The SHORT Act Is Back on the Menu - 22 LR Build Ideas if It Passes

 Over the years, I have had quite a few build ideas that centered on Short Barrel Rifles. Mostly these were dreams based on paying the $200 tax. I never expected that we'd see some of the infringements on the Shall Not Be Infringed part of the constitution possibly be removed but since that's what people are saying could happen, it's got me thinking over build ideas. Let's look at a few inexpensive, commercially available options that the average person could put together 

The one idea that keeps being of the most interest for me is a .22 LR rifle with a barrel length around 12 inches. Previously, I had floated a variety of ideas based of the Henry Mare's Leg or a Ruger 96 or something else but recently, I was gifted a Crosman 1377 Classic variable pump pistol and I have been enjoying it in the backyard. I have found the massive aftermarket support for this air gun and installed a moderator from Buck Rail to keep the noise pollution down. It's such a fun thing to shoot.

An image from a user on the AirgunBBS forum

Crosman makes a stock that fits the 1377 meaning I can experiment with the air gun version of this .22 LR short barrel concept without taxes. The idea that I can have a very lightweight repeating .22 rifle that's incredibly handy, carries exceptionally well and can take small game just screams to me. Forget speaking to me, this concept is a loudspeaker at full blast saying "This is amazing" and I am ready to make it work.

Background

Why would we want a 12 inch barrel .22 rifle? Generally speaking, the main reason for a longer barrel is velocity. The issue is that .22 LR is so small that it doesn't need a long barrel to hit the maximum or near maximum velocity. In testing done by Ballistics By the Inch, they found that somewhere around the 11, 12 and 13 inch range, many common .22 LR loads are in the near-max velocity range. Simply put, the 16 inch barrels that are being sold are only needed for compliance reasons not performance reasons. No, longer barrels are not inherently more accurate. A person with a rifle with iron sights that are attached to the barrel will find it easier to be more precise with the longer sight radius but a person using a scope or red dot doesn't need the longer sight radius. 

With that out of the way, I would like to present some options that are interesting to me and could be easily obtained for building a very convenient rifle. The options for this build are many but the ones I keep coming back to are these. 

Henry's Mare's Leg .22 LR or the Chiappa LA-322 Bandit

The Henry H001ML Mare's Leg .22 LR with 12.8 inch barrel is the same receiver as the standard H001 and others in the family. Simply replace the pistol grip with a short stock from the H001Y. Add a cuff, leather sling and maybe a Leupold FX-II scope and you should have a lightweight rifle that will work in every woods in the US for small game hunting. It's short and would stow very will in your truck. It would be easier to work with than the Classic 18 inch barrel 22, that's for sure. Sadly, putting a silencer on this will be hard, enough so that I'm not sure that I would end up doing this. 

The same idea can also work with other lever actions such as the new Chiappa Bandit (I think you'll need to use the straight wrist version, not the birds head grip version) or the Rossi and Heritage Arms options. 

My Henry H001 Classic with a S&W Model 17-9

Browning Buckmark Varmint SR Carbine

I found out about the Varmint SR which has a 10 inch barrel and a full length picatinny rail. Browning also had made a rifle version of the Buckmark. Sadly, both of these versions have been discontinued making this idea the hardest to achieve. I had the though of seeing if I can find a used Varmint SR. then source the parts needed to put a stock on it. If I can combine the stock parts with the Varmint SR, you'd have a setup that's incredibly close to the Crosman build but it would be a .22 LR instead of an air gun making it more practical.

Since neither of those are made anymore, a person could purchase the Browning SA-22 and have the barrel cut back. The front sight would need to be reinstalled by cutting a new dovetail in the barrel but any good gunsmith should be able to complete both actions easily.

