Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 30-06 barrel, 22 inches vs 24 inches

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Though I've had/have them from 20" to 26". Longer gives you more FPS, but I've never missed a critter and thought "I would have made that shot with an extra 2" of barrel"

Mine is actually 23.6" (60cm), but I would go with 24". In my opinion the rifles seem to hold better and it is easier on the ears.

I agree, but one advantage of longer is that it is easier on the years nd less muzzle blast

I prefer 22".

21.9999"

22" is perfect IMO. Would be more to chat about if one was comparing 20" vs 26".

21" to 24" is a matter of personal choice really. Not very much gained/lost..

Acording to Jack O'Connor, standard rounds (like the .30-06) should be barreled at 22" and the magnums at 24". Can you imagine the gall of the great unwashed to dispute the teachings of Master Jack?

Actually, his sage advice is still appropo today.

On putting it at 22 inches, the thing that made me hesitate about 22 inches is that my 7mm-08s are 22 inches and they use less powder and the round is shorter leaving more actual barrel for powder burn,, just had me thinking,, which is truly a dangerous thing.. as suggested 23 inches would have the barrel less chamber about the same length and I would still be using more powder than the 308 case,,,, I think my though process on this is clouded by messing with short barrels muzzleloaders alot which had problems getting a good burn with shorter barrels using slower powders compared to longer 26 inch barrels,,,

Don't sweat it. A 22" barrel is plenty for a .30-06. They have been making them for years.

I've got 2 that are 22" and 2 that are 24". I generally lose about 80 to 100 fps with the 22" barrels. The shorter lighter barrels do handle a bit better though. 23" does seem to be popular now days and if I were to cut one back and re-crown, I'd probably go that route as well....

Thanks for all the info guys!

23 is a prime number. That might be good or bad mojo, depending on the shooter

I have two 30/06's in the house, one has a 20" tube and the other a 25 1/2" tube, pretty good for covering extremes...

The long and short of it ehh,,

My 3006 wears a 24". The balance is perfect 'for me' in that setup.

Out of curiosity Steelhead,,, other than a little more speed what are the advantages of the 25.5,, how much more speed does it get?

Both rifles wear 24 inch 300wm barrels right now, my brief case of magnumitis has ran it's course and I'm heading to a more practical and friendly cal. The factory sporter contours of the current barrels are pretty well balanced for me. Toyed with the idea of a 338-06 and it seems to be a great round but the 30-06 just seems more well rounded for my use and I already load for the cal.

I like a 22" barrel on any standard length non magnum rifle but it's just a personal thing as I like the looks better than the long barrels, it turns my stomach to see the long gaudy 26" tubes some makers screw on their magnum caliber rifles, as far as the fps goes I have done a little informal testing in that regard and found very minimal velocity differences in rifle barrels in the 22" to 24" range, I actually had a 22" barrel or two that the velocity was a little higher than some of My 24" barrel models so this really a non-issue in My book.............Good luck.........Hb

Bought a brand new Wby Mk V in 7 Wby Magnum. The first order of business was to cut 2" off of its 26" barrel. That made all the difference to me.

I honestly haven't put any from the 20" tube across the screens. I'm sending 165's out of the longer tube at 2970 fps.

Exactly...