[chill1955]

Yes But..

I've been kicking around the idea of having the standard 18.5" barrel on my 581 Ranch cut and recrowned. Flash hiders and even muzzle brakes are now a no-no in NY, so I was thinking about just shortening the barrel and going with a target crown. If going this route, is it best to go down to 16"? Does anyone split the difference and go to 17" to compromise on velocity and accuracy change? Not enough to be worth it?

I would say yes it's worth it. I cut my 190 series stainless right behind the stock sights rear roll pin recess and that was 16.25" I crowned by hand using a Midway 11.5 deg ( as I recall) crowning tool. Then I finished it off with a Choate Machine Tool flash suppressor. So all of that added up to a mini that gives me MOA performance. I say but because I added the flash suppressor which I think helps just that little bit more.
Good Luck!