Ruger 10/22 and Charger plus Takedown Models

For the average person, the 10/22 platform is the easiest way to make this build work with the suppressor because all the parts just bolt on. You just need hand tools. Additionally, the aftermarket support is wild. Seeing that the Ruger Charger is the pistol version of the 10/22 and with base models with both 8 and 10 inch barrel options but also have takedown version, you can use the full aftermarket support of the 10/22 to build a Charger into a short rifle. 

Simply put, all you would need is to buy the Charger of your choice and order a stock for the 10/22. Pull the Charger's action out and slide it into a stock of your choice and tighten the bolts back down. Farrow Tech does make an buffer tube adapter for the Charger that lets you put an AR stock onto the factory Charger which is even cheaper than a 10/22 stock. Alternatively, you can purchase an aftermarket Charger barrel and match it to your existing 10/22 rifle. 

For example, if you have a regular 10/22 Takedown, you could purchase the Tactical Solutions 12 inch barrel giving you the ability to use a traditional screw-on suppressor. I like the idea of adding a small suppressor like a Bowers Bitty or TacSol Aeris. The nice thing is that if we do get the SHORT Act we should also get the HPA. Having a small silencer that's integrated should be much easier to get. Therefore, these integrally suppressed barrels from Angstadt or Gemtech like the MIST-22TB could be a good choice though I think they'll end up being longer than I want. 

Personally, I think this is the option we are going to see the most of if SBRs are no longer taxed. The 10/22 is so widely available and there are already lots of people with Chargers and registered 10/22s. A quick internet search for 10/22 SBR gets you plenty of ideas. The aftermarket support for this platform is huge so it's a no-brainer.

I do have a 10/22 and I even have the Farrow Tech adapter for the Charger for a build I never did. My 10/22 is setup with a factory 18 inch barrel modified by MaddMacs and is using Tech sights with a red dot on a rail. It's setup to look a bit like an M14. It shoots so well that I don't want to mess with it so I won't be touching it. If I didn't care, I would go find a factory 10 inch Charger barrel and install that on my current 10/22 with wood stock. To be fair, it would probably be the cheapest option for me.

My current 10/22 won't change but it is long. Not exactly a easy to stow, truck gun.

CZ 457 Scout + American

My CZ 457 Scout is nice but I think we can do a little better.

I have the 457 Scout and I can confirm that with the short stock and 16 in barrel, the rifle carries very well with it's 6.5 pound field weight but I would like it shorter and lighter. While I don't use them, I like having the iron sights on the barrel so I don't want to shorten it unless I can move the front sight rearward. A nice feature of the 457 are the barrels and how easy it is to swap. It's basically the bolt action version of the 10/22. Currently, you can get the rather long 457 American barrel for around $250. The American barrel is 22 inches long but we can trim it back to 12 inches or so and easily fit that to the CZ 457 Scout. Just for fun, I measured Scout barrel and found that with the Scout stock, I could actually trim the barrel back further to 9 inches without cutting into the stock. That could be a very handy option but I am trying to stay close to that maximum velocity range. 

What I like about this for me is that I keep the original barrel untouched and can quickly switch back if I want to. I can remove my cartridge cuff returning to the 12 inch length of pull (currently around 13.25 inches) so that my kids can use it when time comes.

Keystone Arms Crickett Pistol

Keystone Arms makes a single shot, bolt action pistol that can be had with iron sights and a threaded barrel for not a lot of money. These have a left hand bolt configuration but I think a person could replace the stock with a rifle stock without to much fuss. If the Keystone stock could fit, you can have a very lightweight rifle with a 9 or 10 inch barrel for under $200. They do have the Overlander chassis for more money that might be something you are interested in but I can't confirm if that fits the pistol action.

Standard .22 Rifles Cut Down

So far, other than the Browning SA-22, I've offered some options that would be somewhat complicated in achieving the goal of a 12 inch .22 LR rifle. Honestly, it doesn't have to be that complicated with buying stocks and parts etc. The 10/22 option is great because parts just bolt on meaning you can do that in your living room on the couch with hand tools. No gunsmithing needed. 

