cutting back my 26inch barrel

[sakofan]

My 204 has a 26in barrel. It also has a suppressor fitted which leaves it very long.
I am thinking of getting the barrel cut back to 23 or 24 inches and getting a shorter suppressor but im worried about losing too much velocity.
I know one guy who cut his ruger from 26 to 21 inches and lost about 270 fps which seems a lot.
The sako and tikka rifles come with a 600mm barrel which is 23.62 inches. This is the length id like.
Anyone done this or anyone shooting a rifle with this length of barrel and what kind of velocities are you getting with the 39 and 40 grain bullets.

[Rick in Oregon]

I had Cooper cut the 26" barrel on my MTV 204 to 24", and I actually GAINED velocity. the rifle still punches bug-holes and shows no ill signs whatever. I much prefer 24" barrels on all my rifles, as the handling is greatly enhanced IMO.

This rifle shoots both 32's and 39's with equal accuracy, and pushes the 39's to 3,850+ fps.

[wirelessguy2005]

i agree with Rick that 24" is plenty of barrel length for a 204, you will still get optimal velocity.

[sakofan]

Thanks lads, I will get it cut in a couple of weeks time.

[FastPPC]

You might want to spend a little effort researching the length. I have read that extensive tests have been done and found that 22" is the ideal length for the 204. I have three 204's one 22, one 24 and a 26 and it seems there may be some truth to the statement.