Beginners build for 308 bolt

[XC700116]

I'm curious why you are against cutting and threading the barrel??? Yes, you can get more velocity from a longer barrel, but depending on what he wants to do with it, a shorter barrel may be better.

16" .308 gas guns, and even more so bolt guns, are more than capable of 1000.

Capable yes, however the more speed and BC the better when you're dealing with long range. Therefore, heavy bullets (higher bc) are already moving a good bit slower, so every inch of barrel is a plus to get them moving. The faster it's going not only does it drop less, it's less effected by the wind, which is where the real art comes into play in LR shooting once you have the basics/fundamentals of shooting down. The more you can decrease wind effects, the better, plain and simple.

Yes short barrels can shoot well, yes they can get the job done, and yes they are handy, but there's trade offs in every decision on a LR rig and I know myself, I'd give up some of the "handy" for performance down range.

That said if the longest you plan to regularly stretch it's legs to is 500 yds, by all means cut'er down to 16" but that's just getting started if you're talking about Long Range. It's the second 500 that makes the differences show up.