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  #1  
Old 02-02-2012, 08:55 AM
andy221 andy221 is offline
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Default optimum barrel length

I am getting rifle of mine re-barreled to a 222 remington. I am dropping the barrel off on saturday and i need to decide what length barrel i want. I want to get the most velocity possible and I am not concerned about weight or handling because it is going to be a p dog and range gun. The reason I am concerned is that I have read stuff on the internet that makes me wonder if going with a 26 inch or longer barrel is going to have negative effect on accuracy also knowing that benchrest guys use shorter barrels makes me wonder too. should I be concerned? should I go with the 26-27 inch or should I go shorter?
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Old 02-02-2012, 11:53 AM
william t. oviatt william t. oviatt is offline
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My personal feelings are: For the distances the 222 is ideal for, anything over 24 inches is a mental gain only! A long barrel for me in 222 and smaller cases, is 22 inches. Everyone is different in their thinking on this! Go with what you want and you will shoot your best! No Prairie Dingo will fail to give its best performance whether it receives bullets from a 22 or 26 inch barrel, at least in the range the 222 does its best work.
JMO,
Bill
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Old 02-02-2012, 02:01 PM
StrombeckJ StrombeckJ is offline
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The length of the barrel will have no effect on the accuracy, it will effect the FPS. The ideal barrel length allows all the powder to burn within the barrel. For smaller cased rounds like a .223 I have always been told between 22-24" is ideal. I don't believe you'll gain any advantages by going over 24" in a .222.

Jon
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Old 02-02-2012, 02:36 PM
Qaz Qaz is offline
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I don't think anyone can tell you what the optimum barrel length would be, because I don't think anyone knows. You could get a tight short barrel and that would lower the FPS, or you could get a tight long barrel and lower it even more. You could get a fast short barrel that produces high velocity or a fast long barrel that produces even higher velocity.
I have an article at home somewhere about a 17HMR. The writer was testing the ammo in a 26 or 28 inch T/C, and it cronographed at some where around 2700-2750fps. Sign me up for that barrel, because we all know that the optimum length barrel for the HMR is 22 inches @ 2550fps. Go figure!
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  #5  
Old 02-02-2012, 03:31 PM
Chuck Miller Chuck Miller is offline
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Default barrel length

With most custom barrels they'll come in either a 28" or 27" length and for anything that will only be shot off of bags or sticks I tell the smith, "as long as you can". This means I have a lot of heavy rifles with 27-28" barrels depending on the length of the blank, they vary. You can always shorten them, kinda hard to go the other way. I learned my lesson on a 223 barreled action that I had the smith cut at 24" when I built it. After 200 rounds I decided I wanted a 220Swift, had the bolt and a barrel that was too short! Add to that you will shoot out the first 2" of the barrel first, it's nice to be able to reuse that 300.00 tube by simply cutting out the chamber, re chambering/crown. As for the optimum length for speed, well the difference is about the same as lot differences in powders, or the "fast barrel/slow barrel" discussion, just not enough to matter.

Last edited by Chuck Miller; 02-02-2012 at 10:09 PM.
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Old 02-02-2012, 05:29 PM
andy221 andy221 is offline
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I was just concerned about the barrel length will effect accuracy. Thanks for all your replies and good info.
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  #7  
Old 02-03-2012, 07:47 AM
Bryan527 Bryan527 is offline
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I'd get it in the longest length they offer. You can always cut and crown it if it doesn't shoot the way you want, chronographing and shooting for groups as you go and, of course, posting the results here so all of us can see them.
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  #8  
Old 02-03-2012, 09:59 AM
Stephen Perry Stephen Perry is offline
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Default .222 Rem. Barrel Length

Andy

I have a Rem 722 in .222. The factory barrel measured 26 in. The muzzle measured .525 in. When I decided to rehab the gun stock/metal the barrel was shortened to 24 1/2 in. No loss in accuracy easier handling rifle. The .222 has always been a 250 - 300 yd effective accuracy range cartridge and then only by rifleman with a sense for field conditions.

As far as barrels 26" and longer for the triple deuce depends on how the rifle is set up. I shot my 26" Hart barrel .222 well but not any better than my shorter barrel .222 rifles. Proper stock weight to the rear helps to balance the rifle with longer barrels. I have a Six stock with .222 Shilen 22 1/2" barrel that weighs in at 12 1/2#. Not a field gun. Jewell trigger. Accuracy better than factory rifles, .246 nk.

I have a Hart barrel that was a max HV .900 muzzle .222. I had my smith profle the barrel to 22 1/2 in chambered for 22 PPC. This has been my best 22 cal barrel agging in the low .aggs in competition.

There is no magic length in barrel length. Unlimited barrels prove this to me. I have barrels from 22" to 28" all 1.350 " diameter tubes. They are all competitve providing aggs as good as .18 at 200 yd, Most barrels have inherent accuracy that when ammo is prepared properly will satisfy the shooter no matter what the barrel length.

For a carry gun in .222 a rifle with a 22" medium taper barrel will do fine. Bench time is needed if you want to understand your rifle. Shoot the tough days at the Range along with the mild days experiencing what the wind will do to your groups, no 1/4" groups with a 20 mph crosswind.

Stephen Perry

Last edited by Stephen Perry; 02-03-2012 at 10:23 AM.
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