Barrel shortening ?

[sims5]

I have a Savage 22-250 with a blued 26" barrel.  I would like to shorten the barrel to 20" or 22" to ease in trekking around the woods.  Would this hurt the performance much?  How should I refinish the end once it has been chopped?

thanks

[slagmaker]

You will have to recrown the end and blue it. Any gunsmith worth his salt can do this when he shortens the barrel.


Yes you would have some loss of performance but I couldnt begin to tell you how much.

[Hawks Feather]

Like Slag said there will be a drop in velocity and if you reload you might need to start searching for a new "best" load.  If you start checking out some of the accuracy forums you might be able to find out how much velocity you will lose.  It will not be a huge number but still might be more than you are willing to give up.  As for an accuracy change that has been debated for years.  I think part of the reason for the problem is that there are different twist rates in different barrels.  Some guns need the extra couple of inches to complete the stabilization process of the bullet.  There are others that don't so when you start asking on the accuracy forums you will need to know the twist rate of your rifle.  Since many people are using a scope on their rifle the longer sight radius is no longer a factor.  The final thing that I would ask is what your plans are for your rifle and if you will be satisfied with a possible change in accuracy.  If you are shooting coyote sized targets at 100 yards it will be much different than if you are shooting at prairie dogs at 300 yards.  If your rifle shoots 3 inch groups at 100 yards you will be good to go for a coyote, but will be lucky if you hit the prairie dog. 

I have a Remington with a replacement barrel that shoots much, much better than my Thompson Center Contender.  There is a difference in the quality of the barrel, the length of the barrel, and the weight of the barrel.  If I am "short shooting" the short barreled light weight TC is nice.  If I really want the accuracy I take the longer barreled heavy weight Remington.  So I guess I am saying that shortening the barrel will make the gun a little lighter and easier to move around.  Whoever does the work, make sure that they know what they are doing.  A little nick or uneven crown will cause you WAY more problems than just the change in barrel length ever will.

Jerry

[HaMeR]

The rule of thumb I've always read is 50fps for each 1". So in theory you will lose 250fps after chopping 5" off. So a 55gr bullet at 3800fps will now only be traveling 3550fps. Hardly anything a coyote or any other under 100lb critter will notice. You will probably end up with more load development like Jerry mentioned too. Plus 5" off the end of the barrel could result in being awkward to carry & out of balance if you have to lift it off your sticks to shoot. I'm assuming you use sticks here. JMHO

[Palegroe]

From my experience the only thing I can say for sure is you will lose some velocity.  On average with a .308 that’s the where I have a lot of experience with, is it is never the same.  Going form 26-25" I’ve lost 120-200 fps with different barrels and rounds.  24-23" a little less like 80-100 and 23-22" not much at all 30-50.  With my .308's the best barrel length for me is a 20" easy to carry and don't loss enough velocity I can't make up for in reloading.  What rifling your barrel has will make more of a difference than the length of it I have decided in my experience.  If you reload your gun will probably need a new recipe because with a shorter barrel it won’t like the same pill. But on other hand the most accurate rifle I have ever had has a 26” barrel on it, it’s the only rifle I have that shoots consistent sub moa groups at 300+ yards.

[vvarmitr]

I have a Savage 22-250 with a blued 26" barrel.  I would like to shorten the barrel to 20" or 22" to ease in trekking around the woods.  Would this hurt the performance much?  How should I refinish the end once it has been chopped?

I sure hope for your sake you aren't planing on doing the lopping!    Unless your a good machinist.
However, if you take it to a gunsmith the finishing of the end of the barrel should be included in the price.

I concur w/ my colleagues above. Again I will enforce the getting of a proper crown! 
The debate on crowns is whether to have an 11* or 90* crown.   Personally, I'd go w/ the 90* crown & then finish w/ the 11*.

[sims5]

I definitely would have a professional gunsmith cut the barrel, if I get it done.  The 26" just seems a tad long for me.  I was just weighing the idea and wanted to see what you all thought.  Do you know if anyone makes a 20" 22-250 from the factory, as I could compare that to?

[Hawks Feather]

The 22-250 is the problem.  Ruger has some 20 and also 16.5 inch barrels, but not in 22-250.

Jerry

[bushmaster]

more recoil is another issue, although that round probably doesn't produce much to start with.

[FozzyBear]

I would find a good gunsmith to do the work . But it mite be best to rebarl it. It mite be cheaper.

[coyotehunter_1]

Do you know if anyone makes a 20" 22-250 from the factory, as I could compare that to?

sims5, I don't know if this will help... I have a Remington model 7 in 22-250 (with a 20" factory sporter barrel). It's capable of sub MOA groups but I'm not sure Remington uses the same barrel twist (1 in 14") as the Savage (1 in ?).

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/centerfire/model-seven/model-seven-cdl.aspx

[slagmaker]

My savage Model 111 in 22-250rem is a 1n12 I belive. I have to clean it tomorrow so I will double check.

[coyotehunter_1]

slag, from what I can find on the Savage website you are correct, they show their 22-250's to be a 1 in 12" twist.

[FinsnFur]

My Ruger M77 22-250 stainless is a 22

[FozzyBear]

I have a 22-250 reamton 700 bull baral bolt new in 65 22 in baral . I thank it is a 1and14 twist.

[sims5]

I think for the time being I'm going to leave the barrel at 26", thanks for the input.

[Yotehntr]

  Saw the topic and thought my wife had joined.

[slagmaker]

Just checked my Savage and it has 1n12 twist in a 20" barrel. I like its performance very well. 100 yard and I can usually cover 5 with a dime/nickel with hand loads. Store bought [Winchester white box] will be less than a half inch group at that range. I am not done trying loads out either. I thnk I can get it even tighter.

[sims5]

thanks slagmaker, just when I try and quit thinking about having the barrel chopped you have to go and tell me that kind of accuracy is possible.
  uhhhh , decisions decisions!!!!

[slagmaker]

Now my barrel is factory that length . If ya go chopping it you may not get that kind of accuracy but I would think it entirely possible with a good competent gunsmith .

As Fozzy pointed out "it may be cheaper to re barrel". That is a big plus concerning savage firearm . Easy to re barrel and head space .

You may be able to find a gunsmith with a barrel in the length you are wanting that he has swapped off another savage. It would be worth looking into anyway.