can i can down an AR barrel

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essorx said:
You are beautifully eluding the question. When does an unregulated piece of steel (make it a plain steel rod, bought in the local metal supermarket) becomes a legally unmodifiable "barrel" ? Please quote the relevant Act.

edit: once again, I remind you that in Canada you don't need a license to manufacture your own firearm, as long as it is for personal usage and you are properly licensed for the resulting firearm.
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Is it a barrel ready to install onto a firearm and function as such when you bought it? Yes? Then it is regulated by the firearms act if you go about altering it to a length that is less than 18 inches, even if it was less than 18 inches when it left the factory as new, as the regulations state that doing such will be making a prohibited device.

The act of cutting the barrel down below 18 inches is regulate. Possession of such a barrel after it is cut down is regulated.

If you can go into a metal store and buy a pipe that amazingly fits and functions on a AR15 receiver then well done.

Read the law. Make up your mind accordingly as to what you should do.
 
mad_mardigen said:
Ok, so if the barrel is cut down in a very professional way, how are they going to be able to tell the barrel is not original manufacture.

Just for sake of argument
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They likely won't be able to tell and will just charge you with having a prohibited device and leave it up to you to prove that the barrel was manufactured at that length.

Kind of like what they did to ian thompson.
 
A cut down barrel is not a prohibited device. A firearm with a cut down barrel is a prohibited firearm. There are numerous prohibited devices, but only an under 105mm handgun barrel is specifically identified as a prohibited device.
 
fenceline said:
The act of cutting the barrel down below 18 inches is regulate. Possession of such a barrel after it is cut down is regulated.
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No, it's not. Once again, you fail to quote the relevant regulation.

From the standpoint of the law, a rifle barrel is not regulated. I can buy tomorrow a 16" AR-15 barrel, and cut it to 5", and it will be a perfectly legal paperweight. (I don't have a restricted license)
 
lone-wolf said:
They likely won't be able to tell and will just charge you with having a prohibited device and leave it up to you to prove that the barrel was manufactured at that length.
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That's presumption of guilt. IANAL (and neither are you), but I'm pretty sure that how despicable is the FA is they would still have to prove that it wasn't manufactured as-is.
 
doc25 said:
As stated above you are re-manufacturing an existing barrel. If you were to go out and buy a piece of pipe and turn it into a barrel you're gtg. At least that is my understanding.
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No, I'm turning a piece of steel rod. When does *that* manufacture turns into a barrel ? If there is such a legal definition, what about a blank barrel ? is that considered a 80% barrel ?
 
In any case cutting down your barrel may render it useless. As the barrel is cut and the dwell time distance from the gas port to end of the barrel is altered it will adversely affect the gas system to a point where it may not reliably function.
 
Other example, for the sake of argument.

I want to convert a 18.5" barrel chambered in 8mm Mauser to a wildcat cartridge 1" smaller in length than the 8mm mauser. I will have to cut some base of the barrel to shorten the chamber 1", but doing so will shorten the barrel to 17.5". If I follow what is being said here (without quote of the relevant Acts, of course), even though the resulting firearm would meet OAL, it would still be illegal to *manufacture* such a barrel.
 
The original question was...

Can I cut down my 16 inch AR barrel to 14.5 inches.

The answer is no.

You can make a new barrel any length you want. You cannot cut an already made and finished barrel down under 18 inches. Doing so is prohibited.

Why? Because that is the law. Why is the law like that? Because gun grabbers wrote it.
 
Sqr said:
In any case cutting down your barrel may render it useless. As the barrel is cut and the dwell time distance from the gas port to end of the barrel will adversely affect the gas system to a point where it may not reliably function.
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There are quite a variety of barrel lengths, gas tube lengths, and gas port diameters used on AR-15 type rifles. Gas port diameter will vary not only with barrel and gas tube length, but also with barrel diameter at the port (length of the gas port, so to speak).
When I made my first AR barrel from a blank, I drilled the port undersized, and went to the range with a battery operated drill and a set of number drills. Gradually opened the port diameter until the rifle was functioning properly. That barrel was a 1:8, and shot really well. Eventually used it up.

essorx - there is no such thing as an 80% barrel. The 80% business is US, applies to receivers, and varies according to the whim of the BATFE.
I would suggest that a barrel blank is not a barrel. A barrel may be made from a blank.
 
essorx said:
No, it's not. Once again, you fail to quote the relevant regulation.

From the standpoint of the law, a rifle barrel is not regulated. I can buy tomorrow a 16" AR-15 barrel, and cut it to 5", and it will be a perfectly legal paperweight. (I don't have a restricted license)
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I will agree a barrel is not regulated and if you cut an AR barrel to 5" it is not prohibited, however if you put it on a firearm that is against the criminal code. If you didn't put it on a firearm but have the firearm in your possession that may or may not be legal but to confirm this it may be extremely costly to the individual while a judge figures it out.

prohibited firearm means
(b) a firearm that is adapted from a rifle or shotgun, whether by sawing, cutting or any other alteration, and that, as so adapted,

(i) is less than 660 mm in length, or

(ii) is 660 mm or greater in length and has a barrel less than 457 mm in length,
 
A sawed off barrel is not a prohibited device. The only barrel which is a prohibited device is a handgun barrel less than 105mm in length.
 
I've seen plenty of pistols for sale on here, cut down from longer "ie: 8" barrels to shorter ie: 5" ones.
 
jparent said:
I've seen plenty of pistols for sale on here, cut down from longer "ie: 8" barrels to shorter ie: 5" ones.
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The Criminal Code is quoted in post 11. Note the reference to rifle or shotgun.
Handgun barrels may not be shortened to less than 105mm.
 
shortening below 18"??,the thing is already below 18"..it's 16",in any case,who would ever know if anybody did cut an AR barrel down,after all,,they are available in almost any length you want,so nobody would ever really know,from 16 to 12 seems really easy to do,a quick trip on the lathe and a quick recrown and it's not a factory 12" barrel.i can't see how that would be a problem,
 
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