Cut down .223 barrel ?

[Saloon slug]

Has any body cut down the barrel on their 200/mod 10 in 223? If so what length did you go with and what velocity loss did you see?
I have been toying with the idea of cutting down to 20 or 18" to drop a touch of weight and to stiffen up the barrel.
Any input is most welcome.

[trotterlg]

I have a new factory takeoff barrel sitting here, pour thing is only 22 inches long to start with, I can't imagine gaining more than a few ounces taking off two inches, seems hardly worth the effort or cost.  Can't make it much stiffer than a 22 inch one is.  If it shoots bad now then I would say have at it, probably can only get better, and if it desn't then they are a dime a dozen anyway.  Larry

[Saloon slug]

Larry it shoots great now so it isn't an accuracy issue. This is my walking varmint gun and I thought it might handle a bit better with a shorter tube (where I usually hunt it is scrub brush in the 2' to 6' range in height and can be very dense in parts) . Just curious what I would be losing by going with the short barrel and what others have experienced by doing it them selves?

[trotterlg]

19 or 20 over a 22 inch will not be much different for you.  I have a 19 inch 17 Fireball and it will still make 3,700fps with 20gr bullets.  The .223 is kind of a small capacity case for the .22 cal so I would say things would be good.  When you get up to the 22-250 or 220 Swift you will need the barrel length to get maximum goodie out of the round.  Remember most of the AR15's are 16 inchers.  Larry

[jmayton]

I have a friend that cut his down to 18".  He did it because it his truck gun and is so much easier to handle.  I don't really notice the weight difference.  But it still shoots great.

[LaOtto222]

If it is going to be a walk around gun, your range is not going to be that long more than likely (not over 300 yards) - so cutting it down should not have that big of an impact on bullet trajectory. Muzzle blast is another thing - the shorter the barrel, the more you are going to get. Accuracy as you know should not change either as long as the crown is done right. You may find it likes different bullets or powder if you change the crown design. I have a couple of Stevens 200 - 223 take off barrels and they both have the old fashioned round crown. When you cut one down, unless you have a crowning tool to cut it, you will more than likely get a flatter type crown - the 11 degree crowns are popular right now for instance. This can impact your accuracy with a particular round or it may not. It may have preferred a flat base bullet and after the cut down, it may prefer a boat tail for instance; or not. Good Luck and Good Shooting.