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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Rimfire and Airguns
Barrel length needed ??
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<blockquote data-quote="Kevin Thomas" data-source="post: 558157" data-attributes="member: 15748"><p>Alfred,</p><p> </p><p>are you asking about top velocities, or best accuracy? Top velocity in rimfires will usually be achieved with barrels not more than about 18"-20" at most. After that point, most longer barrels will actually reduce velocity to some degree. Accuracy is another matter, and is (to a large degree) independant of barrel length. Assuming identical quality and chambering, a short, stiff barrel will give better accuracy than a longer and "whippier" one. Most of hte longer barrels used in target rifles are selected for reasons other than accuracy per se. Balance, sight radius, etc., all come into play here. That said, there are a great many match/target rifles that use very short barrels, and shoot phenomenally well. I have a S&W M41 that will (with select ammo) hold a half inch at 50 yards for a 10 round group, time after time from a machine rest. That's a mere 5" barrel, but it shoots better than most inexpensive rifles, no problem. That said, I use a fairly long (24" heavy") barrel on my silhouette rifle, fluted, to get the balance where I want it. The price for this is more barrel time, meaning that follow through becomes even more critical. </p><p> </p><p>All depends on what you want to use it for, and how you want to configure the rifle.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Kevin Thomas, post: 558157, member: 15748"] Alfred, are you asking about top velocities, or best accuracy? Top velocity in rimfires will usually be achieved with barrels not more than about 18"-20" at most. After that point, most longer barrels will actually reduce velocity to some degree. Accuracy is another matter, and is (to a large degree) independant of barrel length. Assuming identical quality and chambering, a short, stiff barrel will give better accuracy than a longer and "whippier" one. Most of hte longer barrels used in target rifles are selected for reasons other than accuracy per se. Balance, sight radius, etc., all come into play here. That said, there are a great many match/target rifles that use very short barrels, and shoot phenomenally well. I have a S&W M41 that will (with select ammo) hold a half inch at 50 yards for a 10 round group, time after time from a machine rest. That's a mere 5" barrel, but it shoots better than most inexpensive rifles, no problem. That said, I use a fairly long (24" heavy") barrel on my silhouette rifle, fluted, to get the balance where I want it. The price for this is more barrel time, meaning that follow through becomes even more critical. All depends on what you want to use it for, and how you want to configure the rifle. [/QUOTE]
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Rifles, Reloading, Optics, Equipment
Rimfire and Airguns
Barrel length needed ??
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