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My only fear is that I will lose energy... If the pellet plops out of the muzzle on the first air pressure pulse but below the full air pressure release, I ruined a decent air rifle...
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In a properly designed spring-piston airgun with a properly fitting pellet, in an appropriate weight range for the caliber, the pellet starts moving as the pressure peaks. Or, said another way, the pressure peaks and then begins dropping as the pellet begins moving.
A very loosely fitting pellet, or one that's way too light, might give you different results, but otherwise I believe you'll actually come out ahead on velocity.
There is one thing you should be aware of. Some airguns have "choked" muzzles to improve accuracy. If your airgun is one of them then you may notice a decrease in accuracy as a result of shortening the barrel since you will remove the choked portion.