bolt-action-rifle/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites