Hey guys.

I've got a question. I have a Bushmaster 20" A2. I like the fact that the 20" tube gets all of the power you can get out of the little .223 cartridge.

While the gun is far from unwieldy, I would like to have a shorter barrel. I do not, however, want to give up as many FPS as one has to give up with a 16" barrel. I know, it's not that much less, but with a 55 grain bullet, I want it going as fast as it can.

SO. Have any of you cut (and crowned of course)a 20" barrel back to 18"? If so, what kind of velocity do you get? Any other considerations?

Thanks for the help.

It's been done:

[url]http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=12&t=166155[/url]

[url]http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=12&t=169212[/url]

Going to try it myself one of these days.

Don't have a chrono so I don't know the velocity, but I have no complaints about the accuracy or reliability.  And it looks great, too.