Barrel chopping

ormondprop

I was looking into chopping my 223 barrel fro 23 5/8" to 20 inch to save weight and i will lose roughly 90fps,

http://www.loadammo.com/Topics/October05.htm

How much of an effect would this have in wind drift and bullet drop out to say 300 400 500 yards

Tackleberrywho

ormondprop wrote: »

I was looking into chopping my 223 barrel fro 23 5/8" to 20 inch to save weight and i will lose roughly 90fps,
http://www.loadammo.com/Topics/October05.htm
How much of an effect would this have in wind drift and bullet drop out to say 300 400 500 yards

About 2" @300 approx on a .223 55 grain

ormondprop

So about 3 clicks more to dial in and i'd save a nice bit of weight. Sounds like i should do it, has anybody here ever compared a 24" and 20" tikka tac, would be a good comparrison

Cass

I'm not trying to be a dick here, but i have to ask. Why are you chopping it?

I know you said weight savings, but whats the best you could save with 4" of barrel. 1/2 to 3/4 pound. Its a saving, but personally i couldn't see the advantage.

Again not being a p***k, am genuinely curious. I've met alot of lads lately that have or are going to get their rifle shortened.

Tackleberrywho

Ezridax wrote: »

I'm not trying to be a dick here, but i have to ask. Why are you chopping it?

I know you said weight savings, but whats the best you could save with 4" of barrel. 1/2 to 3/4 pound. Its a saving, but personally i couldn't see the advantage.

Again not being a p***k, am genuinely curious. I've met alot of lads lately that have or are going to get their rifle shortened.

Ah, th edifference from the shoulder is vast with a shorter barrel and a mod on.

Also for getting through undergrowth whilst out on Bunny bashing is also good.

Unless i had a single purpose rifle i'd never go over 24" again.

I want to go 22" :eek: but Fergal talked me out of it.

My rifle weighs almost teh same on teh scales, but the felt weight is much less.

law of the lever and all that craic.

Unless specifically for medium to long range only then would I consider 26-30" barrels

deerhunter1

Ezridax wrote: »

I'm not trying to be a dick here, but i have to ask. Why are you chopping it?

I know you said weight savings, but whats the best you could save with 4" of barrel. 1/2 to 3/4 pound. Its a saving, but personally i couldn't see the advantage.

Again not being a p***k, am genuinely curious. I've met alot of lads lately that have or are going to get their rifle shortened.

Was about to ask same thing

ormondprop

Like tack said, i noticed a big differance with my hornet when i cut 3" off it, i have to bring to a gunsmith to thread it anway and was thinking of recrowning it while its dialled in on the lathe so its a very easy job to cut a bit off while i'm at it. My barrel is 23 3/8 long and 20" 223 seem to be every bit as good
Still nervous enuf though incase it ruins the gun, hence why i'm looking for advice
This article says 21 3/4 is the most accurate length
http://www.angelfire.com/ma3/max357/houston.html

Cass

Tackleberrywho wrote: »

Ah, th edifference from the shoulder is vast with a shorter barrel and a mod on.

You do know that the difference between a 20" and say 24" barrelled rifle both with mods on, would be next to nothing. The pressure from the specific round would betermine the amount of felt recoil. The heavier a rifle the less recoil you should feel.

Also for getting through undergrowth whilst out on Bunny bashing is also good.

I appreciate that, but again i have to ask would you not leave your rifle as is, and simply bend down another 4 inches? Not being over simplistic, but i rarely carry my rifle on my back when going through bush.

My rifle weighs almost teh same on teh scales, but the felt weight is much less

See that kinda "proves" my point. There is no actual difference in weight yet in your head you think its lighter so it feels lighter.

Unless specifically for medium to long range only then would I consider 26-30" barrels

I wouldn't go past 26" for hunting. Absolutely n reason for it. 24" is just right. Short enough to be "compact" yet long enough to take shots up to 600 yards shouls such an occassion arise.

ormondprop wrote:

My barrel is 23 3/8 long and 20" 223 seem to be every bit as good

I'm not knocking your choice, and if you are happy with it why the hell not. I just really do not see the need for it personally. I can say that if you are sooting the longer distances you will "suufer" with the shorter barrel. Not so much that it won't reach the distances, but with more elevationa dn more wind drift you will be working harder than say the 24" or 26" barrelled rifles.