If you didn't have hundreds of dollars to build out something new but you still wanted to do this, having a gunsmith trim your barrel down to whatever length is not going to be costly. It would be even less if you don't have it threaded. Do you have a Winchester or Mossberg bolt action or maybe a Savage 64 or 93 that's been around for years? Sent it over to a smith. None of this needs to be complicated with fancy parts. I genuinely considered having Moss Pawn or someone local cut down the barrel on my Ruger American Rimfire for this idea but seeing as the BSA Sweet 22 scope is heavy, I think I'll just leave that rifle alone for now. 

Summary

In summary, I believe that you will be just as well served by a 12 inch barrel version as you would an 18 inch barrel version of the rifle you might be considering. There are definite weight and length savings with the shorter rifle with little to no loss in average velocity. For some, the 18 inch version of the Henry classic 22 rifle is the best because of the magazine capacity; 15 vs 10 rounds for the 12 inch model. For some people, that won't matter. In the end, what actually matters is that you should be free to choose the firearm with a barrel length that does what you need it to do. It is a tool and you shouldn't be hindered in selecting a model that best fits your needs. You shouldn't be forced into something for compliance reasons that compromises the utility of that tool. 

Which one do I like the most? I think the best option might be to buy the American barrel for the CZ 457 however, I keep thinking about the lever action a lot. I'm a very big fan of the H001 platform but spending $400 on the H001ML and spending another $100 for a youth stock is a bit much for something I can't suppress. Other than the silencer, I can't guarantee that it will be as light as I want it to be which is around 5 pounds with everything. The CZ does everything I want at 6.5 pounds and it will only get lighter with the short barrel and no iron sights. Not to mention that the barrel kit from CZ comes with and extra magazine which are around $30 each. Yikes. Chiappa's LA-322 is pretty inexpensive and they claim the Bandit is 2 pounds which is very light. I pulled the stock off of my LA-322 with Mason Leather cuff and 50 round box of CCI Standard; it weights 2.27 pounds. If everything is accurate, the Bandit with stock and cuff would be around 4.5 pounds with all the leather goods. I can live without a suppressor with that weight. Add a Leupold 1.5-4x20 scope for an additional 9.6 oz and we're looking at just over 5 pounds for a lever action rifle with 12 inch barrel and most of the goodies. The best part of this though is the Bandit is also a takedown model. That means that I can break the rifle down into halves for even easier transport. I might not have the suppressor but I do have a takedown that's very light. Very interesting. Final question, will 922(r) be a problem for me? Will I be forced into building a Henry because they are made in the US? Let's find out.

The Hearing Protection Act and SHORT Act Up In House Committee - Call to Action

 If you care about your Right to Keep and Bear arms as protected under the Second Amendment, you need to take a few moments to do this. Over the last few days, the House Ways and Means committee has been working on amendments to what is supposed to be a massive bill that is to be sent to the President. There is talk about getting silencers and short barrel firearms off of the NFA added to the bill.

You need to email and call your Congressional rep to push on this and get the Hearing Protection Act and SHORT Act off the NFA by getting the amendments to the bill. This is the time. This is your call to action to help get these infringements of the books.

How to find your Congressional Rep

https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Update: If I am hearing correctly, the HPA made it into the Big Bill and will be sent to the Senate or clearing up. There are two provisions. The first is a complete removal of suppressors from the NFA but there is a backup to reduce the tax from $200 to $0 in-case the Senate wants to play games with your rights. Again, you need to reach out to your Senators. I emailed and called my Congressman but in Georgia, our Senators are not the favorable-to-Rights sort of politicians in regards to this topic. It will fall on deaf ears. Even if you live in a Democrat state, you should call them even to remind them that you exist and you disagree with their prohibitive position.

