what's the longest barrel you need for .22 LR rifles ?

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AManWithAGun

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Hi,

I read that in general, longer barrels give you more accuracy and less muzzle blast (yes I know .22 LR is not loud at all for a rifle), but .22 rounds don't have enough powder to make use of really long barrels. So how long a barrel do you really need for a .22 LR rifle, before an extra inch gives you almost nothing in terms of accuracy ?

A related question: for a reasonable price, say under $500, what's the .22 LR you can buy with the longest barrel ?

Thanks in advance.
 
dan belisle said:
I recall that I read somewhere that anything over 16" in a 22 was a waste. All available energy from the powder charge had been converted into gas at that point. - dan
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I also recall reading 16 inch of barrel is all you need for standard 22 LR. The high velocity stuff may need a another inch or two. I'm not sure but sounds reasonable. Unless you are using open sights, a longer barrel does nothing except for looks and balance.
 
If you want to make a QUIET 22, that will fire CB caps without much noise, then a 29" BSA Martini barrel is tops.
 
in theory shorter barrels are more accurate, because they are stiffer.

16" is about ideal depending on your ammo.

overall accuracy will be more dependant on the total setup rather than just the barrel.
 
The barrel length needs to be longer for the highest velocity & highest energy rounds.....they are tested in 24" barrels.....anything less results in a drop in velocity.
For example, the CCI Velocitor (40grHP, 1435fps, 183ft-lbs) drops to around 1230fps in a 20"
barrel because I believe to get that speed & keep chamber pressures to standard 22lr levels,
slower burning powders are used & thus the longer barrels are needed.
 
i have an old mossberg 146b with a 26" barrel, it shoots incredibly small groups at great distances( for a .22 that is) best shots i've made where a gopher sunning himself on a rock at 200 yds, and a jackrabbit in the face at 150.
 
with 22lr any barrel over 10" in length gives you nothing in terms of accuracy or velocity.
 
Based on what most would consider to be the most accurate rifles on the planet, Olympic target rifles, 670mm (Feinwerkbau 2700 series) is about right. (26.36") Mind you this is for 50m shooting.
 
Mammoth said:
Based on what most would consider to be the most accurate rifles on the planet, Olympic target rifles, 670mm (Feinwerkbau 2700 series) is about right. (26.36") Mind you this is for 50m shooting.
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hmmmm sounds about right.... However, I read something about 3 months ago (I can't remeber where for the life of me now) that stated olympic shooters are starting to favour shorter barrels in the 12" to 16" range (as that is all you need for accuraccy and velocity).

They also stated the reason the olympic barrels have been traditionally longer is the longer the sight radius the easier it is to be accurate.

For this reason there is a new trend coming out where the actual rifled portion of the barrel is 12" to 16" and then there is a "hollow tube" (actually the barrel is necked out to the point that the wall is extremely thin in the case of a heavy size barrel) affixed on the end of the barrel to obtain a long sight radius.

The advantage of this is that there is less barrel for the bullet to be bumped off target (by the shooter) as well as velocitys stay at a higher level so there is less need to allow for bullet drop and less need to allow for drift due to wind conditions.

This is all hersay btw, I can't remeber where I read this.......
 
If 16" was the most accurate, Anshutz would make it standard but the don't.
Anything over 20" in 22 RF gains very little. But with open sights the
long the bbl the better sightline you actually have.
 
kevin.303 said:
i have an old mossberg 146b with a 26" barrel, it shoots incredibly small groups at great distances( for a .22 that is) best shots i've made where a gopher sunning himself on a rock at 200 yds, and a jackrabbit in the face at 150.
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I was the bipod for the 150M rabbit shot. :D

I have an 11.5" barrel on mine. Works just fine. :p
 
notsorichguy said:
The advantage of this is that there is less barrel for the bullet to be bumped off target (by the shooter) as well as velocitys stay at a higher level so there is less need to allow for bullet drop and less need to allow for drift due to wind conditions.

This is all hersay btw, I can't remeber where I read this.......
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Appreciate the disclaimer. This doesn't sound quite right as projectiles slightly above (1100fps -1500fps) the transonic zone are affected more by wind than subsonic projectiles.
Most top grade 22lr ammunition is at or slightly below the transonic threshold at the muzzle. (18-22")
 
I used a friends chrony to test federal bulk pack awhile back. It was my 18" 10/22 vs my 4.5" 22/45. I think the average difference was 150fps.
 
I chronied CCI standard velocity ammo once, shot out from my target pistol with 5"-ish barrel. Velocities were very consistent around 920 fps. That is some 150 fps below advertised 1070 fps. As to accuracy - that same pistol deliver rifle-like accuracy when benched, and I have a feeling that given the same sight radius it will be just as accurate as target rifle.

Longer barrels may still give better percieved accuracy because of weight of the barrel distributed far out and thus dumping adverse movements induced by the shooter.
 
notsorichguy said:
hmmmm sounds about right.... However, I read something about 3 months ago (I can't remeber where for the life of me now) that stated olympic shooters are starting to favour shorter barrels in the 12" to 16" range (as that is all you need for accuraccy and velocity).

They also stated the reason the olympic barrels have been traditionally longer is the longer the sight radius the easier it is to be accurate.

For this reason there is a new trend coming out where the actual rifled portion of the barrel is 12" to 16" and then there is a "hollow tube" (actually the barrel is necked out to the point that the wall is extremely thin in the case of a heavy size barrel) affixed on the end of the barrel to obtain a long sight radius.

The advantage of this is that there is less barrel for the bullet to be bumped off target (by the shooter) as well as velocitys stay at a higher level so there is less need to allow for bullet drop and less need to allow for drift due to wind conditions.

This is all hersay btw, I can't remeber where I read this.......
Click to expand...

I know someone who has a barrel shorter then 10 in, and the rest is all tube so he can get his sight radius with iron sights. And yes he does get accuracy for 20yd competition shooting. A barrel is only good up to the point where it is the tightest. If you have a 24" barell, and it is tightest at 20", you have 4" of wasted barrel.
 
22lr said:
with 22lr any barrel over 10" in length gives you nothing in terms of accuracy or velocity.
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Makes me wonder why my Cooper LVT has a 24 inch barrel and a 1/4 inch 5 shot written guarantee at 50 yards, seems like they wasted 14 inches of stainless pipe

P2020615.jpg
 
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