so I was looking at buying a weatherby vanguard sporter style rifle. I want a .308 for deer hunting. I see that the sporter only

[phconk]

so I was looking at buying a weatherby vanguard sporter style rifle. I want a .308 for deer hunting. I see that the sporter only option is to get a 24" barrel. I am not shooting one of weatherbys overpowered magnum loads and so I would not need a 24" barrel. I see that they also offer a compact rifle with a synthetic stock. it has a 20" barrel. does anyone have a weatherby sporter with a 22 in barrel or shorter. Or does any one have any insight into what I should look at.

[DakotaMan]

A 24" barrel is normal for a hunting rifle. The "overpowered magnum loads" perform better in a 26" barrel but you won't need that. Some rifles come with a 22" barrel. That may be a little handier for moving through thick timber but not by much. I personally would go with the 24" barrel. It will give you about 100 fps additional bullet speed (with the right powder) and the .308 can benefit from that in longer range deer hunting situations. The Vanguard is a great choice as it will be a highly accurate rifle performing as well or better than any other rifle in its price range.

[Edward J. Palumbo]

Weatherby's Series 2 Vanguard carbine does come with a 20-inch barrel. I should add, the Howa GameKing (same barreled action, a little less expensive) is available with a 22-inch barrel, and they have a stainless version. Their Youth version has a 20-inch barrel, but a shorter length of pull.
I'm inclined to agree with DakotaMan concerning barrel length. There are benefits to the longer barrels. While a 20-inch barrel may be worthy of consideration in a dense jungle, the longer barrel is very manageable in the woods, and the case capacity and velocity potential of the .308 Win is better realized in a 22 or 24-inch barrel.

[Sarge01]

My idea deer rifle here in the mountains of WV is a .308 bolt action rifle with a 20 inch barrel. Our deer shot at the normal distances here( 30 yards to 125 yards) don't know if they are hit at 2800FPS or 2900FPS. A 20 inch barrel is also handy in a shoot house, a treestand, a box blind or even still hunting too. At longer ranges a longer barrel may make a difference but at these distances it really doesn't make any difference.