Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires .22lr barrel length

What would you call ideal barrel length for a .22lr? I see 16.5" to 24"? I'm wanting to buy a nice wood/blued keep sake rifle and I want to know what barrel length. I plan to buy a CZ.

More of a preference decision and how it handles for you. I have a heavy barrel 22 inch that is a tad muzzle heavy but I live with it.

I second the above. I've got 16" to 24" barrels on various 22s and like/dislike them all for various reasons.

If you are looking for highest velocity, I seem to recall reading that optimum velocity occurs around the 18" mark. Not sure if that was with high velocity or standard but it is what I recall. I've only put two of my rifles over a chronograph and the velocities were pretty close. That might be expected as the one had a 20" barrel and the other 21". Other factors making the comparison difficult was different brands of ammo, different chronographs, different times of the year, and probably differing distances from the chronograph.

16" will normally give almost all the velocity you will get from a 22.
https://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84827

From my chrono testing, out of a 6 7/8" Ruger mark 4, ten rounds of CCI mini mag 22 LR averaged 1161 FPS. CCI's advertised velocity for mini mags is 1235 FPS which is not much more than I was getting out of a 6 7/8" barrel.

Out of the same Ruger, Federal Target averaged 1098 FPS and Federal Champion averaged 1099 FPS.

From that second chart Muffin, it sure looks way more dependent on the barrel itself than the length of the barrel. I'd read the same thing as Woodmaster8 that anything much over 18" caused drag with a LR because the powder charge was all used by that length. Honestly, I think that lots of you guys get way too hung up on velocity. What possible difference does it make if you get 1,200 or 1,150 fps? A longer sighting radius for irons or less noise from a longer barrel trumps 50 fps to my way of thinking.

16" is the best in terms of size vs reward.

However, if I was going to have something built as a keepsake I would go 21".

When using the right ammo the become every bit as effective as a suppressed 22LR.

The 16" really shines when shooting out of a window. But other than that there's no massive advantage.

Lw308: I know I am losing some velocity in my Remington 40-X rimfire Rifle with its 27" heavy barrel but the added mass while under field conditions makes it one of my favorite Colony Varmint Hunting Rifles.
Some of my Small Game/Varmint rimfire Rifles have barrels as short as 18" and I have them in lengths on up to the aforementioned 27" - so for stability afield I say longer and heavier - for "fuel efficiency" and handling shorter helps.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I think you'll be happy with that choice. I sent this 452 American to Marlon at Triple River Gunsmithing to do this to mine.

Cut barrel to 18"
Recrown barrel
Thread barrel using 1/2 - 28" pitch
Add knurled cap
Trigger job

One thing you may find out of the box, some of them have notoriously crappy triggers. Mine did. Marlon took care of that at a very reasonable price.

Nice rifle dirt

Mine is 18" with a 4.5" or so suppressor making it 22ish. Its pretty handy.

20' is about ideal for a hunting rifle that is handy and balances well for me. 24 plus inches is much quieter, and 16 inch is long enough for full velocity.

My "keep-sake rifle" is a Marlin 39M. But it's no safe queen and has been through countless briar patches and barb wire fences.

For pure accuracy sake, the best barrel length is one where the tightest spot in the barrel is at the muzzle. The way to determine this, either in a blank or finished barrel, is to remove a lead bullet from a round and push the slug down the barrel with a rod and feel for the spot of most resistance. So long as the tightest spot is at a legal length, mark the spot and cut and crown there. This is how custom gunsmiths who build the best shooting match rifles determine the length of their finished barrels. I've slugged a few custom match barrels and it's not unusual to feel loose spots in the barrel where there is little resistance. You don't want those loose spots at the muzzle.

Ballistically-speaking, I remember seeing a report where about 18 to 18 1/2" of barrel will get all the velocity you can get out of a 22 LR round. After that, the bullet can actually start to slow a tad as it traverses more tube. But really, we're talking a .22 LR here. A few FPS here or there matters not for anything I intend to do with a .22. For a "keepsake" rifle, it has to feel good to you, and it has to make you smile every time you look at it! For me, that would probably mean a 20 or 21" barrel for the kind of rifle you're talking about.

Ballistically-speaking, I remember seeing a report where about 18 to 18 1/2" of barrel will get all the velocity you can get out of a 22 LR round. After that, the bullet can actually start to slow a tad as it traverses more tube. But really, we're talking a .22 LR here. A few FPS here or there matters not for anything I intend to do with a .22. For a "keepsake" rifle, it has to feel good to you and it has to make you smile every time you look at it! For me, that would probably mean a 20 or 21" barrel for the kind of rifle you're talking about.

My most accurate 22 has a 29" barrel. Also weights 13 pounds. For a walk around rifle I like 21 to 24 inch barrels. Depends on the rifle, these lengths seem to have the best balance for myself. A suppressor might change that with more weight forward, so a shorter barrel could balance well.

Uh. OK.......

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don't pay any attention to 'reports'....... go with the gut feeling, and ignore the report that you are so interested in telling all about.

Gotcha. I bought a CZ 452 varmint from a member here, 20”. I haven’t had one that short before. This thread is interesting. I’ve wondered about how the length might/might not affect 22lr performance in a rifle.