22 cal air gun barrel for use on a 22 cal rifle?

Question

the diamiter of the barrel is 1/2'' and it is a 22 cal rifled steel air gun barrel from my beeman RS2 . i want to use it for this reciver i have. will it do the job?

Additional Details

this barrel has twelve letfhand twist rifle grooves that give the bullet its spin. its also 14''

i made a zip gun that shoots 22 shorts and the zip gun has a air soft gun barrel. and the airsoft gun barrel is 5 time thinner than the air gun barrel im talking about. dont believe me about the zip gun? go to my youtube profile ( ihelk ) and see it for your self my air gun barrel is 22 cal (5.5mm)

it wouldnt realy be illegal because the stock i have plus the barrel's length is same length as a ruger 10/22

basicly what i want to know if the bullet will make it through the barrel or will it get stuck inside it. because if it will get stuck theres no since in wasting my air gun and ill just spend 300$ for a 22 barrel. so this is a money issue im dealing with

of corse im going to properly register my firearm afterwards

my reciever is semi auto. i dont want bolt action

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

You'd probably be better served to keep the air rifle useful and buy a barrel from a maker like Douglas, Pac-Nor, Shilen etc.

Depending on what the gunsmith will charge to finish chamber and headspace the barrel you can probably get one for something closer to $200 then 300.

As to legal length no matter the overall length if the barrel is less then 16" from breachface to muzzle it's too short without the Short barreled Rifle(SBR) paperwork/tax stamp from BATFE for a fee of $200.

same holds true for barrel length not mattering if the overall length is less then 26". Under that length requires a SBR stamp.

Oh and you have to get the stamp before you can put the barrel on legally and from then on the rifle is a short barreled rifle no matter if the short barrel is replaced by one over 16"

Answer 2

The most powerful airguns use air that tops out at around 3000 psi of pressure. A .22 rimfire high-velocity round produces up to 28,000 psi. Something tells me that an airgun barrel probably wouldn't stand up to .22 LR catridges very well. There's also the small matter of the bore diameter not necessarily being the same, which could have you trying to push a bullet .223 inches in diameter down a barrel that could have a diameter of .216. (.22 caliber airguns are often referred to as 5.5mm in Europe. 5.5mm works out to .2165 inches...)

All in all... I think its probably not a good idea to use an airgun barrel on a .22 rimfire or centerfire rifle.

Edit:
If the barrel is 14 inches long and you're in the USA, even if it was safe to do (which I'm not convinced is the case), it would be illegal unless you registered the gun with the BATF since it be a short-barreled firearm regulated under the National Firearms Act of 1934.

Answer 3

maybe it would work. depends on the metal the barrel is made of. there are many different kinds of steels.

many .22 rifle barrels were made from .22 caliber air rifle barrels. of course, that was quite some time ago, when the smaller.22S, .22L were much more popular.

when you finally put it together try the lowest powered ammo first before anything else. when you finally get to CCI stinger (highest velocity, most powerful .22LR), and the barrel doesn't explode, you'll know it'll be safe. until then, test by tying a string to the trigger and pulling the trigger from behind a protective barrier.

I know my Chinese made .22 cal air rifle has a 5.45 caliber rifle barrel, so if some companies make air rifle barrels from rifle barrels then it possible its been done before the other way around.

Answer 4

To be completely honest with you, unless you are like me, an experienced machinist who has done these things before, you have no chance of doing this safely. I am an experienced machinist, I have my own lathe and milling machine. I know how to weld, heat treat, and I am a smith (I forge knives, forge-weld wrought iron gating, etc.). It is a PITA getting all of the tolerances to match up to one another. Airguns are not meant to take nearly the amount of the stress that even the diminutive (yet lethal) .22LR, or even the .22 short can exert. Not to mention, it must have a barrel at least 16'' long, and have an overall length of 26'' or 28'' (I can't remember which...). Don't do it, it will only result in the loss of your eyesight, and possibly a couple fingers. A Proper .22 Barrel does not cost $300, unless you go for those fancy match grade barrels that everyone raves about (My 43 yr. old Marlin Model 60 keeps up with them...). You can get finely crafted barrel blanks for under $100. Better yet, if you look around used, you can find .22 rifles that are completely functional, completely safe, and are better than anything than one individual in your position could hope to craft (no offense) for $50 or so (really, really, used...). Why can't you just buy a little bolt action .22 and be done with it. 100% legal, 100% safe, and 100% reliable/functional. Unless you are a machinist, you are going to have one hell of a time trying to put that contraption together into a safe, functional, and legal firearm. Just buy one, they are not that expensive...

Source(s):

Avid shooter/Experienced Machinist.

Answer 5

no it,s not tempered, as well it doesn,t have the grooves in the barrel that create accuracy and Velocity.

Answer 6

A lot of people have modified airguns to shoot .22 caliber. There were even guns made to shoot both pellets and rimfire ammo.