Cut barrel or Leave well-enough alone?

[H80Hunter]

Just thinking out loud but looking for some feedback.

I have a T3x Veil rifle. Cartridge is 6.5 PRC. It’s in a nice chassis, has a RS-approved scope and shoots very well. I just bought a Scythe-Ti. Now I haven’t done a full on 10 or 30 round zero, that’s not really the point here. But it’s very accurate. After I broke it in and worked out the drops for dialing, i shot a 6 shot group that was about 0.64 inches. When I got the suppressor I didn’t have time to do a ton so I just went to my backyard 100 yard target and shot a 3 shot group all touching to see the POI shift.

The issue is, as everyone is probably guessing, total length. Whatever the actual statistically valid precision level of this gun is, it’s very accurate. But the 24” barrel plus the Scythe is pretty long. I’m hesitant to cut it down though because it’s probably the most accurate rifle I have. It has a folding stock so carrying it around it doable. It’s not a big deal.

I live in Wisconsin. I’ll probably use it on a western guided/backpack hunt 1x a year and the rest will be treestand use here. I also have a sig cross in 6.5 CM that does have an 18” barrel. Maybe the mistake is just having both these 6.5 caliber rifles but I liked the 24” barrel because it stretches the gap in performance vs the 18” Creedmoor.

So…. Get the barrel chopped and hope it still hammers? Or just leave it since it’s such a good gun, my use case isn’t like 3-5x western hunts a year it’s 1x at most and the folding stock mitigates some of the unwieldy-ness? I’m worried I’ll go through the hassle of sending it off, getting it threaded, possibly risking some of the accuracy it already has proven and then ending up with a 4” shorter package that isn’t as accurate.

 

[david2duck]

Cut it down. Every rifle we’ve had cut down has shot just as good and we’ve been much happier with the overall length suppressed.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Leave it. If the stock folds, your 1x a year western hunt wont be a big deal.

 

[wind gypsy]

Leave it. If the stock folds, your 1x a year western hunt wont be a big deal.

Hunting with a flagpole for a barrel from a treestand isn't ideal either.

Everyone's different but I'd not carry a 24" barreled rifle with a suppressor on a western hunt more more than once. 22" + ultra 7 was too much for me.

 

[LeftyWilbury]

damned if you do, damned if you dont. flip a coin. the two tikkas i sent off to get threaded came back as accurate or better. i'd hope if the shop is competent enough to thread a cold-hammer forged barrel, they can handle doing a proper crown....

good luck!

 

[Wyo_hntr]

Cut it.

 

[jimh406]

There aren't that many times a shorter barrel helps much. If you want to do it for something to do, do it if you have money to do it.

You lose velocity by cutting a barrel. It's kind of interesting to me that you can turn a 300 Mag into a 308 if you cut enough off. I "could" cut my 300 WBY while threading it. My 300 WSM is a carbon fiber that doesn't make cutting a real possibility.

I think you are better off buying a shorter suppressor or short barrel if you want to go really short. However, do consider the caliber choice as you cut. Unless you reload, a short barrel might just result in a big fireball.

 

[Article 4]

Don't touch it...you have a rifle that shoots incredibly well, why take any risk to introduce a process that might affect that.

 

[H80Hunter]

Thanks for all the feedback.

I’m generally of the opinion that:

1) any time the length would be a major liability I can just carry the Sig Cross

2) I’d be more likely to cut this barrel down if I had never fired a shot and didn’t know what a shooter this thing is

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Hunting with a flagpole for a barrel from a treestand isn't ideal either.

Everyone's different but I'd not carry a 24" barreled rifle with a suppressor on a western hunt more more than once. 22" + ultra 7 was too much for me.

I carry a 26” 6.5 PRC plus the brake - so close to 28”. Have been using that gun for the last 5 years and have never had an issue. Attached to my pack, in and out of scabbards, I have never once wished it was shorter . It has killed a bunch of elk , mulies and bears too. My stock doesn’t fold either.

 

[Scottf270]

If the rifle is a few shots a year on the range and a once a year out west on game I'd leave it alone and forget the can.

I know opinions are like buttholes, but I never understood spending hundreds of dollars on a can, wagging around extra weight on the end of a barrel, losing a percentage of performance from the cartridge they chose by cutting barrel length, just to lessen the noise level. Muzzle jump and recoil can be mitagated by a simple brake and ear plugs.

 

[Grundy53]

If the rifle is a few shots a year on the range and a once a year out west on game I'd leave it alone and forget the can.

I know opinions are like buttholes, but I never understood spending hundreds of dollars on a can, wagging around extra weight on the end of a barrel, losing a percentage of performance from the cartridge they chose by cutting barrel length, just to lessen the noise level. Muzzle jump and recoil can be mitagated by a simple brake and ear plugs.

Brakes are awful.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

 

[eightyeight mag]

Cut it to your liking.
Barrels are consumables. You will eventually need to replace and when you do you can always get a 24 incher again.

 

[01Foreman400]

Is it fluted?

 

[Fisherhahn]

Try it out for a year first. Take it on a hunt and see if it is awkward or unwieldy. If it is then have it cut, if not just carry on.

 

[wind gypsy]

I carry a 26” 6.5 PRC plus the brake - so close to 28”. Have been using that gun for the last 5 years and have never had an issue. Attached to my pack, in and out of scabbards, I have never once wished it was shorter . It has killed a bunch of elk , mulies and bears too. My stock doesn’t fold either.

I never minded carrying around a seekins 300wm with 26" barrel plus hellfire brake but a 22" custom tikka with an ultra 7 can was too cumbersome. I think the combination of the odd balance, being more sensitive about hitting stuff with the can than a barrel, and additional bulk made it significantly more annoying to me in comparison. Seems odd but thats how it was for me.

 

[JPeters218]

Cut it. I hunted whitetails here in MN one year with a 20” barrel + 9” can and it was terrible. Once you’re in the stand it’s fine, assuming it’s not a box blind. But still hunting was a real pain. Between banging it off trees, or the can dipping down and going into the snow. Or knocking snow off branches above your head. My Barrels this year are both gonna be 16” with 9” cans.
Both my tikkas shoot right around 1“ 10 shot groups with cut barrels. The accuracy is gonna be fine.
As far as velocity goes, unless you’re shooting animals out to 800ish yds (didn’t do the exact math on velo), losing 100-200 fps (depending on how much you cut off. 30fps per inch i believe is the general rule) isn’t going to matter. Your bullet is still going to upset

 

[180ls1]

Try it the way it is for 1 season then reassess.

 

[JGRaider]

Leave it alone. You've already got a short barreled CM. I've got a Sako S20 PRC I left unchopped for the same reason.

 

[SloppyJ]

I'd cut that dude down to 18 or 20"