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Thread: Overall length - 14.5" vs 14.7"

  1. #11
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    If you're going to spend a few hundred dollars with a gun smith to reprofile, cut, and alter your barrel to fit in a $75 gun bag, wouldn't it make sense to buy another bag.

    Is 1mm worth the ass pain that the ATF could bring down if you shaved too much off?

    Would anyone ever find out? Probably not, but why take the chance.

    I had the same argument with a gun smith in Tallahassee, FL when he returned my 14.5" Heavy Barrel w/ a 1" A2 birdcage on it. Needless to say, it was the last time I ever gave him business. He even had the audacity to attempt and charge me more money for him to go and re-do the work.
    US Army Infantry 2008-2012
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  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by buckjay View Post
    Apologies if I'm over thinking it.

    I was already going to have a 16" barrel cut to 14.7" and I figure it wouldn't hurt to do some homework and see what the actual minimum length I could cut it would be.
    You can cut it as short as you want; just make sure you either a) spend the extra $200 for the stamp or b) get a long enough muzzle device and permanently attach it to make it 16.1". That .1" is a little butthurt now to ensure there isn't any from prison.

    PRGGodfather mentioned on the old BC thread that a BC1.5 adds just over 1.5" to the OAL of your barrel. The BC1.0? You guessed it, about an inch.

    If I was too cheap/lazy/in a nanny state and didn't SBR it but still wanted to go as short as possible, I would go 14.5" and add a BC1.5 and permanently attach it.
    Last edited by Travis B; 08-04-11 at 06:53.

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by ZoneOne View Post
    If you're going to spend a few hundred dollars with a gun smith to reprofile, cut, and alter your barrel to fit in a $75 gun bag, wouldn't it make sense to buy another bag.
    This.

    I think it would make more sense to take the $$ you're going to spend on altering your weapon and buy a case that fits it. You can pick up a good condition used Pelican Case for $150 or a new/used soft case for less.

    If you absolutely have to cut it down, I'd consider taking it to a gunsmith you trust in your area and asking them their opinion on it first.
    The difference between a revolutionary and a dictator, is a matter of timing.
    والسلام عليكم

  4. #14
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    I never said the sole purpose of cutting down a barrel was to fit in a bag.

    As I said earlier I'm already having a barrel cut down to 14.7" and since I was already doing this I was hoping to find out what the minimum actually is.

  5. #15
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    If your state allows SBR have you ever thought of just registering it? if you subtract the cost of having the FH permed....you are part way to the $200 tax and then you can swap to what ever FH you want then. you could even cut the barrel to 14" and have lots of extra room to fit in your bag.

    advntrjnky

  6. #16
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    Okay, somebody fretting over millimeters for the purposes of legality clearly isn't considering going the SBR route. That's making up your own question to answer in lieu of answering the question posed. Not a fan of that.

    Tell the guy how long you want the OAL w/device to be. Provide him with a barrel that allows him to meet this metric. Hold him to that metric. Gunsmiths should be used to this level of persnickety-ness. Have him tell you what he had to cut the barrel to, once the job is complete.

    Voila; you'll have your answer. Food for thought: If you don't trust the guy to cut that barrel to the specfic length you want, and feel the need to specify the length to cut to instead of the desired length of the finished product, why are you trusting him to cut it in the first place?

    Corollary: You're willing to risk the possibility of the thing not being cut long enough to be legal....over nothing more than a millimeter or two and being dead-nuts-on 16" OAL, instead of maybe being 16.1"? It's America, so do as you see fit, but there's no ROI on that risk except to assuage a personality quirk.

    1. Too much thinking.

    2. This is a "fit 'n' finish" topic. Function is form in a fighting rifle. This doesn't affect function any more than scrimshaw and filigree work...

    ...but I'll leave it open for somebody to provide a no-shit measurement, IOT get you an answer, provided somebody can DO that.

    Something in Imperial or metric length units.

    And nothing else.
    Contractor scum, AAV

  7. #17
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    Too much thinking and possibly money over less than a quarter of an inch of barrel length. Just buy another bag for heavens sake if all you're trying to do is fit it in a bag.

    I would find it hard to believe that even the ATF would fret over 1/8" - 3/16" of an inch when you're talking about a 16" barrel with muzzle device.

    JSantoro

    Would you happen to be a Master Sergeant in the military? You sure weld a sword like one. Good stuff.
    Scoby


    “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”Thomas Jefferson, quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria in “On Crimes and Punishment”, 1764

  8. #18
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    He already stated that the bag isn't the primary thrust of the question of length. Let's see if we can get him an actual measurement.

    That means numbers, folks!

    Blame what you see me type as the results of a Jesuit education and a barely-contained, unfocused inner rage ( ).
    Contractor scum, AAV

  9. #19
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    From http://www.atf.gov/publications/down...-chapter-2.pdf

    Page 6

    "A rifle subject to the NFA has a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length.

    The ATF procedure for measuring barrel length is to measure from the closed bolt (or breech-face) to the furthermost end of the barrel or permanently attached muzzle device. Permanent methods of
    attachment include full-fusion gas or electric steel-seam welding, High-temperature (1100°F) silver soldering, or blind pinning with the pin head welded over. Barrels are measured by inserting a dowel rod
    into the barrel until the rod stops against the bolt or breech-face. The rod is then marked at the furthermost end of the barrel or permanently attached muzzle device, withdrawn from the barrel, and
    measured."

    Seems to me the 16.1" after perming a muzzle device is to ensure compliance.

    You can always call your local ATF office and ask.
    The difference between a revolutionary and a dictator, is a matter of timing.
    والسلام عليكم

  10. #20
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    If you ding up the muzzle on a rifle or shotgun you have a little extra there to face off and recrown if it's cut at 16.1 inches or 18.5. Granted, the AR muzzle is covered by the flash hider so buggering up the crown isn't as easy as something with a bare muzzle. But it is possible to get some corrosion there. If it's cut a bit long, you can go back and recrown it.

    Here's my advice: Have it cut to 14.7 inches and use a standard BC 1.0 or A2 flash hider. If, in the future, it becomes necessary to recrown the barrel you can take it down to 14.5 and use a BC 1.5 or A2X or other longer flash hider. At 14.7 you can still hit the legal minimum, but have room to repair the barrel if you have to.

    Just my $.02 worth.

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