new to hunting need a rifle suggestion.
 

Ok so I'm new to hunting, never done it before in my life. But I want to start. So to start I'm going to need a new rifle. Right now I'm leaning towards a Remington 700 .308 for its familiarity. In the marine corps we use a variation in that cap. But I'm open to suggestions, like I said I'm completely new to this. Now my big question thus far in my research of the 700. Is how much difference is there between 16.5" 20" and 26". And what is suggested. I can't imagine taking any shots beyond 500 yards. The barrels on our m16s are 16inch and I've never had trouble shooting at the 500yd line hence my question.
Any other advice you could provide would be immensely helpful for this new hunter. Thanks everyone.

The longer the barrel, the greater your velocity will be. 308 is a great caliber that is easy to load for. I don't like Remington at all, but if it floats your boat, go for it.

Yep to both comments made by Redgreen!

I'm also open to any suggestions. I choose the R700 based off my time using it in the military

The Remington Model 700 is a fine rifle.

Every site has a few folks that do not like them, mostly the Ford vs. Chevy stuff. Typical internet chatter.

In a .308 Win chambering a barrel of 20" - 22" probably is the optimum length for general hunting. Barrels much longer than that do not do a lot for a .308 Win and the shorter barrels will be loud, have bigger muzzle flash, and start to lose significant velocity. After a certain point you will usually only see a 20 - 25 fps difference per inch on a cartridge like the .308.

A 16" barrel in 5.56 burns a very different powder volume than a 16" barrel in a much larger 308win case.

Muzzle blast from a 16" 308win is pretty severe as well, so unless you're shooting a linear comp, fire pig, or suppressor, it's not great to be next to a 16" 308win on a firing line.

I may not want to haul a 26" barrel around hunting with a 308win, but I'd certainly favor a 20" or 22" over a 16".

Thanks for the advice everyone, I've found it very helpful

Calico, you didn't say what animals you will want to hunt or where you will be hunting. Some eastern states don't allow or restrict hunting with centerfire rifles.

The .308 Win is a good caliber for deer size animals, and with proper bullet placement and the right bullet, it is also OK for elk. My preference in a .308 rifle would be a bolt action with a 22-24" barrel. My .308 Win has a 24" barrel.

I don't see anything wrong with Rem 700s. I've had several of them, and the two that I still own (7mm Rem mag and .375 RUM) have each been on multiple international hunts.

Buffybr, I am in the pacific northwest, and in Washington and neighboring Oregon. It seems like elk and black bear are the common choices. Deer is another one but it seems less common from what I've been able to gather. But as I am very new to this I think ill be hunting the dear and elk. Until I can get some experience under my belt. (not that I think it'll be any easier) but seems like there's a wealth of knowledge in my area to tap into as far as those two game animals are concerned. Got to start somewhere right.

Check out Savage rifles. They are very good and fairly priced. I would agree with the above recommendations with a 22-24" barrel. Make sure not so skimp out on optics. They are just as important as the rifle.