Is this legal?

[Spear Dane]

Howdy do. Is it legal to buy a 14.5" barrel and have some kind of muzzle device bring it up to the 16"+ legal length ?

 

[Goodcat]

Yes, provided it is pin welded and meets the 16" requirement overall.

 

[M67]

Has to be pinned and welded but yes, completely legal without going SBR

 

[Clay]

or it can be high temp silver soldered in place.

 

[Tactically Fat]

Or leave it as is and put it on a pistol.

Of course, if you did that, you'd have a "firearm" - neither a rifle nor a pistol... But you could put a VFG on whatever it is, then, if'in you wanted.

 

[Hop]

I tried to silver solder my Battle Comp 1.5 into my Colt M4 contour 14.5" and it was a bear. I ended up doing a blind pin and weld. I really like the length.

 

[2A_Tom]

I am not sure i get it. A shorter bbl has less accuracy and you have to make it into a 16" configuration anyway.

Just sayin'

 

[phylodog]

Barrel length doesn't affect accuracy. It will limit range but longer doesn't mean more accurate.

A 14.5" with a pinned and welded comes out to 16" OAL. A 16" with a brake or comp is going to come out 17.5. For some that 1.5 is worth the cost of a P&W.

 

[foszoe]

I guess the obvious question for me is if it affects range then there must be a distance at which accuracy is affected, so what would that range be?

 

[Light]

I guess the obvious question for me is if it affects range then there must be a distance at which accuracy is affected, so what would that range be?

Your overall distance will drop. Usually a bullet is completely inaccurate when it drops from supersonic flight, it usually starts tumbling.
According to some numbers I put in, a 14.5" barrel firing Remington UMC 50gr JHP will have a muzzle velocity of about 3000fps.
With a bullet coefficient of 0.192 that means it will become subsonic at 1116fps which will occur between 500 and 525 yards.



I used shooterscalculator.com to make the chart.

 

[RobbyMaQ]

Barrel length doesn't affect accuracy. It will limit range but longer doesn't mean more accurate.

A 14.5" with a pinned and welded comes out to 16" OAL. A 16" with a brake or comp is going to come out 17.5. For some that 1.5 is worth the cost of a P&W.

OK, let's say you had a 100 yard barrel, and your target was 100 yards away...

 

[Woobie]

So according to Ballistic AE, which isn't perfect, but at the ranges we're talking about is plenty close enough, M193 will go transonic around 609 yards out of a 16" barrel, and 585 yards out of a 14.5". That is assuming MV's of 3100 and 3000 fps, respectively.

Using the same engine, but with Hornady 75 gn HPBT TAP, the bullet goes transonic at 843 yards from a 16" and 809 from a 14.5". This is assuming MV's of 2525 fps and 2450 fps respectively.

I did not chrony these myself, the MV's are pulled off the internet. So take that for what it's worth. I expected a little more disparity in the supersonic distance numbers, honestly. But to me, the main draw of the 16" is the ability to thread on a suppressor or suppressor mount at a later time, without having to cut off a muzzle device. Furthermore, to use a suppressor with a 14.5" in a direct thread configuration, you would have to permanently attach it, which is obviously a terrible idea for a host of reasons. But if you are convinced you will never change muzzle devices or gas blocks, and you want the handier length of the 14.5" + muzzle device, go forth and conquer. Just make sure it is done according to ATF regulation, because, you know, the right to keep and bear 14.5" weapons is totally ok to infringe and they can ruin your life if you don't play along.

 

[foszoe]

Thanks for the replies.

 

[long coat]

AR-22 SB-X ? Tactical Solutions

Do something like this for a 9mm AR and have a great HD rifle.

 

[ScouT6a]

AR-22 SB-X ? Tactical SolutionsDo something like this for a 9mm AR and have a great HD rifle.

That's a pretty slick setup.

 

[Shalashaska]

As long as it's permanently attached and brings the barrel length to at least 16"