.22 barrel length question

[JoeJ615]

i have a pretty simple question for you guys ... i cant seem to find a deffinative answer online so i figured some of the guru's here might be able to help ... at what point of barrel length would you say that standard velocity .22 LR ammo would begin to lose velocity from friction? i recently purchased a Marlin XT22TR and it has a 22" bbl, and a friend is trying to tell me that anything over 18.5" bbl is slowing down my velocities and it has me wondering if he's full of it or onto something

[Dolomite_supafly]

Depends on the ammo.

Most people say 16" is ideal but I am not so sure.

Here is the website that answered the question but as I said ammo type can extend or shorten the perfect barrel length.

http://ballisticsbytheinch.com/

Dolomite

[JoeJ615]

awesome thanks for the reply dolomite i knew i could count on you guys lol ... according to the charts on that site the only gun with the 22" bbl seemed to outperform every other bbl length including the 20" and 23" bbl guns .. seems odd that the one inch increase from 22 to 23 drops the velocity a bit but that may have just been some other variable in the test guns i suppose ... their only 22" bbl .22 was a kimber classic which im not very familiar with

[graycrait]

I have and have had a lot of .22 rifles. I have an XT .22 with a 22" barrel and it is stupid practical accurate for not much money. How accurate I will look into that in the next few weeks. I had been using it to shoot Colibras in my backyard but have retired it from that duty, allowing my 1956 era Remington 572 to take over that job. My .22 rifle barrel lengths range from 16" - 29". The Remington mentioned has a nearly 24" barrel. Don't get too caught up in barrel length as accuracy is more dependent on chamber and crown (I think) than on barrel length. Dolomite can discuss chambers in good detail. Also what is maddening about .22s is that each barrel and action even of the same model can like differerent ammo. To this end I think not only chamber is an issue but how the gun headspaces on the rimfire and how the energy of the firing pin is transfered to the rim and how the bullet ignites. The benchrest guys are fanatics. Lets say you get all the mechanics refined and matched to a particular rimfire bullet, then you have scope, wind, shakes, bad eyesight to compound things as well. Here is a good starting point: http://www.accurateshooter.com/category/rimfire/

[JoeJ615]

how accurate were the super colibras out of your XT and at what kind of range do you get decent accuracy graycrait? i have a brick of them i havent used yet, i also have some CCI CB shorts im curious if they will be a bit more accurate since they are a lil heavier and a lil faster

Edited July 1, 2012 by JoeJ615

[graycrait]

Minute of leaf and butt of squirrel as best I could tell. Seriously, I never shot for a group, just sighted in on leaves and used on local squirrels. I do know that out of a 29" barrel that Standard Colibras bounce off cardboard at 25 yards.

[TN Outlaw]

most people seem to get better results with 16-18.5 but as DOLO said ammo has a lot to do with it

[Jonnin]

If you are worried about velocity, why are you shooting low velocity ammo ???

[JoeJ615]

If you are worried about velocity, why are you shooting low velocity ammo ???

im not for the most part i shoot winchester bulk i was just curious about the super calibras because i also have a brick of those for back yard plinking