Overall length of railgun/test fixture

I'm thinking about building a fixture to evaluate 22lr barrels.

It would basically be a action mounted on a base that has nice elevation and windage adjustments.

Do I have to keep it 26 inches overall?

Would i be making a sbr if I used a barrel less than 16 inches?

If I made it less than 26 inches but used a 16+ inch barrel have i turned a rifel into a pistol?

Ps the action would be a single shot screw in bolt contraption that i would build myself.

Yes you must keep it longer then 26", yes the barrel must measure longer then 16" OR you will have made an NFA item - that's 10 years pokie time.

I don't know what an NFA is but I guess it's a bad thing. As far as I know a gun with a barrel longer than 16" is a rifle and shorter is a pistol as far as the feds are concerned- right?

Also, I do know, or at least I think i do, that what is not appreciated by the feds is cutting a rifle (longer than 16" barrel) barrel off to less than 16" to make what they consider a pistol.

Since you are making the whole thing start to finish and a fellow can legally make a gun (rifle or pistol) for his own use, again at least I think so, from scratch it would seem to me that this is legal. But I'm no Firearms lawyer.

FYI- as far as I know Eley and Lapua just mount the action to a block, sort of a bedding block thing and put that in a vise for ammo testing.

Built on a rail that is not meant nor adapted to be either hand held or shouldered, you can likely build either a rifle or a pistol without crossing any lines.

Unless "they" want to. And if "they" want to, nothing you might build will keep you out of difficulties.

Do what you want, don't make waves. Keep a low profile, stay off the internet. Keep your mouth shut, and your eyes open.

"They" can always ding you for manufacturing a "destructive device".

play nice, have fun.

I'm going to keep it rifle length since it will use a factory spec rifle barrel connection.
I thought it might be nice to test a pistol barrel on it someday but not worth any potential problems.

Thanks!

Your best bet is to get the answer from the horse's mouth; write to the ATF Technical Section and thoroughly explain what you want to do (all variations) and see what they say. Include drawings, diagrams and pix if you have any. They will respond with a statement saying Yes or No and why, that can serve as evidence should someone with a ax to grind get on your case. Note that this is only federal law; if you live in a restrictive state like NY or CA, there likely would be other hoops to jump through.

GGaskill said:

Your best bet is to get the answer from the horse's mouth; write to the ATF Technical Section and thoroughly explain what you want to do (all variations) and see what they say. Include drawings, diagrams and pix if you have any. They will respond with a statement saying Yes or No and why, that can serve as evidence should someone with a ax to grind get on your case. Note that this is only federal law; if you live in a restrictive state like NY or CA, there likely would be other hoops to jump through.

Click to expand...

LOL, contacting the ATF is probably going to get him/her on the ATF radar. OP should read up the applicaeable publications and follow them. Calling the ATF is only going to end in tears.

I have friends who don't do gunsmithing for customers any more as they felt the ATF was starting to get unpredicteable in how the law was applied. this is in So Cal.

If I recall, at one time it was figured out that the best barrel length for .22LR Match ammo was 17". This gave the best velocity from the powder burn without the added drag on the bullet afterward. This is where the "Bloop" tubes and relieved barrels came into play for the additional sight radius with iron sights.
It sounds like you want to build a Universal Receiver type test fixture. These are made by a few different companies for the ammo industry, you might contact them on there thoughts on legalities.
Ballistic Test Equipment - H-S Precision UNIVERSAL – Bill Wiseman & Co. – College Station Universal receivers and spare parts, ballistic testing, Whirlwind Twister, Wardwell parts
We use them here for testing, but are exempt from the BATF laws as we are a DOD test facility. The basic design has been in use since the 1930's with Frankford Arsenal in Philadelphia perfecting the current design that we use.

MilGunsmith said:

If I recall, at one time it was figured out that the best barrel length for .22LR Match ammo was 17". This gave the best velocity from the powder burn without the added drag on the bullet afterward. This is where the "Bloop" tubes and relieved barrels came into play for the additional sight radius with iron sights.
It sounds like you want to build a Universal Receiver type test fixture. These are made by a few different companies for the ammo industry, you might contact them on there thoughts on legalities.
Ballistic Test Equipment - H-S Precision UNIVERSAL – Bill Wiseman & Co. – College Station Universal receivers and spare parts, ballistic testing, Whirlwind Twister, Wardwell parts
We use them here for testing, but are exempt from the BATF laws as we are a DOD test facility. The basic design has been in use since the 1930's with Frankford Arsenal in Philadelphia perfecting the current design that we use.

Click to expand...

The 17" (or there abouts) barrel length thing comes up from time to time in discussion and has for years. Still the production 22 lr rifles that most everyone considers to be most accurate have long barrels on them. I know Anschutz made some guns at one point, I had one, with a shorter barrel and it never caught on. Weight might be part of it. Here at WVU we've had some great shooters. There was an Itallian guy who shot here and went on to win some gold medals. He said he shot better with a muzzle heavy gun. Also, I have read where some really good prone shooters felt that longer barreled rifles shot better.

Another thing regarding contacting the ATF. I totally disagree with the mentality that contacting them and asking a question is bad. I have for many years had some high end air rifles and I wanted to make a suppressor for one to quiet it down. I called them to ask if what I wanted to do was illegal. They were very helpful. Anytime you can show intent to do the right thing it's going to be a good thing. Probably writing them in an email or letter would be even better because you would have a record of the answer.

Probably writing them in an email or letter would be even better because you would have a record of the answer.

Paper letter is best. A paper reply (on their letterhead) carries more weight than any email.

Hbjj said:

I'm thinking about building a fixture to evaluate 22lr barrels.

It would basically be a action mounted on a base that has nice elevation and windage adjustments.

Do I have to keep it 26 inches overall?

Would i be making a sbr if I used a barrel less than 16 inches?

If I made it less than 26 inches but used a 16+ inch barrel have i turned a rifel into a pistol?

Ps the action would be a single shot screw in bolt contraption that i would build myself.

Click to expand...

You may consider evaluating the extent of what kind of firearm work you anticipate doing. Other issues come into play including zoning for the location you intend to perform the work.

In many cases the intent of ATF regulations can be a bit subjective.

One example is when a license is required for gunsmithing.....

Question..."Is a license needed to engage in the business of engraving, customizing, refinishing or repairing firearms?" Answer "A person conducting such activities as a business is considered to be a gunsmith within the definition of a dealer."

Where it get's a bit foggy is the definition of "activities as a business".

Even those who have submitted letters to the ATF and received a response approving a product or alteration found later that the ATF reevaluated and rescinded a prior approval.

Firearms Q&As | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives