maximum barrel length?

sharpsguy

sharpsguy

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I was thinking of rebarreling a bolt action .22, and want to get max accuracy and muzzle velocity out of it. Whats the longest you can go on a barrel before you start get diminishing results? I want it to be an ultra long range gopher hammerer, and would like to make as long as shots as possible. Thanks.

Sharps guy.
 
You are going to get all sorts of lengths recomended on this issue.
A 22 round develops maximum velocity at about 16 inches but at that length there is a lot of turbulence in the column of gas and accuracy in my opinion tends to suffer.
Many Target rifles have barrel lengths around 26 to 28 inches and their accuracy tends to prove that the longer barrel length thinking is correct. At the longer length gas turbulence has evened out and although the velocity of the bullet has decreased slightly, accuracy has greatly improved.
If you are using the rifle to shoot Gophers at 100 yards or less then maybe a 16 to 24" barrel is sufficient on a good bolt action rifle.
Whether you use a bolt action or a semi auto you are going to have to do some work on the trigger to get a light let-off so as to minimise hand and body tensions.
One of the absolute best sporter rifles is the Winchester 52 sporter which can head shoot gophers at 100 yds.. It's barrel length is 24". The cost of the 52 is high though if you can even get one. Next on my list would be the Winchester 75 T which sells second hand for around $350 to $400 and is a target rifle. New rifles like the CZ are very good to shoot and have a great reputation. The low end I would recommend would be a Norinco JW15 from marstar.ca. The JW15 has a 24" barrel and with a little trigger work will deliver the 100 yard accuracy from a good rifleman. The price of the JW15 is only about $150 from marstar.
Jim
 
One thing to remember is that a barrel length of maximum velocity will not have maximum accuracy, and vice versa. The target rifles with really long barrels do not have very high velocities. In fact, they are meant to have slow subsonic bullets. It is my understanding that when the small 22 bullets travel through the sound barrier they are subjected to accuracy impairing turbulence. The subsonic target bullets are more accurate because they avoid the unpredictable effects of decelerating through the sound barrer.

I have heard 16" is about the ideal length for .22 velocity, but longer should in theory be more condusive to accuracy.

If you really want to hit gophers hard at long distances, you may want to look into the .17 rimfire rounds.
 
Problem is with the .17 is the slightest wind sends them adrift.

Consider the lengths of the .22 LR target rifles of old which averaged 30":
http://www.rifleman.org.uk/Vickers_Martini_rifles.htm

Notice how they talk about groupings at "200 yards"...not '50, and 100 yards' we talk about today. I would LOVE to find one of these rifles. :)

Also here is a 26" barrel model that is a historical tack driver.
http://home.epix.net/~damguy/44.htm

My vote is 26" to 30" heavy barrel. :D
 
My Sako and Walther both, very clearly shoot better groups with target velocity at ranges beyond 80 meters. At 200 yards we're talking about 2.5 - 4" groups with std. velocity compared to 12" plus groups with various hi-velocity stuff. I've experimented with a lot of different ammo and lot. no.s.

Longer barrel length from what I've seen has no ballistic advantage. "Gas column turbulance", however is a new one to me. A much longer barrel will ever so slightly increase barrel time. A longer barrel will also increase the sight radius for target sights and increase forward weight, desirable to many shooters.

I would think Kimber new what they were doing with their short barreled varmit rig offering.
 
I agree, but suspect there is more to those rifles then covered here. :D

Also I wonder what is the effect of types of rifling out there in the various rimfire rifles? :)
 
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