Wanting to shorten an '06

[justonemorear]

I have a 26" Enore SS barrel and I would like input on how short, I was told that not to go below 18" but there are Encore 15" factory barrels.
I reload from 125gr Speer TNT and 110 gr Hot-Cor to 180gr Noslers and 220 gr. RN and would like to maintain the current accuracy from 2- 4" @ 200yd. I don't shoot much further then that.
thanks

[Keith L]

If you go shorter than 16 inches it just became a pistol barrel.  Other than that I don't know of any rules.  Your load will determine how efficient the barrel is.  In other words you can load for nearly any length and get fair performance.

[JON8777]

I am looking into getting my 300wm cut to 15" and have a break installed...

Heres what I have found from talking on this and other site....

Generaly speaking you can still get MOA accuracy from a cut 15" brl, you will need to drop the bullet weight to mid or lower weight
and your going to have to rethink your powderd as well.

The other thing you need to ask your gunsmith is his headstock dimension for cutting an Encore brl with the lug still attached. Most are going to be 19 3/4" ish.
You want him to cut & crown it in the headstock, they can cut it with a "chop saw" and drill press the crown, but thats probably not what you want done.

[justonemorear]

So it is better to cut and crown on a lathe? He wanted to chop it then recrown. What would I lose by this method? This is my first shortening and I my want to shorten a few others.

[Keith L]

The way a lathe works (turning worpiece and statioary tool) makes it quite hard to cut and crown off level.  And anyone who knows how to set the lathe up properly will get the cut on center as well.  It is much harder to foul up a crown when done on a lathe.  If you are careful (and really patient) and know how to  measure you should be able to cut and square up a barrel with a hacksaw and a file, then make the crown with a carrage bolt and grinding compound.  But chances are that the average person will not be able to do it well.

[troy_mclure]

theres lots of guys out there that specialize in encore/contender bbl/brakes.

[Lone Star]

...It is much harder to foul up a crown when done on a lathe....

Maybe.  The problem develops when the bore is not concentric with the outside of the barrel - something that is more common than many think with factory barrels.  I've had this problem on several barrels I shortened.  To save an out-of-spec factory barrel blank it is not uncommon for them to be "straightened".  This can put the bore considerably off-center, making it impossible to correctly crown that barrel on a lathe.  In this instance, the crown must be done "by hand" with a crowning tool. 



On properly-centered barrels of course, the crown can best be done on the lathe.



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[justonemorear]

 That is far off center. Was it like that before shortening. Mine iscentered at the current lenght 26", worried now that it may be off after shortening.

[Lone Star]

The original muzzle had the bore in the center.  When the barrel was straightened prior to turning it put the bore off-center 6" back of the muzzle.  This is always a risk when cutting off a barrel, but much less of one with high quality barrels.

BTW this barrel shoots great, it just looks hokey.


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[Hopalong7]

Lonestar,  I've a 30/30Win barrel cut from 21" to 16.5" that may be worse(at least as bad) than yours.  I laid it aside and forgot about it for several years thinking it was good for nothing more than a tent peg.  I had shot it as a carbine very little and only with open sights before cutting.  One day I was looking through my bullet inventory and saw a piece of a box of .30 125BT's and thought about that barrel....decided to see just how bad it was.  At 100yd a dime would cover the first three shots.  It IS one of my best shootin' barrels and the crown has still not been touched since the chop saw.  Some surprises ARE still good!
GOOD SHOOTIN', Walt