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.

What is the make and model of the rifle?
Someone who owns one could tell you more about it, instead of just offering theory.

Have you looked over on www.rimfirecentral.com?

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

Jeff

I recall a report in Rifle Magazine several years ago. 20-21" gave max velocity depending on load.

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"

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...

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

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.

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.

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.

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.