Wilds

Been thru SW PA and WV, a couple of times,and can see no distinguishable difference..........

As far as touching a sore spot you need not flatter yourself, the definition of "jive turkey" here, is that it's something us hill people don't speak/cater to.....period.

"Killitude" is easy, as is "skookum"....knew once,a 105 pound, 5' 7", long haired blonde who was much skookum....'specially in the back seat of my crummy.

She had her own definate opinions on barrel length as well...........

eldeguello

There is such a thing as a too-short barrel, but much depends on the cartridge you choose. In .308 WIN., I would want at least 18", and 20"-22"would be better-actually, a short, stiff barrel can be more accurate than a longer, whippy one. You can go down to a stiff, 20" barrel and still have adequate ballistics for long-range accuracy. In a 26" barrel, I'd want it to be at least as stout as the 26" barrels on the Ruger No. 1B......

MichaelT.

What ??? SHe said size didn't matter??

eldeguello

I am not exactly sure of the meaning of "SKOOKUM". But if I am not mistaken, one of the fellows who discovered gold in the Klondike River region of Yukon Territory which lead to the gold rush of 1898 was a Native American named "Skookum Jim".......

Pawildman

Wilds

One would assume that size mattered, and she was a good judge of it,thusratedas skookum from me.....

Actually skookum +P.......tho' hershortcoming was her cookin'.

I liked her performance otherwise....as I like Zeiss bins, Leupy Glass,Turrets, Leica LRF's, X's, 700's, ect.

HEAD0001

Choosing a barrel can a real chore. The barrel you choose for a 308 or any other cartridge hasvariables other than just length. Contour is every bit as important as length. And contour truly depends on shot frequency, and the weight that you feel comfortable with.And probably the most important factor in barrel selection is the quality of the barrel.

Most quality barrels can be an accurate barrel(regardless of contour)if you have the time and expertise to make that barrel shoot. A lot of shooter's get better accuracy from a short fat barrel because they are simply easier to load for. Less harmonics in the barrel, or at least a shorter Sine wave with less noticeable peaks and valleys. Some one explained barrel harmonics earlier. I can only add one thing to that explanation. It is important that you get the bullet to exit the barrel at the same point every time. This is true. But actually more important is that you get the bullet to exit at the centerline of the sine wave. The bullet leaving at the centerline gives the best consistent accuracy(lowest SD's). The height of peaks and valleys can change due to exterior variables. But the centerline always stays the same.

You need to tell us what you want to do with the firearm before a real barrel suggestion can be given. You will get greater velocity(to a point) with a longer tube. But when you go to the longer tube, all the variables become more critical.

I do hate to agree, but SW PA does look a lot like WV. I hunt in SW PA also. I thank G_D that SW PA is a lot like WV. I also thank him for the point restrictions PA put on their deer in this area. I have been all around the country, and this is where I choose to live. No worry about firearms laws here(YET). Nice trout. Tom.

Wilds

Loading via OCW negates harmonics voodoo on many levels...

Sine waves, peaks and valleys...easily understood by the google experts, but whentranslated, the best exit pointis when the muzzle is at it's calmest period of occilation, sweet spot, which is when the shock wave, induced by the detonation of the charge (NOT the recoil of the weapon), is back at the chamber end of the delivery system. Hitting a "sweet spot" during this ever diminishingback and forth migration of the "wave"is when you need the bullet to break from the muzzle.There's several pointsthroughout the load range this happens and usually hitting one at or near the top of the data is, worst case scenario,easy....I also find one about 2/3's the way up that shoots just as good but with understandably less velocity.

Once OCW is fully understood, providing the bore is grade "A", ANY barrel contourcan be made to shoot well, less any hocus pocus like a sims vibration thingy or a BOSS. Have myself never gone over 20 or 25 rounds in R&D to find a "sweetspot" in any good barrel tested...and from there it's just messin' with seating depth to squeeze it down a little.

OCW not only negates contour worries in a good barrel but diminishes such voodoo as bullet lot # differences, powder lot # differences, case capacity varience issues, weather/temp/humidity related issues, and such.......

It also enables one savvy enough, to R&D "swap loads". All my rifles have a cheaper bullet to play with on steel and varmits....and a TSX bullet of same grain weight and similar BC with which to stomp freezer meat dead. Not a huge feat until you realize my swap loads don't mandate a scope zero change to make the swap.......

The fish, BTW, is a dink......................................

ShatoDavis

Either of the remington's will be fine. Eventually if you like the accuracy game you will need to upgrade to a custom barrel and the Remington is a great platform for a build job. I would say that a 22" barrel would be about perfect for the 308. Get one and shoot the throat out then rebarrel with a Shilen or equivolent.

I'd suggest the varmint model simply because I think the stock is better suited for your purposes.

hillbillyhunter1

Probably the same thing that blonde said about your "barrel length"