Barrel length?

[stitchclimber]

I have a ruger 10/22 with the a bull barrel of sorts in the 16" carbine length: See picture



My question is will I gain anything in the guns accuracy or performance by changing the barrel to a 18" or 20" bull barrel? Such as this: Cabela's -- Green Mountain 10/22 Barrels

Your thoughts are appreciated

[oldjarhead]

Probably but whether it would be a drastic change I couldn't say. It may increase your range more than the accuracy. The 10/22 is a pretty accurate rifle in it's standard style.

[neophyte]

stitchclimber: Sir; easily yes could be the answer. Barrel rate twist play a part and the part may be greater than the means.
Typically the longer [up to] the barrel the longer the gases propel. Does this always mean better? This part of the answer could easily be no.? Notice the sentence ends . ?. Faster yes; controlled??
Bullets answer laws of physics. Pressure=motion=rate of rotation with our dynamic. Fitting the barrel with bullet and pressure is the product of experimentations.
So my answer isn't any help.

[Cyrille]

Well a long time ago in a galxy far far away There was a land called America. Now this land had been settled or rather occupied by wandering bands of hunter-gatherer tribes. They fought among themselves for hunting rights and the right to chase a large bovine type animal all over the country. They lived and continued in this manner for hundreds if not thousands of years, Then one day a group[ tribe] of these hunter-gatherers sold a piece of land to a bunch of strange pale looking people who had come from the east. They sold this piece of land for a chestful of glass beads!
and let the strange pale people build houses and hunt and till the land they had sold to them.
Time passed and the pale people decided that they needed more space [read land]
but instead of buying the land as they had done when they first arrived, they decided the orginal people would just have to move futher west. The orginals didn't want to give up their land so the pale people decided to drive them away.
Now all the orginals had in way of defense was bows, arrows, spears war clubs and knives. The pale people had "thunder sticks" that had loooong barrels and could kill, like the bow, from a distance but these "thunder sticks" with the looong barrels could kill at a greater distance than the bow and arrow. and the rest, as they say is history.
So yes, generally speaking a longer barrel is more accurate than a shorter barrel.
The longer, heavier the barrel, the slower the rate of twist, the more accurate the projectile if the shooter does his part. IMHO

[Ron AKA]

I think you would gain more by switching to a good bolt action.

Ron

[stitchclimber]

True, but I have good bolt actions. And I have multiple 10/22's, so I'm going to mess around with a semi auto .22 for a while.

[madcratebuilder]

With open iron, a longer barrel gives you a longer sight radius, a good thing. From the testing I have seen a 16" barrel gives the best velocity and accuracy on a scoped 10/22. Changing from a 16" bull barrel to a 20" well not do a thing, unless your current barrel is shot out or has a bad chamber or crown. Perhaps a trigger job and bedding well help your rifle. What is your goal, sub 1/4 inch groups at 50yds? I have had 20" and 16" on this rifle, I prefer the 16" because it is lighter. Both shoot the same.

[samuel]

You arent going to get but one rifling twist rate for a .22rimfire from the factory,1in16".In tests where they cut 1" from barrels and fired 10 shots with .22lr rimfires,16" barrels gave max velocity.At the same time,longer distance between front and back sight gave better accuracy. sam.

[stitchclimber]

so with a scope it shouldn't matter?

[Ron AKA]

Originally Posted by stitchclimber

so with a scope it shouldn't matter?

As Sam says, barrels don't have to be that long in .22 to get max velocity. I thought it was around 18" for max velocity, but it could be 16" depending on the load. I would expect you would not gain anything in accuracy. With a scope sighting accuracy is independent of barrel length.

You may gain something if you improve the quality of the barrel. Lilja offers a drop in barrel for the 10/22. See link below. However, before I invested that much in a semi-auto I would have to be convinced that the rest of the gun can do justice to a quality barrel.

Lilja Precision Rifle Barrels - Rimfire Precision Barrels

Ron

[Brother Bob]

Originally Posted by Ron AKA

As Sam says, barrels don't have to be that long in .22 to get max velocity. I thought it was around 18" for max velocity, but it could be 16" depending on the load. I would expect you would not gain anything in accuracy. With a scope sighting accuracy is independent of barrel length.

You may gain something if you improve the quality of the barrel. Lilja offers a drop in barrel for the 10/22. See link below. However, before I invested that much in a semi-auto I would have to be convinced that the rest of the gun can do justice to a quality barrel.

Lilja Precision Rifle Barrels - Rimfire Precision Barrels

Ron

I agree. I read somewhere about 18 or 19 inches for a .22 was about max.

[utahvarminter]

Green Mountain barrels will DRASTICALLY improve your accuracy. Barrel length has nothing to do with it. Many experts agree that a 22 LR has exerted all of it's potential by about 16-18 inches. The thing that makes Green Mountain Barrels more accurate is that they have a Match Chamber. My 22" Sporter weight Green Mountain Barrel has no problem getting 1 inch at 100 yards with match ammo.

Keep in mind that the 22LR's tragectory is pathetic at best though.

[lefty o]

max velocity in a 22lr is achieved in less than 16"s of barrel. barrel length has nothing to do with accuracy, actually a shorter barel will be stiffer and give a better chance at good accuracy. looking at the picture, it appears you have a BC "plastic" barrel, these are fairly well know as junk shooters. a GM barel would be a step up, but depending on your budget, there are quite a few choices available better than GM. GM is a good budget barrel.

[Taurus Fan]

Originally Posted by lefty o

max velocity in a 22lr is achieved in less than 16"s of barrel.

Yeah that was my impression, maybe 16" is about optimum. You don't gain anything with a barrel longer than that.

[stitchclimber]

lefty o, I'll be keeping my eye open for a green mountain...

[sc928porsche]

It has been my experience (through crono testing) that the the longer barrels work best on "overbore"cartridges. The 22 rimfire is not an overbore cartridge.

[stalebiscuit]

i wouldnt really bother to change it honestly, what you get may be better, but i like the shorter one both for aesthetic appeal and comfort

[GlockMeister]

I've also heard the best barrel for .22 is about 18"-18 1/2". Have heard you actually lose or get no gain in velocity after that? Not looking to argue the point, just mentioning that I, the same as Ron AKA and Brother Bob have heard the same thing regards to .22 and barrel length. No, you won't gain much accuracy, if any, but the velocity is at it's max around 18"-18 1/2" as I mentioned above. Is it fact, I'm not sure.

[samuel]

Originally Posted by GlockMeister

I've also heard the best barrel for .22 is about 18"-18 1/2". Have heard you actually lose or get no gain in velocity after that? Not looking to argue the point, just mentioning that I, the same as Ron AKA and Brother Bob have heard the same thing regards to .22 and barrel length. No, you won't gain much accuracy, if any, but the velocity is at it's max around 18"-18 1/2" as I mentioned above. Is it fact, I'm not sure.

LeftyO and I said 16",now others say 18"-18.5".Our test was made before all of these hyper .22rimfires which really aren't worth much anyway as most arent very accurate when compared to the old,tried and true .22lr loadings.To paraphrase an old timer I once knew:2"to2.5' can make a big difference,depending upon whether it is on the end of your nose or the head of your snapper. sam.

[billy]

i know an older guy that is a superb benchrest champion.
he has told me over and over again that the secret to accuracy are the three B's
barrel
bedding
bullets
i already had a really good bbl.
he showed me what a 10-22 is capable of with a good bedding job and quality ammo.
it was like night and day.