24hourcampfire.com
24hourcampfire.com
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Hop To
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 363
Rogmatt Offline OP
Campfire Member
OP Offline
Campfire Member
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 363
I have found a bolt action in 22 mag with a 26" barrel.
As I understand it, there is a point to where to much barrel length might actually hinder velocity. Is 24" the maximum desired length for getting the most velocity out of this round. Most now come in 20 or 21". I would like to think that a 26" barrel would give me maximum performance out of the 22mag.
Thanks for any opinions.

Last edited by Rogmatt; 11/25/08.

Principle Above All Else
BP-B2

Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 7,259
L
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
L
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 7,259
What is the make and model of the rifle?
Someone who owns one could tell you more about it, instead of just offering theory.

Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 32,029
Campfire 'Bwana
Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 32,029
Have you looked over on www.rimfirecentral.com?

They seem to have alot of rimfire experience to draw on.

Jeff

Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 3,507
G
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
G
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 3,507
I recall a report in Rifle Magazine several years ago. 20-21" gave max velocity depending on load.

Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 7,041
R
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
R
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 7,041
I've shot the .22 WMR for a couple decades. IMHO, 26" is past the point of diminishing returns. 20" is fine. There was an article in one of the gun mags a few years back which, if memory serves (and as Grand has indicated) concluded that optimal length was 20-21"


Communists: I still hate them even after they changed their name to "liberals".
____________________

My boss asked why I wasn't working. I told him I was being a democrat for Halloween.
IC B2

Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 42,579
S
Campfire 'Bwana
Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
S
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 42,579
my CZ 452 in 22 LR, has a 25 inch barrel on it, and they make one with a 28 inch barrel on it..

I don't think it helps velocity, nor does it seem to hinder it..

a 22 Mag wouldn't be any real difference...

fast powders burn up in the barrel long before everything gets to the muzzle...


"Minus the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the Country" Marion Barry, Mayor of Wash DC

“Owning guns is not a right. If it were a right, it would be in the Constitution.” ~Alexandria Ocasio Cortez

Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 21,810
D
djs Offline
Campfire Ranger
Offline
Campfire Ranger
D
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 21,810
Originally Posted by Grand
I recall a report in Rifle Magazine several years ago. 20-21" gave max velocity depending on load.


IIRC, the 22 Long Rifle has a maximum effective length of 16", due to the low case capacity.

Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 7,259
L
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
L
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 7,259
My Mossberg Chuckster has about a 26-inch barrel.
The main thing that gives the rifle is heft, making it feel like a centerfire.

I have owned .22 LR target rifles, like the Anschutz 1413, which had 28 inch barrels, not for velocity, but for balance and long sight radius with the aperture sights. A 20-inch barrel would have had about the same velocity.

Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 59,898
M
Campfire Kahuna
Offline
Campfire Kahuna
M
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 59,898
Seafire,

Actually, slow powders burn up in the barrel long before the muzzle too. The phenomenon we're discussing here is not how much powder burns, but how long the gas produced by the powder keeps expanding.

Last edited by Mule Deer; 11/26/08.

“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 4,570
S
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
S
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 4,570
Originally Posted by RobJordan
I've shot the .22 WMR for a couple decades. IMHO, 26" is past the point of diminishing returns. 20" is fine. There was an article in one of the gun mags a few years back which, if memory serves (and as Grand has indicated) concluded that optimal length was 20-21"

I always enjoy discussions about shooting and the real potential of rimfire rounds. My interest and research led me to Dr. Mark White who owns Sound Technology, and has spent many years exploring the abilities of .22's and their infinite brands of ammo. Dr. White is from Pelham, AL and build several kinds of silencers, mostly for .22's. Also several of White's articles over the years have appeared in Precision Rifle magazine too.

White is the author of Ruger 10/22 guide, "The Ultinmate Ruger 10/22, Manual and User's Guide", and shows data indicating that a .22 Long Rifle's best barrel length is 14 to 16 inches - depending on the load. White also claims 11 inches is the [near] perfect length for the .22 Short.

Of course everything I'm saying here is about non-suppressed .22's.

Skipping over to the Bullberry.com website, Fred lists data from two tests he conducted with his custom Contender or Encore barrels in the .204 Ruger and .17Hmr.

Starting with 24in barrels and chronographing them with representative loads, the Bullberry folks cut off 1-inch increments of each barrel all the way down to @10 inches, taking average velocities. It is possible to shoot both of those rounds in barrels too short, with unsatisfactory results!

The Bullberry site says that 23 inches is the optimum barrel length for the .204 Ruger, and 21 inches for the .17HMR. Keep in mind that the .17HMR is built on a bottle-necked .22WMR casing.

I've never even shot or used the .22 Magnum round, but my guess-timate for an optimum .22WMR barrel length is 18 - 18 1/2 - 19 inches. [b]However a nice round number of 20 inches would probably work quite nicely. Or even 18 inches!
Without any noticeable change in velocity. In the .22WMR I'd be happy with anything between 18-20 inches, but preferably in a heavy bbl. grin

IC B3

Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 87
F
Campfire Greenhorn
Offline
Campfire Greenhorn
F
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 87
While I think that around 20" is the OPTIMUM .22 Mag length, I am sure that you would not notice any difference in terminal performance if you used a 26" barrel. So I would say that you should get the rifle you like, regardless of barrel length.

I can say that in both my 20" barreled Winchester 9422M and Ruger 77/22M rifles that 40-gr Win Super-X JHPs are deadly on big jackrabbits as far away as you can hit them.


"We deal in lead - friend"

Moderated by  RickBin 

Link Copied to Clipboard
YB23

Who's Online Now
324 members (160user, 257 mag, 1lessdog, 12344mag, 01Foreman400, 2UP, 34 invisible), 1,993 guests, and 922 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums81
Topics1,187,593
Posts18,397,953
Members73,815
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023


 







Fish & Game Departments | Solunar Tables | Mission Statement | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA
Hunting | Fishing | Camping | Backpacking | Reloading | Campfire Forums | Gear Shop
Copyright © 2000-2024 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.3.33 Page Time: 0.388s Queries: 14 (0.003s) Memory: 0.8384 MB (Peak: 0.9301 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-03-28 11:03:30 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS