Minimum legal barrel length on a .22 lr

[tinytim38]

What is the Minimum legal barrel length on a .22 lr???

[6shot]

i think its 14 inchs. basc would have the answer if your a member

[tinytim38]

from what I have read its 12" but has all the powder burnt by the time the bullet leaves the barrel if the barrel is this length?

[Ozzy Fudd]

minimum barrel length 12", minimum overall length 24"

Edited February 17, 2010 by babbyc1000

[Dekers]

minimum barrel length 12", minimum overall length 24"

 

I've forgotten, but that sounds about right too me, I guess you checked!!!

 

Thats why "pistols" (you know what I mean ) have long barrels and silly rear extensions!!

 

[Ozzy Fudd]

I've forgotten, but that sounds about right too me, I guess you checked!!!

 

Thats why "pistols" (you know what I mean ) have long barrels and silly rear extensions!!

 

 

na i had to find out a couple of years back when i bought a bullpup stock for my ruger, but youre right thats why "pistols" on the mainland have those dodgy rods out the back and long barrels

[tinytim38]

but has all the powder burnt by the time the bullet leaves the barrel if the barrel is this length?

[Frenchieboy]

I had heard several times that the barrel on a .22LR had to be a minimum of 14.5 inches for the powder to have finished burning before the bullet leaves the muzzle and that the optimum length was around 16 inches with regards to a good balance between accuracy and power. Maybe someone could confirm this for me as I am likely to be wanting a slightly shorter than standard barrel for my Ruger 10/22 in the near future!

[daft dog]

the barrel is 12.5 inches on my Ruger....plenty long enough to stabilise the round, not to sure about powder burn though.

 

the guy i bought it off did bench rest with it at 50m or so....he managed to get less than an inch group with it.

 

all in all a short barrel will not have to much, if any, affect on accuracy. i think the rounds you use will have more of an impact on the level of accuracy. Although i have no data to back this up....just my personal experiance.

 

Interestingly what a short barrel can do is make a supersonic round, sub sonic. If you find a round which is only just supersonic, say 1100/1200 fps (normal subs are 1050fps), and fire it through a moderated short barrel, say 12.5 inches, it will sound like a normal sub sonic round when compared to fireing through a long, say 22 inch barrel. The reason for this is that a shorter barrel means a loss in velocity, which does also mean that you have to compensate more at longer distances. There was an interesting article in shooting times once about an MAE Phantom rifle. based upon a CZ but chopped down and fully moderated with a PES

 

So if you want a mega quiet rifle go for a short moderated barrel!

 

I shot some subs once 735fps (or there abouts), they were so quiet that i didn't hear any bang (i was wearing ear defenders as i was at the range, but you can normally hear a sub), i actually didn't know it had fired anything as i had no recoil either. it didn't cycle, it wasn't until i cocked it, and it was only then that i saw an empty case pop out...i shot 2 more rounds and never picked the box up again.....way too dangerous even in the range.

 

It does cycles normal subs fantastically, elys, rws, cci never had a problem with any as long as they were around the 1050fps mark.

 

So i would reccommend chopping your barrel (or getting a shorter one. great for lamping!

 

ATB

 

DD

[Colster]

12" is the minimum and I think from memory powder burnout was after 12.5" so very close but bear in mind the bullet is still accelerating after that point due to the explosion behind still pushing it.

 

I seem to remember a test where a guy started off with a 22"(I think) barrel and then measured the muzzle velocity, then chopped an inch off and tried it again. He found that in the long barrelled version the last few inches actually start to slow the bullet due to friction and the optimum was around 18".

 

The difference between 16 and 18 was nominal though, so shouldn't put you off and 16" is great for lamping from a 4x4.

[3xspringer]

I have CZ 511 12inch barrel, No prob,s with it very accurate, great for bunny bashing and very light, Easy yo use out the window.

[monkeymagic1969]

Used to have a 13" barrel on my Browning buck mark - looking into powder burn and the above poster is correct 12.5"

[Colster]

I guess there are 2 factors to consider, a barrel that is too short might cost you a bit in muzzle velocity as the blast is still pushing the bullet when it leaves the muzzle so a lot of the pressure then gets lost sideways into the air and not concentrated in the back of the bullet. However, losing a bit of muzzle velocity won't affect accuracy, yes it may reduce range but you should still be able to shoot consistently regardless.

 

If you then go too short, the barrel isn't long enough to get the bullet flying in a controlled manner (what range would you feel confident about shooting a pistol?).

 

I have no idea what length would be critical for this but I'd expect it to be less than 12" anyway, so at the legal minimum you might lose some range but shouldn't lose any accuracy.