Shortening a barrel

chaz12 · February 17, 2013, 10:48 AM

I have a Remington 700 VLS .223 that shoots very accurately, which for me is 1 inch grouping at 100 yards.

It's also a beautiful rifle, but I have been thinking about the possibility of having the barrel shortened from 26 to about 21 inches, just to give it a different look.
The action has already been fiberglass bedded and the barrel free floated. The VLS has a fairly low twist rate of 1:12 inches.

Could you expect the accuracy to stay the same, or would it be totally unpredictable?

Thanks

Chaz

taylorce1 · February 17, 2013, 10:56 AM

As long as the Smith that cuts the barrel down and recrowns it does a good job you can expect the accuracy to stay the same. You'll want to sight it in again but that is a given after anyone does any work to your rifle.

Wyosmith · February 17, 2013, 11:11 AM

If we look at 200 and 300 yard bench rest rifles we find most of them have short barrels because shorter is stiffer. You loose a little velocity by cutting back, but no accuracy. In fact if anything it probably will get more accurate, not less.

JD0x0 · February 17, 2013, 05:28 PM

You'll lose velocity which will cause more bullet drop and the wind will effect the bullet slightly more. So technically it will potentially be slightly less accurate at longer ranges.

Joe Chicago · February 17, 2013, 09:27 PM

Are you shortening the barrel purely for aesthetic reasons, or because you need a handier rifle for hunting? My .308 Vanguard S2 at the gunsmith to have the barrel shortened from 24" to 21" because I hunt from a stand or on drives in heavy woods and wanted a handier rifle. Hopefully, its accuracy will improve because the barrel is stiffer. If you shoot at longer ranges you may want to reconsider shortening the barrel.

RonR6 · February 17, 2013, 09:56 PM

I had my 597 22mag barrel cut down and recrowned to 17" and
it is just as accurate as a full length barrel.
I cut it because it was damaged, but I now do like the look
and feel of that rifle

tobnpr · February 17, 2013, 10:06 PM

My initial thought was too much velocity loss, but you're not shooting long range (heavy bullets) with that twist rate anyway- so I don't see the velocity loss as a big deal.

As was said above, shorter for the same diameter means stiffer, so usually you would expect to see consistent harmonics- though you already have that with moa accuracy.

So here's my only caveat...
If it's shooting minute accuracy- is it with factory ammo, or handloads?

If it's with factory ammo, I'd say that rifle is shooting as good as is reasonably possible to expect. While I'm a fan of shorter barrels sometimes, if that's the case I probably wouldn't mess with it. You know the old adage, "if it ain't broke..."

While I wouldn't expect cutting/re-crowning to degrade accuracy, harmonics are very unpredictable.

JD0x0 · February 17, 2013, 10:21 PM

A shorter barrel doesn't add stiffness it reduces flexing

tmorone · February 17, 2013, 11:05 PM

I recently had a Remington 700 barrel cut down to 18", shoots every bit as good as it did before

jmr40 · February 18, 2013, 06:51 AM

In this case I'd do it in a heartbeat. With some chamberings you would see a little velocity loss, but a 223 works just fine from 20"-22" barrels and any gains from longer barrels are neglible.

As long as the cut and recrown are done correctly you will see no loss of accuracy and possibly a slight improvement.

chaz12 · February 18, 2013, 05:09 PM

My reason to consider a shorter barrel is partly just aesthetics and partly weight. Even tho I am shooting from a bench, this is still a very heavy rifle with the 26" barrel. I only shoot at 100 yards at the local range so as somebody mentioned, the velocity loss will not be critical. I have shot a friend's savage precision carbine with the 20" barrel and I liked the look and feel of it. I didn't totally like the camouflaged, hollow synthetic stock. I could sell the VLS, but I like the laminated stock and I know it shoots well with the current barrel.

Chaz

February 17, 2013, 10:48 AM	#1
chaz12 Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2008 Posts: 223	Shortening a barrel I have a Remington 700 VLS .223 that shoots very accurately, which for me is 1 inch grouping at 100 yards. It's also a beautiful rifle, but I have been thinking about the possibility of having the barrel shortened from 26 to about 21 inches, just to give it a different look. The action has already been fiberglass bedded and the barrel free floated. The VLS has a fairly low twist rate of 1:12 inches. Could you expect the accuracy to stay the same, or would it be totally unpredictable? Thanks Chaz Last edited by chaz12; February 17, 2013 at 10:54 AM.