Update 17 Jun 0700 AM: The Senate has returned the SHORT Act to the bill and are working to make whatever else changes they want. Once they are done, they will kick it back to the House for approval. If the House makes no more changes and keeps the SHORT Act, it will go to the President to sign. Again, please call your Senators to remind them to vote yes if you think that regulating via taxation barrel lengths is infringing on the "Shall Not Be Infringed" part of the Constitution. 

The Smith and Wesson Model 17 - A Little Update

This is a continuation from my first article on the Smith and Wesson Model 17-9

 I don't know how many rounds I've actually put through my Smith and Wesson Model 17-9 Masterpiece. I have tried to shoot it every time I head out to the Little Farm but I do know that I am working through the 2000 round case of Aguila Standard Velocity I got for it plus the big ammo test.

The first issue I had ran into was a user error and I had forgotten that I could adjust the rear sight. After getting the sights zeroed for around 25 yards, I am able to regularly hit a 6 inch steel gong off hand with various loads. While the Aguila load is not the most accurate from the 17, it's what I will be shooting for the foreseeable future along with another test load from Remington. The gun club I'm apart of has a 100 yard rimfire range. On a few occasions, I have sat down and made attempts at hitting the various steel gongs and been successful on the much larger ones. I don't know how big they are at the moment. I did, however, spur my interest to find a more accurate load which spawned the ammo test. 

I very much like the single action trigger pull but I still haven't figured out how to nail staging the double action trigger. I tend to pull through.

Somethings I've noticed with the high polish blue finish is that it dulls quickly. The muzzle area definitely wears from rubbing while in the holster.  I try to clean it when I'm done for the day but I can never really get it back to that same shininess. Given that this is my first deep polished blued pistol, it does make me sad to see holster wear but that's the name of the game. 

I also deleted the ILS with a TK Custom kit. Installing the kit was a good exercise in patience and base level gunsmithing. Getting the side plate off was fine and removing the hammer and other parts just fine. Putting in the plug took some effort but I was able successfully install the kit. Getting the gun back together was tricky. Specifically the new-style stirrup and which way it was supposed to go.  I had installed in wrong and the trigger pull was terrible. Once I figured out what I had done wrong, I had to find a way to get the side plate back on. I learned I was being impeded by the hammer block. Once I figured out how to set it, everything went back together just wonderfully. 

 The finishes don't match which makes me wonder if TK Custom sent me a matte kit and not a polished black kit. The box has no markings to tell you which one it is. Speaking of TKC, I've found several other of their K frame .22 products and it's got me thinking about a Model 617 10-shot as a Steel Challenge Rimfire division gun. Griffin Gun Club hosts Steel Challenge matches regularly. 

The ILS delete was successful.

Additionally, I added a plastic T-grip to fill in the undercut. It's not an original Tyler Grip. Ordering the official metal ones is sort of sketchy and I wish they would update the ordering process.

Additionally, I never did hear back from Smith and Wesson about the Master trigger job and if the Masterpiece has that level of treatment built in.

As part of the Big Ammo Test, I sat down at the Griffin Gun Club and tried 9 loads. I have the pictures but I feel as if I can do better. I forgot how far I set the target and I didn't measure the shot sizes. I also didn't run everything over a chronograph so I will be revisiting this soon. Below are the groups I shot that day.

Federal Champion 40 grain the Aguila High Velocity 40 grain

 

Eley HV Hollow Point 38 Gain and CCI Mini Mag 40 gr round nose 

Remginton SuperV 

The last time I tested ammo which was in the original article, I had different results. The CCI Mini Mags did pretty good. I had hoped the Eley HV Hollow Points had done better. They performed very well in a ballistic gel test and mushroomed nicely. I was wanting to be able to hunt with them. The Aguila did have some stringing but that could have been me. The new Remington SuperV load has been disappointing on all points. I have an article I'm working on for it but I want to get that test a better shake down but it won't be replacing my CCI Standard Velocity anytime soon. 

