Cutting down a single shot barrel

[balttigger]

Stupid idea time.....

I find myself with an Effin-A 7.62 tunable muzzle brake and an idea. I have an H&R frame with which I have a .270 and .243 barrel fitted to. I was wondering the feasibility of cutting either of those barrels down to 13.5 to 15 inches and having the 3-inch brake pinned to it to make a stubby blind gun for deer.

Now, before everyone starts jumping on my butt, I know it's gonna be loud as hell and I hunt with a set of electronic ear muffs. Also, before I hear about these cartridges needing 20 inches of barrel, I see Thompson makes a 15" Encore pistol barrel for the .243 and .308 so it must not be too bad of an idea.

OK. Disclaimers out of the way. Which would be the better choice?

 

[Magnumite]

TC makes 15" barrels for the Encore so they will be a handgun. That 15" of length just gets the barrel closer to ballistic efficiency while still being a legal handgun.

Nothing wrong with setting a gun up to your vision or liking. Since it is already a rifle, a barrel of 16" to 20" then adding the brake wouldn't castrate the cartridge and still allow portability and easy use in the blind. It is all in what you want. Good luck with your project..looks like it will be fun no matter which way you go.

 

[balttigger]

Thanks, I am leaning more toward the .270 since it has more power and will lose less in the process.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Still not understanding the primary goal. Is it to have a tunable muzzlebreak on purpose, and the bbl shortening is secondary to get ease of manuver in the blind ? Or is the goal to retain maxium velocity/ power with minium legal bbl length ?

If the later , simply shorten the chosen bbl to 16.1 inches and declare victory. Neither cal was oppresive recoil. Yes, tunable bbl do hickies can potentially improve accuracy, but how well does your gun shoot presently ? Does it do minute of whitetail? A good crown after shortening should be at least as accurate as stock, if not better.

Usually I'm of the inclination that more accuracy is always a good thing, but if minimizing OAL is important, a long muzzle appliance moves towards the expendable end of the scale.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Still not understanding the primary goal. Is it to have a tunable muzzlebreak on purpose, and the bbl shortening is secondary to get ease of manuver in the blind ? Or is the goal to retain maxium velocity/ power with minium legal bbl length ?

If the later , simply shorten the chosen bbl to 16.1 inches and declare victory. Neither cal was oppresive recoil. Yes, tunable bbl do hickies can potentially improve accuracy, but how well does your gun shoot presently ? Does it do minute of whitetail? A good crown after shortening should be at least as accurate as stock, if not better.

Usually I'm of the inclination that more accuracy is always a good thing, but if minimizing OAL is important, a long muzzle appliance moves towards the expendable end of the scale.

 

[balttigger]

Primarily I want a stubby length for ease of movement in a confined space. The brake, since I have it, will be used for recoil but also to reduce muzzle rise.

I am guessing that I will lose about 200fps by cutting the barrel down, which will still leave me at 2,600 ft/lb at the muzzle which would put me on par with a .25-06 and still decently powered out past 200 yards if required.

I have the H&R in .300 Blackout and like the shortness of it; just wanted something with a little more punch and range.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Ok, I did some looking up and number crunching. Most of the vel loss per inch numbers for .270 are looking at bbls in 20-24in range. Significantly shorter bbls will have more marginal effect per inch. The quoted 37fps/ inch fits in with figures for 15in Encores.

Hogdon has load data for 15 inch .270 . Max loads provide 2600-2700 fps for a 130gr. For factory loads lets say 2600fps . this gives 1950 ft lb. Which is roughly similar to warm .30-30 in 24in
, albeit with the .270 bullet having higher BC, and thus retained downrange energy.

Can this kill bambi @ 200yds? You betcha. If you feel this fits your personal parameters, take this as a green light.

If potential for 300yds or game larger than the average Whitetail are important, more bbl length is big improvement.

I get it that you are looking at using the bbls that you already own. If you were starting upon this from the get go , a ctg with a high bore expansion ratio would be a good starting point.

 

[balttigger]

Yes. I already own several barrels for my H&R and would be using that one. If I need to get out past 200 yards, I have a bolt action .308 with an 18" barrel or a 22" barreled 7mm-08 as well as a .260 - I have options :-) This would purely be a short range, confined space, blind gun.

