22lr barrel length

[chubbs]

I'm picking up another 22 to tinker with and to do a little long range rimfire with. What's your guys thoughts on barrel length. I'm either picking up a mkii fvsr with a 16.5" flutted bull barrel or a mkii fv with a 21" bull barrel. What's everyone ones thoughts on barrel length. And yes I know, most will comment with a different gun I "should" buy instead.

 

[snorko]

My limited understanding is that the bulk/all of the powder in a .22 LR is burned up in about 12" of barrel. I would think a bit more length may boost velocity a smidge. But there is relatively no difference in velocity between say a 16" and a 20" barrel. Accuracy is only going to be affected if you are using open sights with a longer sight radius generally being more precise.

 

[Thor]

If long range is your venue it would seem to make sense that a longer barrel would be the option to choose. I have a couple of .22s, both reasonably accurate short range but the longer barrel does make a difference when you want to reach out and touch the target. So, for long range target I'd take the longer bull barrel.

Cheers

 

[42769vette]

Barrel length will mainly matter on a open sight rifle due to sight radius. If long range is what your going for, you will probably be shooting subs anyways, so barrel length with a scope matter zilch.

 

[Vlad the Impaler]

I have always heard (no hard data or chrono results) that approximately 14" produces max velocity on standard 22LR loads. Snorko has heard differently. I'd like to see some chrono results with a host of std velocity loads across a range of barrel lengths.
I agree with others that the velocity will not be significantly less with a longer barrel and the sight radius will help.

 

[snorko]

12", 14" or 16". Whichever is correct, we are saying the same thing basically. After some googling i read some benchrest shooters have landed on 24.75" as optimum. Apparently the extra length allows the pressure to drop enough to NOT mess up the bullet's exit.

 

[Leo]

Some serious small bore shooters add 6 more inches of length with a "bloop tube" or a sight extension bracket to extend the sight radius. These devices do not touch the bullet. Like said, the powder is gone and every mm of extra barrel past the powder pressure is just extra friction that slows the bullet. I have an old school 28 inch barrel target rifle, and when using a scope it is no advantage over a 18 inch match barrel on rifle fitted with a scope.

 

[Taurahe]

Instead of a long barrel, I would focus on a bull barrel and a good trigger. IMO, the heavier barrel will do more for you than a long barrel in terms of 22 lr. My CZ has a short bull barrel but at 50 yds it will put three rounds into a dime. The trigger breaks at 3lbs even, and really makes a huge difference.

 

[BigMatt]

For open sights, I like the CZ 452 Ultra Lux if you can find them any more. The have a ~28" barrel and good sights. For even better iron sighted action, you can get on Rimfire Central and find the guy who sells the peep sights that use the factory mounting brackets. They are from BRNO and work great.

 

[lazarus0213]

There is a study out there that shows .22lr is all but spent in the shorter barrel. IIRC it was 16" at the max with the super fast stuff. Anything longer and you are slowing the bullet down. Go with the shorter barrel.

 

[SirRealism]

Barrel length will mainly matter on a open sight rifle due to sight radius. If long range is what your going for, you will probably be shooting subs anyways, so barrel length with a scope matter zilch.

Why subsonic for long rang?

 

[42769vette]

Why subsonic for long rang?

Because super sonic has to transition from super sonic to sub sonic (around 100 yds) and it will throw the bullet into a unpredictable wobble. Sub sonic never goes through that transition because it starts off behind the wave. Im not saying you cant do super's at long range Im saying if your serious about it you will use subs.

 

[Gibster]

Years ago while squirrel hunting, I sighted three 22's in at 50 yds using same box of ammo. Guns were...a 27 in. Remington, a 22 in. Mossberg and 18 in. Browning. Then shot each across about 100 yards of water from a rest about 15 feet above the water. The target was a bleach bottle about one feet up the bank.
Results...27 in. carried the water....22 in. splashed 10 ft short....18 in. splashed 20 ft short
Have been a firm believer in barrel length ever since. My 2 cents.

 

[patience0830]

Years ago while squirrel hunting, I sighted three 22's in at 50 yds using same box of ammo. Guns were...a 27 in. Remington, a 22 in. Mossberg and 18 in. Browning. Then shot each across about 100 yards of water from a rest about 15 feet above the water. The target was a bleach bottle about one feet up the bank.
Results...27 in. carried the water....22 in. splashed 10 ft short....18 in. splashed 20 ft short
Have been a firm believer in barrel length ever since. My 2 cents.

A .22 lr ballistics chart will put the lie to this fallacy. How the sights were set and whether your ammo was of cosistent quality might have had something to do with the results of your 3 shot test results.

Shortest legal bbl length in a .22 rifle will consistently give you the highest velocity/most efficient use of powder. Vette is riggt on the $ about the subsonic ammo. Exception being the 60gr sniper subs which will require a higher twist rate to stabilize.
Rainbow trajectory with subs but it is a fairly consistent rainbow.

Remember that EVERY .22 rifle is a law unto itself regarding the ammo it likes and will shoot well. Testing variety is your friend.

 

[tlandon]

Had a tricked out Savage FV. It was too heavy to carry and hard to shoot offhand accurately. Very good on a bench.

 

[throttletony]

I have always heard (no hard data or chrono results) that approximately 14" produces max velocity on standard 22LR loads. Snorko has heard differently. I'd like to see some chrono results with a host of std velocity loads across a range of barrel lengths.
I agree with others that the velocity will not be significantly less with a longer barrel and the sight radius will help.

Similar to Vlad and Snorko, but with different numbers -- (If I have time, i'll try my google-fu on this)
But I remember hearing recently that there is very little velocity gain once you get above approx. 18" in barrel. You might see a 1-2% gain between per inch between 16-20"
My understanding is that once you're over 20", your fps will not increase. The study I found where they did this was with standard ("cheap") loads, so something hypervelocity like stingers or yellowjackets might be different.
Similarly, you get minimal gains (but still gains) above the 14 or 15" length. So, a 16" barrel is quite agile and gets *nearly* all of the juice out of a .22lr.

From personal experience, I will say that I like .22lr rifles in the 18-20" range. Especially with iron sights, becuase they give more sight radius
ALSO, they're quieter than their 16" brothers.
We used to shoot gophers in MT with a 10/22, a Marlin 60, and a Rem speedmaster (the latter 2 were longer) and you could hear the difference.