So far, the Smith and Wesson Model 17-9 Masterpiece has become a favorite of mine. I still have plenty of the Aguila Standard Velocity and Remington SuperV bulk box for plinking. I also had ordered around 300 rounds of the Eley HV and still plan to zero and carry the gun with those for now. Maybe I can try to small game hunt with it this fall.

Lever Action Trapper Rifles - Are 16 inch Barrels in the Rifle Calibers Useful?

The short answer is yes, 16 inch barrels in the old 30-30 are still useful. The more interesting question is, how can I justify my statement? Extrapolating available data can be useful and until I have my own battery of lever action rifles in the same caliber with the different barrel lengths and a chronograph I trust, it's the best I can give you. That last statement is my ultimate goal. To provide the purchaser the data needed to decide if a .30-30 or .357 Mag lever action rifle in barrel lengths such as 13 inch, 16 inch and 20 inch are right for you. 

Here's something you need to know. I will be comparing compiled data from three separate sources who used different chronographs in different regions of North America, at different times. These results are not as comparable as they can be. Ideally, we would have the same chronograph testing all the lengths on the same day with the same batch of ammo. Until I have everything needed, this will have to do. It should give us a good idea of what we can expect.

Let's go over what data I have found. I want to note that the 16 inch barrel data for .30-30 has been tricky to find but thankfully the 20 inch data is easily available. In fact, I had started this article a while back but couldn't find reliable data on the 16 inch until recently. Sadly, much of this information is still single-source at this time. The only load we have in common in the three sets of data are the Hornady LeverEvolution 160 grain factory load. Thankfully, it's a commonly available load.

Our sources for this data are a number of YouTube videos. Take that as you will. The Mason Leather ammo test series along with Brobee223's Elk Hunt 30-30 video will provide comparative data for 20 inch barrels. They also provide 100 yard expansion in most cases. Be careful in observing that some of the earlier Mason videos have the expansion testing at 50 yards and not 100. The Brobee223 video provides us bullet expansion data at 100 and 150 meters (not yards) as well as the velocities those bullets would have impacted the target. The 150m (164 yards) data is important as it provides us with bullet expansion at reduced velocities in what I'll call Estimated Lowest Velocity (ELV). Simply, what is the Estimated Lowest Velocity (not distance but velocity) that a bullet can impact a target and still expand and penetrate nicely? We will combine all that data and compare it to the 16 barrel data from the Husker Hunting video. We will run the 16 inch barrel data through a calculator and compare the ELV from the Brobee223 video to see where the load from the 16 inch would reach the reduced velocity figures.  

Our only common example is the Hornady LeverEvolution 160 grain load. This load chronographs at 2347 fps from a 20 inch barrel per Lee Mason's video but the 16 inch barrel from Husker Hunting achieves 2289 fps. A difference of 58 fps. The ELV from the Brobee223 video is 1953 fps at 150 meters or 164 yards. Running the velocity of 2289 fps through a ballistic calculator shows that our bullet would hit 1953 fps around 140 yards when fired from the 16 inch barrel. It needs to be noted that the Brobee223 muzzle velocity is at 5m (16 feet) is 2280 fps. This would be a serious discrepancy to reconcile between the two 20 inch sources as we're looking at though it's only 60 fps difference. 

Once we run the 20 inch barrel data from Mr. Mason through, we see a minimum distance around 163 yards. Interestingly, this matches closely to the Brobee223 164 yard data.

The difference between the 20 inch barrel and 16 inch barrel works out to around 23 yards lost at 140 yards vs 163 yards if we use the 1953 fps as a hard cutoff. Again, we are ignoring the discrepancy in the 20 inch barrel data. Ultimately, for a user who never hunts outside of 100 yards, the difference just doesn't matter.

