M&P 15-22 with short/12" barrels from new

[Blackstuff]

The difference between a 16" barrelled gun and 12" gun is night and day for mini-rifle competitions and moving around obstacles. My old GSG5 had a 16" barrel and my current Walter MP5 has a 12" barrel, there's no decernable difference in accuracy between the two (that I could tell anyway), in fact the Walther is slightly more accurate, but that could be as much to do with the manufacturer than simply the length. As I'm not slotting bunnies at 150m with it it's a no brainier for me. YMMV

[saddler]

I'm just wondering, is this a 'fashion' thing? I've never even considered shortening my 15-22 barrel until this thread.
What is the advantage? lower velocity? more un-burnt powder? less long range accuracy?.

Less long range accuracy?....with a .22!
Nothing less than a 16" barrel .22 for the 1200 metre practices..
12" will drop off about the 800m mark.

Chopping the barrel makes the gun a lot more practical for obstacles & close in work.
It also really changes the balance & movrs the c.o.g. further back.

Fashion? You've not seen Mark on the razzle of an evening. Hr thinks kipper ties & 18" flares are bang on trend.
Dapperest mover at his Northern Soul disco. ....definitely the Half Monty coz he aint the full shilling.

[Nelly2014]

Well, it seems I must defer to the cognoscenti and get the hacksaw out although tbh I'd rather saw the silly pipe off my 1911.

[safetyfirst]

It'll let you pop a nice can on the end and hide it under a handguard, keep the rifle short and make it nice and quiet too.

Plus it looks awesome.

[ovenpaa]

My Bunny gun is a 12.5" and is wonderfully pointable and reasonable out to about 90 yards, beyond this the issue is the trigger above anything else.

[BamBam]

It'll let you pop a nice can on the end and hide it under a handguard, keep the rifle short and make it nice and quiet too.

Plus it looks awesome.

I used to have a Hardy reflex, but the A-Tec wave is simpler and doesn't unscrew itself when you try and take it off. OAL is about the same as a 16" barrel rifle.

[Hunter87]

Quick barrel swap by Suffolk rifle company R.I.P

https://youtu.be/cO8eFU5uyBc

https://youtu.be/6IduXgNLrMo

And comparing barrel lengths.

[BamBam]

Quick barrel swap by Suffolk rifle company R.I.P

https://youtu.be/cO8eFU5uyBc

And what happened to that 2nd hand 16" barrel taken from the customer's rifle?

[safetyfirst]

It was no doubt turned into a 12" barrel for sale to the next customer. When I asked him to do this for me that's what he said would happen and the price reflected it.

[Nelly2014]

"I still wouldn't go with a barrel shorter than 16 inches. We took a long contender barrel and started cutting it down an inch at a time to see what the effect of barrel length would be. Every time we shortened the barrel we test fired it off the bench and also through a chronograph. Muzzle velocity started dropping off at 16 inches. Accuracy started to suffer at about 12 inches. I can't remember for sure what ammo we were shooting, but I believe it was RWS R-50.

By cutting the barrel too short, you will be compromising the silencer by not getting a complete powder burn before the bullet exits the barrel. If you can stand the extra couple of inches, I think you would be better off to leave them"

I found this on a US rimfire site and it reminded me of this old debate.