22-250 ackley handgun barrel length.

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mjshell

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I have an encore 22-250 ai rifle barrel I'm considering having cut back to handgun length. What length do you recommend? And what kind of velocities can I expect with 50 grain pills. It will be used mainly from the bench. Currently Burning approximately 40 grains of Varget.
 
It's all going to depend on what pressure level you want to run. QL max pressure is preset at 57,986 psi. I have been using the SAAMI pressure for 22-250 (65,000 psi) as max pressure in my rifle for years without issue. Using 65000 as max, QL estimates 3,454 fps with a 15" barrel, 50 gr NBT and IMR 8203 XBR (97.25% powder burn). Not too shabby.
 

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If it's a rifle now and you plan to use the same action you'll need to keep it over 16" (and keep the OAL over 26") or register it as an SBR to keep it legal.

The NFA definition of an SBR includes weapons made from a rifle it the barrel is under 16" and/or the OAL is under 26". That only applies to firearms that were initially built as rifles, so if it's built as a pistol first it can go back and forth between pistol and rifle.

That said, I like 15-16" barrels. I find that's a good balance between performance and size. You'll almost certainly want a brake, which adds a bit of length too.
 

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