Considering Springfield M1A barrel conversion from 22" to 18.5"

[East_TN_Patriot]

I am considering having my factory standard 22" barrel replaced with an 18.5" Criterion barrel. The cost for the conversion would basically even out with what it would cost to buy a new scout rifle if I were able to sell the standard M1A that I have now for what I paid for it. I'm thinking that the better quality barrel would get me great accuracy and performance over the standard barrel, plus I would knock almost 4 inches off the length of the rifle. I currently have a Springfield barrel comp installed, but I hear that the Vortex flash hider works just as well and is quite a bit shorter as well. I've even read that with the proper setup, you can get a 18.5" rifle that is only slightly longer than the SOCOM 16 as it comes from the factory.

I'd like to go with a shorter barrel to make the rifle a little more handy, but not lose too much performance. I've read that the velocity loss is less than 100fps between the 22" and 18" barrels. It just seems that the 18.5" makes the best compromise between performance and portability. If I could afford a whole new rifle, I'd just buy the SOCOM II listed in the Trading Post at the moment. So what do you folks think?

[RWF]

i cannot be100% sure, but on the M1A style set up there is more to it than just changing the barrel. i do believe that you would also need a new gas system. and of course headspacing etc. but like i said not real sure.

but it is all about what you want. it just may be more work-cost than you are planning on.

just be sure before you start.