 

[Jmorrismetal]

If I were going to go that short I would rather rechamber the .243 to 6mmBR but that's going to be a bit more work because you will have to remove and reinstall the barrel block.

 

[balttigger]

If I were going to go that short I would rather rechamber the .243 to 6mmBR but that's going to be a bit more work because you will have to remove and reinstall the barrel block.

Yeah. I looked into stubbing a spare 20ga barrel I have but when the cost was close to the cost of a new bolt action, I reconsidered. I can keep the trim and thread to just over $100.

 

[rseymorejr]

Wouldn't you need to have the brake welded also, to keep you 16'+?

 

[balttigger]

Wouldn't you need to have the brake welded also, to keep you 16'+?

Having it pinned. Yes.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Ok, I can see the reasoning for the short OAL within your intended distance patameters.

But by the same stroke, within those distances, you'd be within minute of whitetail without resorting to a bbl tuning device ( presuming the gun shoots acceptably in original form). The three inch shorter bbl and brake will put a whole lotta blast inside that cramped blind. A .270 doesn't kick that much by the standards of real rifles. Just cut to 16.1 inch, and a good crown.

 

[balttigger]

Ok, I can see the reasoning for the short OAL within your intended distance patameters.

But by the same stroke, within those distances, you'd be within minute of whitetail without resorting to a bbl tuning device ( presuming the gun shoots acceptably in original form). The three inch shorter bbl and brake will put a whole lotta blast inside that cramped blind. A .270 doesn't kick that much by the standards of real rifles. Just cut to 16.1 inch, and a good crown.

I am putting the brake on more for recoil than anything, and the fact that I have it sitting on the shelf unused. I bought it for a different project and decided to go a different route. I have bursitis in both shoulders and find that they can be a tad recoil sensitive. I hunt with a set of ear plugs anyway, so I am not worried about the blast.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Well you certianly know the parameters, the tradeoffs, and your specific situation, to make your informed decisions specific to you . My hat's off to you.

Without trying to be argumentive :

I presume you are looking for a bit more horsepower than from your .243. And further presume you would seek a balance of good hunting terminal effect and minimal recoil.

Ballistically you have that .260 and 7-08 . If you further handloaded the 7-08 to th level of 7x57 start loads, or the .260 to level of the various 6.5mm mil ctgs ( but with hunting bullets) , you'd have perfect shooting rifles. Any room to reconsider being somewhat awkard while entering blind, but acceptable handling once setup in front of ( shooting window/ port ?

 

[balttigger]

Well you certianly know the parameters, the tradeoffs, and your specific situation, to make your informed decisions specific to you . My hat's off to you.

Without trying to be argumentive :

I presume you are looking for a bit more horsepower than from your .243. And further presume you would seek a balance of good hunting terminal effect and minimal recoil.

Ballistically you have that .260 and 7-08 . If you further handloaded the 7-08 to th level of 7x57 start loads, or the .260 to level of the various 6.5mm mil ctgs ( but with hunting bullets) , you'd have perfect shooting rifles. Any room to reconsider being somewhat awkard while entering blind, but acceptable handling once setup in front of ( shooting window/ port ?

The 7-08 is out right now because it is a stainless barrel and a doe busted me cold sticking that nice silver barrel out of a dark blind one cold morning last year. The main reason for the stubby barrel length is for ease of movement inside the blind without having to worry about hitting the inside of the blind. If I find myself in a stand, then barrel length would be less of a concern.

Also, I am not handloading yet. I have a turret press (still in the box) and am considering selling it and instead setting up two single stage presses since I plan to use one of the computerized charge dispensers and prime by hand - but that is a forthcoming post in a different section.

 

[balttigger]

Work has finally been completed. Barrel length with the pinned Effin-A 7.62 brake is 16-1/2".
Gonna be a couple weeks before I get to see how she shoots.

 

[Blacksmith101]

Get a bigger blind.

 

[Jerry M]

Muzzle break is also going to increase the noise on a short and already loud barrel...

 

[balttigger]

Muzzle break is also going to increase the noise on a short and already loud barrel...

oh...i know it