[Robanada]

TL,DR: I need a barrel for the Steyr M9 that is >6" and makes the overall length of the handgun >10.5". Do they make those?



Hi guys, I live in the great People's Republic of California, where we have a roster of approved handguns. Because this requires the manufacturer to submit numerous sample pistols, pay testing fees and annual renewing fees, many manufacturers, such as Steyr, rightfully neglect the California market. These guns can only be imported by military and police officers- and I am neither. Unfortunately, this means I cannot get a Steyr M9 as easily as other pistols. If I were to find a police officer who previously bought the weapon, decided he didn't like it (fat chance), and decided to sell it to me- that would be legal. But the other legal option for California residents is to have the firearm converted by the FFL to a "single-shot exemption" pistol. This means that the FFL must insert a block into the magazine well such that the pistol may only fire one shot, and the overall length of the pistol must be at least 10.5", with a barrel length of at least 6". Seeing as the M9 is not as popular as other off-roster pistols, like a 4th generation glock, or a beretta 92A1, most FFLs do not have the long barrel on-hand. They will do the conversion, however, if I can procure a barrel that meets these specifications.

So far, I found this barrel. It is 7.5", which I BELIEVE would meet my requirements, but I would like to have some wiggle-room. Many of these SSE pistols come with >2 ft barrels.

Forgive me for switching to metric, but it seems like the M9 is mostly measured in metric. The factory overall length is 183mm, and removing the factory barrel (102mm) and installing the extended barrel (191mm) leaves us with a new OAL of 272mm or 10.7". That's only 0.2" of wiggle-room!

Does anyone know of a place where I could get an 8" (203mm) or longer barrel? Preferably non-threaded (because CA's laws are weird about that) too?

 

[Robanada]

Id be surprised if steyr did have a +6" barrel.....cause the l9 is only 4.5" or so. Id imagine if they had them we'd see 'em.

Wish I could help, but wow...I got lost in those layers of legal restrictions. I knew cali made things hard, didn't know it was that hard.

Thinking outloud, could ya have a custom shop make you a barrel to the exact dimensions required?

Don't even get me started on the laws. In summary, here's whats in the pipeline: Annual $50 permit to buy ammo, requires background check. No private transfers of ammo- all must be through an FFL and registered. Quantities of >3,000 rds in a 5 day period get reported to the police (not illegal- just tracked). 5 cent tax per ammunition component (per round?) (can you imagine paying $25 of tax on a $25 box of 500 rounds of .22?), %10 flat tax on ammo. No transfer of off-roster handguns to anyone except to an exempted party (police officer, military).

We already have a 10 round cap on all mags, and all rifles with >2 evil features (pistol grip and vertical foregrip, collapsing stock, etc) must have a lock on the magazine preventing it from being detached without a tool. This magazine lock can, of course, be removed with household items- the only thing preventing someone from doing it is 10 years in prison. No automatic weapons whatsoever, no suppressors whatsoever (unless you've got a class III weapons license, but...come on). Only one handgun purchase per 30 days, mandatory 10 day "cool off" period on all firearm purchases and transfers, even if you have a CCW, or another firearms. Only JHP and FMJ ammo, but some counties have made JHP illegal now. CCW depends on your county's sheriff, and unless you live in a rural area, there's no CCW for peasants. Must renew your $25 "handgun safety certificate" every 5 years. Etc, etc.

Sorry. Rant over.

A custom barrel isn't a bad idea- it wouldn't even have to be rifled. I wonder how much that would cost me, though. I'd need to get some kind of blueprint/design/schematic of the existing steyr barrel, and I'd rather not buy a new one to use as a template. I don't know how else I'd be certain that it'd fit in the breech and everything. Maybe I could buy a new one and have them extend it somehow- I don't know much about machining.

 

[Robanada]

Contact IGB Austria - they should be able to make this for you (they are likely your only option for this). I would suggest an ample stock of patience and only the loosest interpretation of their quoted delivery dates...

Thanks for the tip- I'll send them an email. Patience I can do- I'm going to be here for at least 3 more years.