Will shortening a barrel hurt accuracy.....

I have a .243 that is a good shooter, but has a 22” Barrel. I’m considering cutting down to 18” but am concerned it will hurt the accuracy or change how well it shoots. I know short barrels can shoot accurately, but have never cut one down after knowing how it shoots. Any personal experiences on this? Thoughts?

Thanks guys.

should only affect velocity

It's possible but not probable. If the rifle is properly fitted to the stock, there should be no change in accuracy. Accuracy may even improve with a shorter, stiffer barrel & a better crown. If you shorten it & accuracy drops off, check the crown first. Then the next step would be to re-bed the stock.

I've a 26" .22-50 that was shortened to 24" with no ill effects. I have a buddy that has had several barrels shortened & he never complained of any accuracy drop off.

FWIW

Some say it helps...as it should be somewhat stiffer. I have not seen any change on any of mine I have cut down...

Ed

Shorter barrel = stiffer barrel. The more stiff the barrel, the greater the liklehood it will do well with a larger number of mass produced ammo boxes.

Shortening the barrel will reduce velocity, though.

All I need to know, Thanks guys.

My .243 was cut to 19" ( Bartlein barrel) and is my most accurate gun

Just curious, why 19”?

Morgan cut my Savage Predator 243 down to 20" from 24". It shoots my pet load exactly the same. It's sure a lot handier now though.

Hmmmmm thinking about cutting my wife's 7mm-08 down to 20-22" to make it more suppressor friendly. Decisions decisions

I've got that exact combo.

It drives a 162 gr A-Max at 2635 fps MV.

I just had Morgan chop my Tikka 7/08 to 16 1/2" and for what I need it's been a good decision.. Much easier to handle in the stand w/ the suppressor & it fits (barely) in my Voodoo Tac bag.. Our shots are mainly 125-200 yrds so the loss in velocity isn't noticeable..

Example if I may ask,,,If using the 140 grain bullet weight you are using is on the edge of the stable borderline in the twist rate calculator before cutting a barrel, for example if you are shooting a 140 grain bullet and its on the borderline in the stable / unstable in the twist rate calculator of a 1-12 twist barrel, and cutting a barrel two inches might put the bullet more in the unstable edge in the twist rate calculator chart. Just a thought, I am not Albert Einstein nor a professional gunsmith, just curious if that would happen.

my 17" 7mm08 is shooting 140s right at 2800 FPS and 120s at 2900, with a can on it.
I HATE long barrel rifles for hunting as I always run a can..

Jim Gilmore states a barrel of any caliber at 21 3/4" long is the optimal length. I will post the article in a separate thread. Super cool read.

Well, he's wrong.

I wondered about that also, bbl weight, thickness, etc...but I figured Mr. Gilmore has a great deal more experience and knowledge than me so I took it with a grain of salt. I do agree that shorter ( to a certain extent) is better for accuracy...I've had 2 cut down and both improved, unfortunately I also had other things done at the same time so I cannot be 100% sure on how much it helped. P_102

a shorter barrel may not affect the rifles accuracy but it sure does affect mine.
Handiness is one thing shoot ability is another.

how? I don't remotely understand how it would.

There is quite the difference between a rifle the barrel has been shortened and a proper short barrel rifle.
A rifle that was cut off should shoot as well as before cutting off the bench but the balance is off (assuming it was right in the first place) and offhand handling may be poor.
I has a Contender with 16" barrels is several cartridges that have proper balance and stock fit and they shoot offhand as well as a long barrel bolt gun. And are easy to swing in a blind or brush..

M

If the balance is going to be off, I'd much rather have it heavy in the butt vs. the barrel. Keep in mind, many people do this with the thought of adding a suppressor at some time. P_102