18 or 20" bull barrel for 10/22?

steveh326 · Mar 29, 2016

any advantage (besides weight or lack of) of one over the other? Although all the powder would be burned in 18", I am thinking the 20" would potentially be more accurate with all other things being equal... am I wrong?

tkd4life · Mar 29, 2016

Well actually for a 22, there is some data that would suggest a longer barrel is not more accurate. My understanding is that if barrel length isn't needed for the extra muzzle velocity it does not help accuracy. The Bullet Dwell time will be higher in longer length barrels. The time the bullet stays in the barrel is longer and as a result, you have to keep the action and barrel completely still for more time compared to a shorter barrel. That is why you see some tactical rifles in .308 and .223 with shorter barrels among other reasons like weight and barrel rigidity. If it were me personally I would go with the 18" barrel. It will be more than you need and your not going to see that much of a difference in the muzzle velocity of the 22lr between the two.

steveh326 · Mar 29, 2016

tkd4life said:
Well actually for a 22, there is some data that would suggest a longer barrel is not more accurate. My understanding is that if barrel length isn't needed for the extra muzzle velocity it does not help accuracy. The Bullet Dwell time will be higher in longer length barrels. The time the bullet stays in the barrel is longer and as a result, you have to keep the action and barrel completely still for more time compared to a shorter barrel. That is why you see some tactical rifles in .308 and .223 with shorter barrels among other reasons like weight and barrel rigidity. If it were me personally I would go with the 18" barrel. It will be more than you need and your not going to see that much of a difference in the muzzle velocity of the 22lr between the two.

thanks. after I posted this I did some searching over at rimfirecentral and it seems you are correct. the big debate over there was 16.5 vs 18. there was a link to a technical article that made my head hurt a little but I came to the same conclusion, 18 is probably best all around for my needs... thanks !

JohnnyE · Mar 29, 2016

If your goal is to keep the bullets subsonic, you need to consider the effect of barrel length on muzzle velocity.

Trumpet · Mar 29, 2016

IIRC a long time ago I read a write up about AMT. This was when they were making a lot of 10/22s for the Chevy Sportman's Challenge (or whatever it was called). Anyway, they discovered that something like 13" was ideal for .22 rimfire rifles.

BradMacc82 · Mar 29, 2016

16.5" was what I used for my Appleseed build. Accuracy wise, it was a stone cold tack-driver with 40gr lead.

Also did quite well with subs and a can...

nerfherder · Mar 30, 2016

Based on my experience only, there is no advantage in the extra length. 18" performs and handles the best.

If you google it there several articles out there but they quickly get into math and detail that make me suffer.

steveh326 · Mar 30, 2016

nerfherder said:
Based on my experience only, there is no advantage in the extra length. 18" performs and handles the best.

If you google it there several articles out there but they quickly get into math and detail that make me suffer.

I read some of them and they made my head hurt also. in the end I stumbled on a nearly new 18" kidd fluted bull barrel on ebay the guy was selling so he could get a carbon fiber barrel. claims only 100 rounds thru it (probably also only driven on Sundays too...lol). I wasn't planning on getting a barrel so soon but I figured saving $100 over new was worth it. I am done spending $ on this for now so the rest will have to wait.

molonlabe · Mar 30, 2016

I have one of these .22 inch bbl. I use target ammo so it's subsonic. It's a tack driver at 50 yards my wife and I use air gun targets.
http://www.bghi.us/index.php?x=2000l

Biggfoot44 · Mar 31, 2016

In theory, for a consistant dia, a shorter bbl will be stiffer.

Chamber, throat, crown, bedding each will be of greater importance than an inch k4

Or 2 in length.

If you are using metalic sights, longer bbl will give longer sight radius.

Otherwise, decide based upon prefered balance.

Russ D · Mar 31, 2016

I shoot a 16" Green Mountain barrel on mine.

alucard0822 · Mar 31, 2016

With target/std and even some high velocity the shorter the better IMO. There isn't an appreciable gain in velocity past about 12-16", the extra length can provide additional radius for open sights and maybe balance if you have a heavy stock, but for most it just strips off more lube, makes CF/aluminum less rigid and makes the rifle less agile.

steveh326 · Mar 31, 2016

thanks everyone for the replies and advice. In the end, it came down to saving $100 on a nearly new 18" KIDD barrel on EBAY. I think 18" should work fine for what I want and probably look the best balanced on the rifle.

long way to go before this thing comes together so plenty of time to question my decision !

nerfherder · Apr 1, 2016

Let us know how she shoots!

steveh326 · Apr 2, 2016

nerfherder said:
Let us know how she shoots!

barrel came today, looks amazing but it will be a while before I get all the other parts together...

I did get the receiver and some other bits ordered, slowly but surely accumulating the parts I need.

Pinecone · Apr 25, 2016

alucard0822 said:
With target/std and even some high velocity the shorter the better IMO. There isn't an appreciable gain in velocity past about 12-16", the extra length can provide additional radius for open sights and maybe balance if you have a heavy stock, but for most it just strips off more lube, makes CF/aluminum less rigid and makes the rifle less agile.

This is the advantage for longer barrels.

In centerfire, longer barrels can deliver higher velocity, which helps with long range shooting.

lazarus · Apr 27, 2016

I would be curious if the hyper velocity 22lr stuff could benefit from a longer barrel. The few barrel length tests I found months ago seemed to lean towards 15-17" being the ideal length for SV and and high velocity ammo for maximum velocity. Over that and you slowly start to lose velocity. It isn't much, but you lose a few (like 3-5) FPS per inch of length.

I haven't found anything that tested hyper velocity and the effects of barrel length, not that I shoot much hyper velocity stuff (I've got about 250rnds mixed of velocitors and the new browning hyper velocity stuff)

Yoshi · Apr 30, 2016

I've talked to the folks at KIDD and Volquartsen and they agree that the longer barrel has the highest accuracy potential.

Russ D · Apr 30, 2016

Yoshi said:
I've talked to the folks at KIDD and Volquartsen and they agree that the longer barrel has the highest accuracy potential.

Did they give any scientific reason to back that up?

Yoshi · May 2, 2016

Russ D said:
Did they give any scientific reason to back that up?

Harmonics. But, only for extreme accuracy. Even the fluted-barrels are a no-no when considering ultimate accuracy. (Don't shoot the messenger.)

18 or 20" bull barrel for 10/22?

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