shortening a 22lr

Posted by Curious_Proof_9694@reddit | Firearms | View on Reddit | 17 comments

what are the benefits if any and downsides, i have a rifle of mine that i often use for hunting but its a little on the long side and i was wanting to cut it down to fit in my storage area but i dont know if that will mess with the grouping accuracy or anything of the sort, also what are the chances of the riffle imploding in my hands

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snippysniper@reddit

You can change the barrels on a cz. I’d just get a new barrel. You could probably find a stock 16” barrel on gafs for about what it would cost to cut down and crown

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ReactionAble7945@reddit

I have an TC Encore wth a Bullberry barrel. I had them make it 16.25 inches long. It is VERY accurate. The barrel is rather thick for the length so there is no whip. This means it is accurate with multiple velocities and brands of ammo.

The 22LR uses up all the velocity in something like 12 inches, so if you are going from 22inches to 16, you may see a velocity shift upwards.

This being said, if you are cutting down a barrel... Expect change, may be better. Maybe be worse. And of course I have seen people bugger up the job and then they have to toss the barrel.

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DisorganizedFarmer@reddit

Well the first thing that pops to mind is illegal ramifications depending on barrel length both before and after the cut. And then there's the tools and skills. Cutting barrels for the most part is ill-advised across all firearms. It's only marginally acceptable for shotguns and even then you can still run into a lot of problems both legal and technical. Depending on the model you may just be able to buy a shorter barrel. But for the most part people just don't mess with that anymore because of the legal ramifications alone

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Curious_Proof_9694@reddit (OP)

well i have a 20 inch barrel and legal is 16 minimum so i was only gonna cut it a very small amount and i also do have the tools necessary and did my research to make sure it was legal

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DisorganizedFarmer@reddit

What's the model of the rifle depending on what it is it may be better just to buy the barrel length you want.

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Curious_Proof_9694@reddit (OP)

CZ 457 Synthetic .22LR, im thinking of just getting a shorter one cuz i honestly dont want all that hassle if it is illegal

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DisorganizedFarmer@reddit

Well I only emphasized the legal ramifications because people are ignorant of the law but that won't stop cops and judges from absolutely pounding them in court. As for your situation it looks like they sell barrels in just about every length as long as you have something that's at least 16 in you're good to go on a rifle. Then you'll also have a factory crown which means you won't have accuracy loss and the velocity loss at 4 in shouldn't be massive. Also just my opinion as nice as CZ's are I wouldn't go cutting it up. Just my two cents

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Suspectgore074@reddit

If it's a rifle, 16 inches of barrel length is the minimum without making it an sbr.

Realistically, you won't see any changes in grouping unless the rifle is really worn at the muzzle (improved accuracy with a new crown after shortening) or a target rifle (loss of accuracy with the loss of velocity)

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