Bolt action rifle barrel under 18”, Gunsmiths can do what?
 

Ok here’s the example.

There’s a bolt action rifle offered in 22” or 16” barrels. And you have a 22” but want to rebarrel to either stainless or a different cartridge altogether and you want to be 16”.

Can smith do it in 16” from either starting point or is he relegated to 18” always on any blank?

When asked to reduce barrel length the shortest I will cut and crown to is 18 1/2" on either rifle or shotgun. To the best of my knowledge it is unlawful to reduce the length of a factory barrel to less than 18" or end up with an overall length of less than 26"
Now with that said we are all aware of factory made 12 or 14" barreled 870 clones and some shorty 10-22 variants that are non restricted, but they left the factory that way and as such get a pass for some reason. However one cannot take a sporter 10-22 or a 30" barreled duck gun and chop it to bits so it fits in the glove box and not raise some eyebrows. D.H.

I sent you a PM, so as to not have the info floating around for the wrong people (gun grabbers) to see.

What David has said is correct though.

Many thanks, I don’t want the same barrel, it will he ordered, it’s not even going to be same cartridge.

Always wondered why the discrepancy between from the factory barrel lengths and shortening/twisting on a new barrel

Because the people that come up with these laws have zero understanding of what they are talking about. That’s why it all makes no sense.