Thread: Shortening Annie 1416-1416

Hello Guys

Can someone here can tell me (based on actual experience please, not what you've read on the interweb) - will shortening and threading the barrel of my 1415-1416 to 14" be likely to have any effect on accuracy?

I've only recently acquired this one and it shoots pretty good, its bested my previous most accurate 22 sporter (a Remington 782 of all things) after at least 5 other good quality/reputation rifles tried. And it likes cheap Eley subsonic ammo, the first rifle I can recall that shoots well with it.

Thanks

If its scoped it should be more accurate due to decreased dwell time of bullet in barrel

Assuming its properly crowned

i shortended my ruger to 13inches and it ended up more accurate that my model 2 brno

I shortened my 243 sako to 19 inches and it went from clover leaf to not able to fit two shots on a4 sized piece of paper

what im trying to say is usually from the loads of rifles iv done it to they stay the same or get better accuracy wise, but not always

I have chopped every .22 I've owned for the last 10 years to 12 inches or so and they shoot great

I think some of the Annies are a 'gain twist' and have a tapered bore that looses a thou or two from chamber to muzzle so they may not react to being chopped the way that others do. Tread carefully IMO

I shortened my jw15 and gained about 25-30% in accuracy. Maybe because of a properly cut crown.
If its gain twist as mentioned above i wouldn't touch it.
If normal rifling i wouldnt worry about it as long as its done properly it should be fine. Its favourite ammo might change tho.

I would talk with someone that has been doing small bore for a few years, they probably know a lot about which Annie has what barrel wise and will know what effect shortening has on accuracy too.
Trot down to your nearest one during a weekly shoot, someone will know.

Scoped 10" Anshultz pistols are capable of excellent 100yd accuracy as in .5 - .7 MOA at 100 yds. Bipod or bag held would probably do even better. Those groups are shot in the "creedmore position" with 4 power scope Lapua or Eley ammo. The 10" pistol production barrel gives absolutely nothing away to the 14" long "unlimited" barrel and is in fact preferred by most .22 Silhouette pistol shooters.

I have a Weatherby Mark XXII which uses a Anschutz 64 action and barrel. It had been shortened to 16 inches when I got. It's a very accurate rifle and not fussy on ammo.

maybe slug the barrel some of the german stuff gets its accuracy from slightly chokeing the barrel

Have some brand new spare Anschutz barrels if you stuff it up

If the rifle currently likes the particular ammo you want to use (Eley subsonic), I don't think I'd mess with it. Chopping the barrel may not make it less accurate overall, but the ammo preference might change as noted.

If it was mine and I wanted to be sure the ammo preference didn't change, I wouldn't chop it. If I didn't mind about potentially finding a new favourite ammo, I'd slug the barrel first to check for tight spots including a choked crown. No tight spots anywhere - I'd chop to whatever length you want. If there were any tight spots I'd want to have the barrel crown sitting right on the tight spot - whether that be a full length barrel, 14", or anywhere in between. Either way it might not respond like you'd expect, but at least you put the odds in your favour!

I doubt you'll get a definitive answer as to whether your barrel is choked without measuring your particular rifle. Or a definitive answer as to whether or not removing the choked section (if it exists) would decrease accuracy measurably. Too many variables.

Originally Posted by PaulNZ

If the rifle currently likes the particular ammo you want to use (Eley subsonic), I don't think I'd mess with it. Chopping the barrel may not make it less accurate overall, but the ammo preference might change as noted.

If it was mine and I wanted to be sure the ammo preference didn't change, I wouldn't chop it. If I didn't mind about potentially finding a new favourite ammo, I'd slug the barrel first to check for tight spots including a choked crown. No tight spots anywhere - I'd chop to whatever length you want. If there were any tight spots I'd want to have the barrel crown sitting right on the tight spot - whether that be a full length barrel, 14", or anywhere in between. Either way it might not respond like you'd expect, but at least you put the odds in your favour!

I doubt you'll get a definitive answer as to whether your barrel is choked without measuring your particular rifle. Or a definitive answer as to whether or not removing the choked section (if it exists) would decrease accuracy measurably. Too many variables.

Agree.