Thread: Building a shorty 22 (what barrel length)

Hay I brought a cheap norinco Jw15 today To turn into a shorty for farm hunting bunnies etc
Will be shooting suppressed and subbys only
What’s everyone using for shortys pretty much want shortest possible while still maintaining enough performance for 100y shots on bunnies
From what ive read that’s between 14-15in
But ive herd if guys going all the way to 12” with ok results

What’s the latest thorghts I know shorty 22’s were all the rage a couple of years back on here

I've done 3 now at 14" and like them. If you go too short first cut then you're out of options of you have to shorten up more . . . e.g. a mate cut his at 12" and then wanted to change suppressor thread - couldn't cause it'd have been too short (i.e. illegal)


For what its worth the short Annie's are 14"

Yeah ive seriously been thinking 14
I don’t think id go 12 even though I know people that have

Ill go the bog standard 1/2x20 so don’t think I’ll need to change ever

Just occasionally a rifle won't shoot where you cut it, a second shorter cut might get into a "good" section of barrel . . . .

I asked this same question a couple of months back. In the end had my Marlin XT cut to 12". Looks ridiculous without a suppressor on, but love it out at night with the spot light. According to all, including my gunsmith, makes no difference at all to subs and not much difference to supers.

Originally Posted by muzza

I just built a shorty on a JW.

Cut the barrel to 13". Be aware that the actual hole in the barrel is wildly out of centre at that point - like a third of the bore diameter off centre. That makes it a challenge to thread for a suppressor .

I also reshaped the stock a little - wood , obviously. Slimmed the wrist , shortened the forend and reprofiles - 60mm cut off. Painted the stock with Krylon Make It Stone , then several coats of matte flat black automotove spray can paint.

I would post pics but the site isnt letting me at present ...

Mines actually a old one from 1981 has the date printed on the receiver
Its actually a jenwei (jw) 11 heavy barrel target rifle Pretty much a jw15 with a heavy barrel
It will make a short fat shorty i love to have waight in my rifles but like to have compact length

We do ours to 15 or 16" - but we seldom use suppressors. Easy to chop them and it usually improves accuracy a tad with improved crowning.

Originally Posted by mudgripz

We do ours to 15 or 16" - but we seldom use suppressors. Easy to chop them and it usually improves accuracy a tad with improved crowning.

Do you subs or supers in those guns?

Interestingly, there's very little velocity loss in the average .22LR barrel from 18" to 12". As is commonly known, longer barrels slow the bullet down but were originally used on many small bore match and hunting rifles to get a better sight picture with aperture or leaf sights. Nowadays, match .22LR rifles generally use a much shorter barrel with an extension tube for the sights, while hunting .22LR rifles have scopes. Shorter barrels are stiffer and the bullet exits sooner, especially with subs which helps with off hand shots.

Some of the more expensive, high quality sporting .22LR rifles such as Anschutz and Walther have choked barrels so you have to be careful about shortening those. The Anschutz factory short barrels designed for suppressors are back bored as well so that there is no rifling in the area of the barrel that is threaded. That's because the likes of Anschutz use button cut barrels where the bore can expand in the area where you reduce the external diameter due to stress relief. As far as the JW15 barrels are concerned I wouldn't think they're choked and are probably hammer forged, which of course, can be extremely accurate too.

Maximum .22 RF velocity is achieved at about 16". 12" is fine for dedicated suppressed subsonic rifles. 14" is a good all-round length. Just be certain that the overall rifle length is not less than 762mm or Mr Plod will be tapping you on the shoulder for possession of a pistol!

14" with 4" of suppressor is an excellent length.
I've got a 16" and a 14" 22, the 14 is that little bit handier and easier to point.
Don't really feel the need to go any shorter.

i asked for 12 inches for my pooger 1022 and it came back 13 inches
shoots great

loooong barrels are a little quieter but not a great deal

I cut mine to 13" exactly in half from the factory 26" barrel. As I had one of the older full length ones.
Again my barrel was terribly off centre in the middle. It's very noticeable.

I went from 1040 fps to 1030 with cci standards. A friend went from 1060 to 1020 with his cz he cut down to 13" aswell.

Mine is alot louder than before. The extra barrel length really helped suppress the subsonic rounds better

Just had my .22 done at Gunworks and they said optimal length is 14-16". I went for 14". Suppressor adds a bit of length back on

DPT cut my barrel back to 15 inch, re-crowned and re-threaded it and did a great job. Accuracy improved if anything. In retrospect, should have gone shorter. I just bought a crazy expensive Hardy over-barrel suppressor, so it's a short little package.