Ruger American Ranch SBR?

[13brv3]

Greetings,

One of the things I like about the 300BO is the fact that it works well with short barrels. For my general plinking activities, I shoot nothing but suppressed subsonic loads, and my SBR plus suppressor is still a "normal" overall length. My plan was to just stick with SBR ARs.

As I was experimenting with various SBR AR uppers, I bought a RAR just to see how much quieter it was without the action noise. This turned out to be good and bad, because now I really like the RAR, with the exception of the length. It's far more accurate than any of my ARs have been, and it's quiet and clean. The only problem is that it's so long with the suppressor, which leads me to the question of the day.

If I were to convert a RAR to SBR with a shortened barrel, would it be less accurate? I've always read that barrel length doesn't have anything to do with accuracy, but my only 16" 300BO pretty much embarrasses the 9" 300BO ARs, so I'm almost afraid to cut it off. How well do you think a RAR would shoot with a 9-10" barrel?

Thanks,
Rusty

[TMD]

Barrel length is not a factor in accuracy. The quality of the barrel, the crown, and chamber is though.

[ncbowhnter]

theoretically it should work. And what better rifle to try it with than a $389 rifle. Almost worth cutting it and doing a little private testing before going thru the paperwork hassle. I wouldn't recommend that though. Totally illegal.
This is a very interesting idea though.
I went thru the hassle and bought a shorter suppressor just because I fee the same way you do about the length.
My only concern about having the shorter barrel would be possibly messing up the harmonics so bad to make it shoot horribly. I don't know but it's a very interesting thought to say the least.

[rpk47]

What I would do personally is contact some manufactures of suppressors and see what they could do for you in the way of an integral suppressor. This way you can have a short 8 or 9 inch barrel, and then make up the rest in a suppressor that is permanently attached to the barrel.

You could have massive volume making it super quiet, plus only one tax stamp not 2. Ask over on silencer talk, there are a few manufactures that could help you out and probably get you a quote if your interested.

[RAINS]

I think the integral is the way to go as well. One stamp. Too bad you'd get tossed in the the Federal pokie for testing RAR barrel lengths. With the twist rate on the barrel you should be able to cut it as short as 7'. But I would not go shorter than 8'. Good luck and post pics!!!

[TheSpaniard]

The thought of SBRing my RARR has crossed my mind a few times. Something like 12 inches would be perfect IMO for doing mostly subs but occasionally hunting with supers. I wonder whether there is enough meat on the barrel at that length for a 5/8x24 thread. With the tapered barrel profile, that is something to consider.

[80hp]

Better measure the barrel diameter where you want to cut it. The RARR barrel is flared at the muzzle to have enough metal to thread.
M.

[13brv3]

Thanks for all the comments. I just did some measuring, and the shoulder behind the threads on the stock barrel is about 0.75". If you follow the tapered barrel back toward the receiver, you hit 0.75" again at about the 7" mark in length, so that would be pretty short.

The good news is that the outside diameter of the cut threads is 0.625, and even the narrowest part of the barrel is about 0.7". That of course means you could cut the barrel to any length, and still thread it, but you'd have a shorter shoulder behind the threads.

Integral suppressors are an option, but I've got all the suppressors I'll probably ever need, and none of them lend themselves to being permanently attached. With that in mind, I'd have to get another suppressor, and that takes longer than the form 1, so I probably won't go that route.

The other option I've been more interested in is permanently attaching a tube to the barrel, making the assembly 16" long. The suppressor can still screw on and off inside that tube, and it requires no additional stamps or paperwork.

I really wish you could just buy a spare barrel, but last time I checked (for a Ruger 10/22), they wouldn't sell barrels separately. I may just start looking out for another RARR, and leave my original alone for comparison.

Cheers,
Rusty

[golfindia]

SBR a TC Encore frame.

[kroeker]

I'm in the same boat as you but with my Remington 700. I'm planning to go the integral route when I get my new lathe. Think that's the ticket especially since you're increasing volume so much that you could get away with a much smaller od tube and not loose any suppression.