February 17, 2013, 10:56 AM	#2
taylorce1 Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2005 Location: On the Santa Fe Trail Posts: 8,242	As long as the Smith that cuts the barrel down and recrowns it does a good job you can expect the accuracy to stay the same. You'll want to sight it in again but that is a given after anyone does any work to your rifle. __________________ NRA Life Member

February 18, 2013, 05:09 PM	#11
chaz12 Senior Member Join Date: May 22, 2008 Posts: 223	A little more info from the OP My reason to consider a shorter barrel is partly just aesthetics and partly weight. Even tho I am shooting from a bench, this is still a very heavy rifle with the 26" barrel. I only shoot at 100 yards at the local range so as somebody mentioned, the velocity loss will not be critical. I have shot a friend's savage precision carbine with the 20" barrel and I liked the look and feel of it. I didn't totally like the camouflaged, hollow synthetic stock. I could sell the VLS, but I like the laminated stock and I know it shoots well with the current barrel. Chaz

February 17, 2013, 11:11 AM	#3
Wyosmith Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2010 Location: Shoshoni Wyoming Posts: 2,713	If we look at 200 and 300 yard bench rest rifles we find most of them have short barrels because shorter is stiffer. You loose a little velocity by cutting back, but no accuracy. In fact if anything it probably will get more accurate, not less.

February 17, 2013, 05:28 PM	#4
JD0x0 Senior Member Join Date: January 30, 2013 Posts: 1,037	You'll lose velocity which will cause more bullet drop and the wind will effect the bullet slightly more. So technically it will potentially be slightly less accurate at longer ranges.

February 17, 2013, 09:27 PM	#5
Joe Chicago Senior Member Join Date: November 11, 2011 Location: Chicago area Posts: 277	Are you shortening the barrel purely for aesthetic reasons, or because you need a handier rifle for hunting? My .308 Vanguard S2 at the gunsmith to have the barrel shortened from 24" to 21" because I hunt from a stand or on drives in heavy woods and wanted a handier rifle. Hopefully, its accuracy will improve because the barrel is stiffer. If you shoot at longer ranges you may want to reconsider shortening the barrel.

February 17, 2013, 09:56 PM	#6
RonR6 Senior Member Join Date: February 2, 2013 Location: South Eastern PA Posts: 108	I had my 597 22mag barrel cut down and recrowned to 17" and it is just as accurate as a full length barrel. I cut it because it was damaged, but I now do like the look and feel of that rifle

February 17, 2013, 10:06 PM	#7
tobnpr Senior Member Join Date: August 1, 2010 Location: Tampa Bay Posts: 4,556	My initial thought was too much velocity loss, but you're not shooting long range (heavy bullets) with that twist rate anyway- so I don't see the velocity loss as a big deal. As was said above, shorter for the same diameter means stiffer, so usually you would expect to see consistent harmonics- though you already have that with moa accuracy. So here's my only caveat... If it's shooting minute accuracy- is it with factory ammo, or handloads? If it's with factory ammo, I'd say that rifle is shooting as good as is reasonably possible to expect. While I'm a fan of shorter barrels sometimes, if that's the case I probably wouldn't mess with it. You know the old adage, "if it ain't broke..." While I wouldn't expect cutting/re-crowning to degrade accuracy, harmonics are very unpredictable.

February 17, 2013, 10:21 PM	#8
JD0x0 Senior Member Join Date: January 30, 2013 Posts: 1,037	A shorter barrel doesn't add stiffness it reduces flexing

February 17, 2013, 11:05 PM	#9
tmorone Senior Member Join Date: October 22, 2010 Posts: 221	I recently had a Remington 700 barrel cut down to 18", shoots every bit as good as it did before

February 18, 2013, 06:51 AM	#10
jmr40 Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 10,805	In this case I'd do it in a heartbeat. With some chamberings you would see a little velocity loss, but a 223 works just fine from 20"-22" barrels and any gains from longer barrels are neglible. As long as the cut and recrown are done correctly you will see no loss of accuracy and possibly a slight improvement.