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Offline casca1

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shorten 223 barrel ?
« on: October 10, 2009, 06:32:34 PM »
Greetings,
My problem is I have an 8yr old who is kinda small- even the Cricket rifle is a little long. Already have the youth stock on the .410 which he stated he like that little jump the gun does.  there is also a 4 yr old sister right behind him who loves to help reload.  never will run out of bullets when she counts !!

I want to take a 223 barrel and make it 16 1/2 inches and put open sights on it.  will PROBABLY be used for plinking only or perhaps an unlucky coyote. Can I cleanly lop off the extra barrel length and simply put a chamfer in the bore, then just touch up the barrel end?

I realize it really needs a crown, but not all kings wear crowns .

He wants to do some handloading with me and shoot his rewards We can cast 55gr. LEE BATOR bullets
which seem to work well in the Hornet & 22/250
So has anyone lopped off a Handi barrel and what were the results ?
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Offline dieselten

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #1 on: October 10, 2009, 06:57:17 PM »
yes, you can make a perfectly functional crown with hand tools.  Brownells also sells a nice hand operated crown/chamfer tool with inter changeable pilots.
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Offline wreckhog

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #2 on: October 10, 2009, 07:20:11 PM »
.223 on a 410 action?

Never tried cutting down a .223 Handi. Fired thousands through 16.5" AR's though. And maybe 100 through a 16.5" Encore.
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Offline Sourdough

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #3 on: October 10, 2009, 07:44:08 PM »
I shoot a 14" .223 barrel on my TC/Contender.  Get a lot of muzzleblast and flame.  I believe 16" is the point where that cartridge reaches it's maximum pressure point.  After 16" pressure is going down.  So you will also get a lot of muzzleblast and flame as well.  Crowning the barrel with hand tools should not be a problem.

I started my son out with a Chipmuck.  We thought it would be great for him.  His Mom started him shooting when he was 5.  When he reached 10 he still could not pull the cocking knob well.  It was just too hard to pull back.  After the wife let it slip one day just before it locked to the rear, and the gun went off, she decided he should no longer be shooting the Chipmunk. 

She commandeered my Contender.  She went to the gun store and came back with a youth stock and a 16" .22RF barrel.  Then a 16" .223 barrel.  When he turned 16, and I gave him a 30-06, I got my Contender back.  All I did was get the Full length stock and it makes a great pack gun.  I mount it on the handle bars of my snow machine.  Short enough to not catch on brush, and the .223 is good for Lynx, Coyote, and even Wolves. 
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Offline quickdtoo

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #4 on: October 10, 2009, 08:15:00 PM »
There are some links in the FAQs on cutting and crowning a barrel, all are do-it-yourself, I've done a couple, it's not hard to do at all.  ;)

Tim
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Offline myarmor

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #5 on: October 11, 2009, 06:14:53 AM »
I believe Rem still sales the 20" Superlight 223 with open sights.... that might be up your ally..


-Aaron
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Offline casca1

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #6 on: October 11, 2009, 09:38:03 AM »
thanks Aaron,
but where is the challenge and fun project in that ?
Already have a spare barrel in 223 already paid for .
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Offline Default

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #7 on: October 11, 2009, 10:26:48 AM »
Casca ,

   Do you what the barrel twist rate is in your 223 ?


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Offline casca1

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #8 on: October 11, 2009, 12:36:18 PM »
my belief is that the barrel is a 1-9 twist

but I wouldn't bet more than a buck on it >
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Offline quickdtoo

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #9 on: October 11, 2009, 02:56:06 PM »
It's easy to check, see the instructions listed under the twist rates in the FAQs.  ;)

Tim
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Offline casca1

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #10 on: October 11, 2009, 04:30:58 PM »
what is mininum length allowed on rifle length ?

thanks

it makes no difference to me if it's 1-9  or 1-12

i did some load work and with the cast Lee 22 Bator bullet they will still come out barrel with as little as 3/4 grain of reddot and still have a pretty good time with up to 7 grains of reddot  work pretty good in the encore also
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Offline quickdtoo

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #11 on: October 11, 2009, 06:19:16 PM »
16" is the minimum rifle barrel length, most cut to 16¼" or 16½ to be safe.  ;)

Tim
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Offline trotterlg

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #12 on: October 11, 2009, 06:44:29 PM »
There are also restrictions on minimum overall rifle length reguardless of barrel length.  Larry
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Offline quickdtoo

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #13 on: October 11, 2009, 07:04:50 PM »
Larry makes a good point,  trying to get it short for a youngin could get you in trouble, overall length minimum is either 26" or 28".

Tim
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Offline casca1

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #14 on: October 12, 2009, 02:08:11 AM »
after further research  it looks like the magic number is 26    that should be very do able and fit my needs

thanks team
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Offline Hopalong7

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #15 on: October 12, 2009, 03:40:43 AM »
      I too shoot a Contender carbine with the 16.25" barrels.  They are very handy....but....they are awfully short when you try to hold it to shoot.   I also have an 18" custom barrel with the same contour.  Carrying it you don't even notice the extra 2", but you sure do when you try to shoot it....holds mucho better, at least for me.  No matter how small the shooter, I'd just about be willing to bet an 18" would shoot better than 16", and I know the muzzle blast would be considerablely less.  Just my 2 cents worth.  :D
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Offline casca1

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #16 on: October 12, 2009, 09:57:30 AM »
well now that I know I got 26 inches to work with  ( never was able to use that in a sentence before)
shortening the stock is #1  then what ever I need for the barrel will be great
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Offline SD Handgunner

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #17 on: October 12, 2009, 10:16:37 AM »
In shooting T/C Contender Handguns since 1982 I can state with a fair degree of certainty that a shorter stiffer barrel shoots as good or better than a longer skinnier barrel (all things being equal). Granted that can be taken to extremes as in the case of 2 different 10" Contender .223 Remington Handguns. 10" is just not enough barrel given a .22 caliber bore to burn that much powder efficiently.

Shooting the short barrels with just about any of the Ball Powders is going to be a sight to behold, with powders like H-335 or AA #2230 are going to create a huge fireball and blast. W-748 is one of the more friendly ball powders for short barrels and I have burned a pile of it over the years in 14" .223 Handguns.

Currently I am shooting a 16" Bushmaster M4 ORC .223 as my Coyote gun. I am loading 55gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips with H-4895. Shootability as well as accuracy is very, very good.

Larry
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Offline casca1

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #18 on: October 12, 2009, 02:39:40 PM »
I have the 15 inch encore barrel wich is a HOOT TO SHOOT
also have the 12inch 7.62x39

but the real flame thower is my ruger Blackhawk in 30 carbine with full power loads talk about a wiennie roaster>>
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Offline dpe.ahoy

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Re: shorten 223 barrel ?
« Reply #19 on: October 12, 2009, 03:28:41 PM »
Every 30 Carbine Blackhawk I've seen has cracked grips.  The darn things are so loud, everyone drops 'em and grabs their ears! ;D ;D ::)  DP
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