Hello All:
I have a M1894 (20" barrel) and I have a desire to have the barrel cut down to a shorter length, a little more than the legal limit of 16 1/2" say about 17". I don't use the rifle for hunting, just for shooting enjoyment and I have always like the looks of the shorter barrelled Marlins. I know traditional thinking goes that you gain or lose about 25 to 50 feet per second of velocity for every inch of barrel depending on the round and the individual weapon. So potentially I would loose about 150 fps if I had the barrel cut to 17". However, as the .44 Mag is a pistol round there would have to be point in barrel length that extra length does not net you any more velocity. My question is what is that point? Before I cut I would like to hear if anyone has chronographed a short barrelled .44 rifle, say one of the older marlin 1894P with a 16 1/2" ported barrel or one of the Ruger .44 mag rifles.
Thanks for your time.
2Guns
