Barrel Length

[LocalJW]

Personal preference for sure!

Personal rigs-

22" or shorter are generally for short-medium length action type cartridges or Supressed setups.

24-26" is a good all around length for long action cartridges.

Personally my long action hunting rifles have 24" because for a hunting rifle I favor compactness and pick the shorter option on the "spectrum". Never, one time in the field in a hunting scenario have I said to myself "I wish my rifle was longer"... so to that tune, for you I think I'd favor the 22" if those are your options!

I would love the element in a 24" or PH2 in 24".

26" is long. Then add 2 more inches of brake on their and now you got a 28" rifgel

 

[Reelamin]

Advanced search is a great tool on the site. Hundreds of great threads covering every detail of barrels from basic to outer space technical.

 

[Duramaxfxr]

Not a prc but recently had a 26in 300wm cut back to 21in to make it practical when supressed..loads required change to regain accuracy and went from a 3200fps gun to 3010fps..have not shot it suppressed yet but packed it all rifle season..it definitely was easier to maneuver in the timber and the elk couldn't tell the difference in velocity...

 

[Another Casual]

Elk and Mule Deer. No target except load development.

No suppressed, brake though.

205 Berger which require 1:11 minimum.

Trying to devices between the Seekin Element or PH2.

Element is 2.5lbs lighter but it's a 22" barrel instead of 26" (ph2).

Cost $1k more though.

No can and a brake would push me to the 26". 22" with a brake sounds like my ears would hate it. If hunting with a can and money is no object, the Element at 22" would likely give adequate velocities for your uses.

 

[JuddL]

There have been 2-3 guys saying unsuppressed go with the longer barrel. I agree.

I'm in the process of putting together a 22" 30 Nosler but my reasoning is I wanted a 200 grain bullet at 3k and I didn't want it to be 30" after I put the suppressor on it. I'm looking forward to what it will do.

I seem to always build around hunts, this will be a King Ranch Nilgai hunt Jan 2024 rifle.

 

[LocalJW]

There have been 2-3 guys saying unsuppressed go with the longer barrel. I agree.

I'm in the process of putting together a 22" 30 Nosler but my reasoning is I wanted a 200 grain bullet at 3k and I didn't want it to be 30" after I put the suppressor on it. I'm looking forward to what it will do.

I seem to always build around hunts, this will be a King Ranch Nilgai hunt Jan 2024 rifle.

Yeah i'm looking for a rifle for packing in.

2800-2950 would be great speed from a 300PRC with 22" barrel. Add a brake too. No suppressor

 

[Duramaxfxr]

I haven't hunted suppressed yet..thinking the brake at least on the 300 is more practical for packing through the woods..ya don't hear it when your shooting a monster..lol

 

[2buffalo]

new data is showing shorter barrels are actually more accurate then longer

Would you mind sharing this data?

 

[David_h]

I just bought a stock X-bolt Pro in .300 PRC and it has a 26" barrel plus removable brake. I would have leaned toward a 24" barrel except Browning did not offer it. They have lots of versions and all have 26" barrel except the "suppressor ready" version with a 22". Even their lightweight Pro and Mountain Pro rifles have 26" barrel, and that is with the lighter sporter barrel. Their "long range" and "target" rifles have 26" too; and that is with the heavy sporter barrel. Unless unduly influence by marketing hype; I have to assume that 26" length is best because they went with that length even on the Pro and Mountain Pro.

 

[guy2205]

TAC ops (Mike)did a write up years ago on barrel lengths starting with a 32" barrel and compared results after cutting 2" increments all down to 20" . If you can find it, it is a good read

 

[LocalJW]

TAC ops (Mike)did a write up years ago on barrel lengths starting with a 32" barrel and compared results after cutting 2" increments all down to 20" . If you can find it, it is a good read

I've been searching

 

[LocalJW]

TAC ops (Mike)did a write up years ago on barrel lengths starting with a 32" barrel and compared results after cutting 2" increments all down to 20" . If you can find it, it is a good read

Barrel Length and Precision Rifles — Why shorter barrels are often better • Spotter Up

There’s a growing trend to shorter barrels on tactical precision rifles. In years past, a...

spotterup.com

 

[Stewart2550]

I have a Bergara 300 PRC that originally had a 26" barrel that I ran a brake on. Now that I have my magnum can I cut the barrel to 20". It shoots the same load just fine and and I lost 150 fps. I'm definitely happy with the rifle. My personal plans are 500 yards and in, I would rather have a manageable gun for this due to a 9" suppressor.

 

[Shane Lindsey]

Take the max book velocity and then subtract 25 FPS for each barrel length difference to what you want.

Now plug it into a ballistic app and see what you actually lose....


Go chort!!!