The .308 with a short barrel will work just fine. Years ago I had a Rem. 788 with a short barrel and it shot real well with 165gr. Horn. If I remember correctly velocity was around 2650 fps.

I have never seen any advantage to a carbine rifle, except the Savage 99F that I had cut to 20 inches for hunting horseback and its a dandy for that, otherwise nothing is gained except in the mind of the owner....

That extra 6 inches of barrel can only improve everything, sight radius for irons, velocity and balance for offhand shooting, the old timers who used guns every day knew this, they were the buff hunters, Mountain men and the early hunters of Africa, all used very long tubes, because they hold better offhand and after a long run.....They knew a thing or two, not so the guys who take a rifle out of the gun case and show it to Bubba then put it back!

I have a buddy with a 742 rem. in .308 with a 18.5" bbl. and fitted with a 7400 buttstock for easier use with a scope, he mounted a Tasco 1x to 3.5x scope on it.
I stoked up some 165gr, Partitions, on top of a near max. load of Varget, yeilding muzzle velocities of about 2650fps.
This rig will shoot 1.5" groups at 100 yards.

Craig--take a real hard look at a weaver v-3. (1-3 POWER) I had several leupold 1.5-5 vari xIII's that I replaced with the weaver for our brush hunting here in wisconsin. Believe it or not at dusk the weaver is clearer by a fair margin over the leo's. They've been real tough--have an awesome fov at 100yds. They are short and only weigh 8 oz's. You don't even have to close an eye when swinging--much eye relief just like the leo's. A GREAT VALUE!!

I'm having something similar built.
Rem 700 SA receiver off an old .243.
Mike Rock .308, 5R barrel, 20", 1:10 Twist, Rem Varmint contour.
McMillan Sako style Varmint stock, inlet for Rem Action.
Williams bottom metal.
Holland bolt handle.
Front of barrel threaded 18x1mm tpi for my .308 suppressor.
Premier Mildot 2 version of Leupold LR 3.5-10x40mm.
Anschutz style rail in forearm.

Nothing like rummaging around in the closet and finding most everything to put a puppy like this together .

JCN

A number 3 contour (~Remington Magnum Barrel contour) would save about 1/2# if you wanted to do something similar in a hunting style stock.

Just read a great article on the very subject last night by Finn Aagaard titled: Shots with the .308 From Texas to the Cape (africa)/Handloader magazine June 2000.



He has a Mexican model 36 Mauser customised to a 18.5" barrel scout leupold set up. Very cool rifle, with awesome perfomance. I want one.



I was thinking of buying a Howa 1500 and converting it to a scout set up exactly the same. Finn's also had Ashley (XS) scout scope mount and ghost ring open sites!!

I don't want to be the naysayer, but a lot is going to depend on how often and where you use the rifle. I have a Browning Micro-medallion in .308Win. It's a pretty little beggar but will jar you to your eyeteth. The rifle weighs 6.0 lbs. and has a short, thin 20" barrel that has a surprisingly fierce kick. Mind you I've never felt the kick when firing at an animal, but I shoot my rifles a lot at the range also. It completely jumps out of the front rest cradle. The forend looks like I've been using it for fungo practice. I put a Pachmyer Decelerator pad on it which helps a good bit. At the range I use a Past Recoil Shield. I was surprised at how fierce the kick is. I don't usually go for short, thin barrels and won't buy another one. It's accurate enough for a field gun, grouping around an inch (5 at 100yds), but it's definitely not fun to spend a day with at the range. Just one mans experience. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

Cal
The next time you shoot your light weight 308 change out your front rest for a bag and use a hasty sling.
The sling controls muzzle jump and lessens the recoil.
Try it and let me know how it works.

Craig, what you're describing is the perfect place for a Trapper stlye levergun, mebbe with a ghost ring sight or red dot. Hot Core mentioned several classic levergun cartridges...you can't do any better. I've been using a Mod94 Trapper in 30-30 for 20 years for close cover hunting in Florida and Georgia and while I do use others, none are superior.

Another poster suggested a shotgun with buckshot, a deadly combo if properly employed. I would suggest however that the longer ranges you mentioned are beyond effective range for that, so I'd say stick with a rifle.

If you are stuck on the bolt gun idea, try a Ruger 77/44. I use one in (GAG!) Stainless/Synthetic for a truck gun/knockaround/play with paper patch bullets kind of toy. The twist is fast enough to stablize 300 gr. bullets, it sports a Millett SP-1 red dot and shoots around MOA from a rest. VERY quick in close cover, excellent target acquisition with the red dot. Keep BOTH eyes open if you ever hunt with one BTW. The Ruger weighs less than 6# and is about 36" long overall. Very handy tool, and inexpensive to boot.

Good luck...

Craig - I glanced over the replies and the only issue I didn't see much talk about was the muzzle blast. I used to have a Rem Model 600 with 18" bbl chambered for .308 Win. I loved the rifle. It shot great, was a delight to carry and you would be hard put to tell it had any less umppfff than any other .308. But the muzzle blast was awesome!

I was half deaf to begin with so I didn't worry much about it. In fact, I kindof enjoyed the blast. It would clear the range around me when I took it to the rifle range. Other guys would just pack up and leave.

I used to joke that I couldn't shoot this rifle kneeling because it started grass fires in front of the muzzle...and this was pretty close to the truth.

Someone mentioned recoil. I never noticed it, but I HUNTED with this rifle 90% of the time so shot very little off a bench. Any rifle is going to SEEM like it kicks bad when fired from a bench. In the real world, this rifle was a pussy cat.

Would I have another one? In a heartbeat!!!!!!

You can tame that muzzle blast flash some by handloading and using some of the faster powders like IMR3031, IMR4064 and the like. I remember my some Ball-C(2) loads I put through my 18" Remington Seven. Spectacular fireball even in bright sun light. I do find that recoil seems heavier on the bench than in the field so I wear a sissy pad at the range to keep shoulder from getting tender. I never noticed the recoil in the field though.