Here's a new question. What if we wanted to run this from a Short Barrel Rifle with say a 13 inch barrel? The difference between the 20 inch and 16 inch for the Hornady is around 58 fps. If we subtract another 58 fps to go from 16 inches to 12 inches, that puts us close to the 13 inch barrel found on say a Rossi Triple Black Pistol in .30-30. It's seems reasonable then to assume around 2231 fps our Rossi lever action pistol. The same calculator shows that the Hornady 160 grain FTX bullet with it's .330 BC crosses the 1953 fps line at 117 yards with an assumed muzzle velocity of 2231 fps. Once again, for a person who hunts at 100 yards and less would be served just fine with a registered SBR with a barrel of .30-30.

At this point, I don't have any additional Estimated Lowest Velocity for any other 16 inch barrel loads as the Husker Hunting data only overlapped with the Brobee223 data on the Hornady LeverEvolution load. No one else has tested expansion past 100 yards that I have been able to find. I have also tried to find testing data from persons using a Thompson Center Contender Super 14 in .30-30 but I haven't found anything just yet.

I personally think the LeverEvolution load does very well but I would very much like to confirm the 16 inch velocities for some of the traditional JSP loads like the Winchester Power Points 170 grain and Federal Power Shok. The Husker Hunting video did test other loads but the Brobee223 video did not though they are seen lined up in the beginning of the video. In other cases, the Brobee223 video has testing for some loads, like the Federal Fusion 170 grain (which I am a fan of), the Remington Core-Lokt 170 grain and the Winchester Power Point 170 grain but the Husker video tested the 150 grain versions. Lee Mason found that all three of those basic loads in both the 150 and 170 grain versions do very well from the 20 inch barrel. I can't imagine that the 16 inch barrel wouldn't be able to achieve the same capabilities at 100 yards and better. I would like to find or test ELV for all 6 of those factory loads. 

Since we're here, let's compare the velocities from the other tested loads from Mr. Mason's collection to the Husker data set. We might not know the Estimated Lowest Velocity for the rest but we can at least see the difference in the barrel lengths.

Winchester Power Point 150 gr

20 inch - 2336

16 inch - 2285

Difference - 51 fps

Federal Fusion 150 gr

20 inch - 2392 

16 inch - 2256

Difference - 136 fps

Winchester Power Point 150 gr

20 inch - 2227

16 inch - 2211

Difference - 16 fps

Hornady American Whitetail

20 inch - 2321

16 inch - 2297

Difference - 27 fps (Very interesting)

Federal Power Shok 170gr

20 inch - 2086

16 inch - 2083

Difference - 3 fps (That's wild. I would like to note that these were found to be excellent projectiles by Mr. Mason)

Remington Core-Lokt 150 gr

20 inch - 2264

16 inch - 2362

Difference - Something is wrong here as the 16 inch is 68 fps higher. It's possible its a formulation issue but I wonder if something happened here regarding the chronographs. Paul Harrell got 2322 fps from the same load in a 20 inch. It could be the Remington 150 grain just did perfectly in the Marlin 16 inch barrel. The stars aligning sort of thing such as the bullets perfectly matched the bore of the 16 inch rifle compared to the older rifles tested by Mr. Harrell and Mr. Mason. I don't know.

With the noteworthy exception of the Remington load, the posted velocities between the two data sets are pretty close though the Fusion load is disappointing. If the numbers are correct, that could be a formulation thing. 

This is a screen shot from the Husker Hunting video on YouTube. 

In summary, these rifle caliber 16 inch, even sub-16 inch options, appear to still be useful for hunting applications with a main focus on the woods hunter where a shorter rifle is a prized tool for maneuverability. I've already shown before that the pistol calibers such as .357 and .44 Magnum play very nicely in the Trapper barrels with the rifle hunting loads. I would definitely say these guns would work for defensive use in either backcountry and suburban environments as needed. It should be noted again that unless someone takes the time to properly test each factory loading, these numbers are essentially Fuzzy Math. I'm taking a lot of liberties and playing the "If" game. It's very likely that these loads can go further but I can't prove that just yet and the opposite could be true. My next quest will be to look further into the next caliber of .45-70 but I have a feeling that I just won't be as successful as I was with the .30-30. Maybe someday I can pick up a Marlin SBL and Trapper to compare next to a Rossi Triple Black Pistol and a stack of ammunition to prove the above. 