Best of luck with it if you get it done. Shoot a few groups at 100-300 yards before and then after you get it done as tell us the differences in adjustments. That would be interesting.

ormondprop

To be honest you could be right ez, i'm just looking for advice before i get it threaded, the final decision will probably be made by fergal white, i'm sure he knows more than most of us about it,

Cass

I mean this honestly, i am in no way trying to "talk you out of it".

Its your rifle and your decision. Also you have to be happy with the rifle and if this works for you i genuinely wish you the best with it.

My only reason for the above questions was curiosity. I was kinda hoping that someone that actually got their barrel chopped had done a few test groups at various distances and then tried again after the chopping and could tell us what difference it made. In grouping, weight, performance, etc.

zeissman

Myself and a mate had 2 ruger 204s with 26in barrels and he got his cut to
21.5 in. The velocity loss was 280fps which I thought was a lot for 4.5in.
I also tested my sako 308 26in barrel and a sako 308 20in barrel and the shorter barrel was only 100fps slower.
Get as much info as possible before doing something you might regret.

ormondprop

Thanks zeissman, nice to get proper 1st hand information, Thats a shocking amount of velocity to lose did it effect accuracy? Did it make much of a differance to handling and shooting from the shoulder

zeissman

ormondprop wrote: »

Thanks zeissman, nice to get proper 1st hand information, Thats a shocking amount of velocity to lose did it effect accuracy? Did it make much of a differance to handling and shooting from the shoulder

Accuracy was the same after cutting. The only reason he got it cut was because he wanted to use a moderator and thought the rifle would be too long with the 26in barrel.
The 204 does seem to lose a lot of velocity with a short barrel though.
Another mate has a sako 243 that he cut down to 20in and he finds it a lot handier and is very happy with it. I dont know what the velocity is like though.
I dont know much about the 223 but im sure someone on here will have more info.

Tackleberrywho

Ezridax wrote: »

You do know that the difference between a 20" and say 24" barrelled rifle both with mods on, would be next to nothing. The pressure from the specific round would betermine the amount of felt recoil. The heavier a rifle the less recoil you should feel.`

Off hand shooting, Hold a bag of sugar out in front of you for a few mins and you'll get me very quick. We are currently talking about two heavyish rifles in .223 so recoil is not an issue, especially with a mod on.

I appreciate that, but again i have to ask would you not leave your rifle as is, and simply bend down another 4 inches? Not being over simplistic, but i rarely carry my rifle on my back when going through bush.

When I had a 26" barrel on my shoulder it caught in every branch when walking under low trees. the 24" is much more manageable, The 20" on my .308 is a dream in the field.

See that kinda "proves" my point. There is no actual difference in weight yet in your head you think its lighter so it feels lighter.

Take the moments about the Flucrum you should remember from JC Science.

I wouldn't go past 26" for hunting. Absolutely no reason for it. 24" is just right. Short enough to be "compact" yet long enough to take shots up to 600 yards should such an occassion arise

I'm not knocking your choice, and if you are happy with it why the hell not. I just really do not see the need for it personally. I can say that if you are shooting the longer distances you will "suufer" with the shorter barrel. Not so much that it won't reach the distances, but with more elevationa dn more wind drift you will be working harder than say the 24" or 26" barrelled rifles.

There again, within 400 yards does it make that much difference?


Paulo and I have OUR chrono now so I will chrono my .308 20" Vs his Styer

For a foxing or deer Rifle the shorter the better as the majority of the time you are carrying it

For a Varmint rifle where you are shooting Prone ONLY then the longer 26" would stand to you (truflite do a .223 28" FYI)

Folk used to ask me why I used the .308 as a Lamping rifle, simple it was so easy carry at night.

The problem really is, a guy says he is only going to shoot foxes at night, then he wants to shoot 400 yards+ rabbits by day!
I compromised with 24" as I do both types of shooting with the same rifle.