Sources - The gentleman who's data being compiled really need all the thanks as they have put the time and effort needed to test and record the data. A huge Thank You to the gentlemen listed below as I simply stand on the shoulders of men greater than I.

16 inch barrel data from Husker Hunting

Lee Mason's 30-30 Ammo Test Series Playlist

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD7jKcI6pjb8UZ_qeYkF7_mdk-YqB3Lyx

Minimum Velocity Test by Brobee223

My First Handgun Hunt Follow Up - Pre-Season Load Development and Velocity Testing

 In 2024, I made my first attempt at handgun hunting and it did not go well. In the article I wrote covered everything, including a plan to correct my failures. The primary steps I need to take are practice and more practice. To practice, you need ammunition and in this economy, .357 Magnum is not cheap. Thankfully, components are relatively inexpensive. I acquired 200 of the 158 grain version of Hornady's XTP along with a bottle of H110. 

The first set of handloads started with load data at 16.2 grains and worked up to 16.7 grains increasing by .1 increments. I skipped 16.4 grains resulting in a total of 50 rounds loaded up for velocity testing. After having them sit around for about a month, the only day I had a chance to do anything was a rainy Saturday that I needed to use for mowing the Little Farm. Once I was tired of being soaked on the tractor, I setup my Caldwell chronograph under the tailgate of my 4Runner. After stepping back some distance, I began the testing with my Taurus 66 with 4 inch barrel.

Hornady XTP 158 grain with H110

16.2 - 1151 fps - ES 95

16.3 - 1199 fps - ES 114

16.5 - 1210 fps - ES 49

16.6 - 1226 fps - ES 43

16.7 - 1276 fps - ES 71 (there is an outlier of 1237 that if removed I get 50 fps for the ES which is better)

None of the loads had what I think are excellent extreme spreads but they were worse with the lesser loads. I also had some trouble with getting readings on some of the loads. I don't know if my chronograph is working well or calibrated correctly but I did some additional testing with a factory load I had on hand, the Remington HTP 158 grain SJHP. 

Remington HTP 158 grain SJHP

1373 fps - ES 46

Seeing those numbers for the HTP absolutely surprised me. So much so that I am questioning the accuracy of my chronograph. Every test I have seen of the Remington ammunition from a 4 inch barrel is usually in the high 1200 fps with some being low 1300s but to be 70+ fps higher than any other tests concerns me. That said, it does highlight that right now, it might be better for me to zero my red dot for the HTPs and practice with the XTPs. 

Looking over the numbers for the XTPs and running the 16.6 and 16.7 grain velocities through a ballistic calculator, I find that even the 16.6 grain load should have enough velocity to make it to the 110 yard mark and still expand and penetrate nicely. The HTP should still be good for around 60 or so yards based on minimum velocity thresholds I use for each. I use 1044 fps for the XTP and around 1190 for the HTP which these are based off of data collected from testing seen around the Internet. If you add some velocity for error, we still have some good useable distance. Based on performance from the 2024 hunt, I think I will limit myself to 50 yards as best I can so either loads should work fine. Additionally, this works nicely as the gun club I have a membership with has a 50 yard range that I can do this sort of thing with.

I had figured that I would be most interested in the higher end of the load data anyway so next steps will be to load up additional strings of both the 16.6 and 16.7 grain versions. I'm thinking around 25 of each. This will allow for additional velocity testing along with some beginning accuracy testing and it uses up the last 50 bullets in the first Hornady box and last of the CCI primer box I have to match. I also have a few of the factory Hornady Custom with the same bullets that I want to run over the chronograph as a baseline. Next time I go out, I will try to test on a sunny day instead of slapping together something.