20” or 22” barrel for .22LR

[Lone star Shooter]

Is there any benefit in a .22LR rifle with a 22” barrel over a 20” barrel? Does the 22” reduce velocity SD and ES?

I am ordering a Vudoo V22 with their Ace barrel in a MTU contour.

 

[Js9088]

I don’t think it matters. I would error on the side of shorter if you might run a can. Mine are 18” but kind wish I would have done 20”.

 

[littlepod]

More length / more weight / more chassis clearance etc. For an MDT ACC chassis, you'll want a 22" MTU.

 

[Codiekfx400]

I would say 18 or 20

 

[littlepod]

Check out what chassis you want to run. 18" won't clear the MDT ACC. 20" will clear it but won't allow for you to run the KSS ATS tuner if you wanted to do that in the future. 22" has no restrictions on anything.

 

[acudaowner]

26''

 

[Js9088]

Check out what chassis you want to run. 18" won't clear the MDT ACC. 20" will clear it but won't allow for you to run the KSS ATS tuner if you wanted to do that in the future. 22" has no restrictions on anything.

Great points for that chassis.

 

[jdodd]

22" should have slightly less velocity than a 20" to answer your question. Unsure of impact to SD/ES.

 

[Hi-Wall]

I found today's trend of short barrels a bit off putting. The guns just look truncated to me and lack the grace of a true rifle. My retired gunsmith friend made a 6" barrel extension for my B-14 that has really improved the balance for off hand shooting. With so many of today's higher end .22's being threaded, I wonder if barrel extensions might not become a more standard accessory?

 

[CavReconScout]

I agree another factor to consider is the rifle balance. I see a lot of people buy the lighter barrels and then have to add weight to get everything to balance. I have a Vudoo 22" Ace MTU barrel and without any weights it balances a couple inches in front of the mag well right where I want it with a MPA comp chassis. Also, I have recorded the following average velocities over multiple lots, strings and temps:

SK Rifle Match
82* 1079 Advertised velocity 1073
76* 1083
44* 1060

Center X
76* 1090 Advertised velocity 1073
44* 1099

Polar Biathlon
44* 1099 Advertised velocity 1106
40* 1109

LR Rifle Match
76* 1116 Advertised velocity 1106

I would be interested to see if a longer barrel really slows down modern 22 match ammo and at what length. All of the above loads over multiple lots have an average SD of 8 fps.

 

[Lone star Shooter]

I am planning to put the barrels action in a Manners T4A stock. I also plan to run it suppressed. Does anyone out there have this configuration with a 20” or 22” MTU? If so how is the balance and handling?

My CZ455 precision has the 20” barrel and handling with the additional length of the suppressor has not been a problem for me.

 

[littlepod]

If you plan on getting an arca rail with that t4a ask them to put on the weighted one.

 

[JaoeyP]

When I ordered my Vudoo I went 22" purely for weight and balance.

 

[jbell]

I prefer a longer barrel to slow the match ammo down a little more. 24"-26" is my choice length. Over the years I have found the longer barrels are more consistently accurate and tend to be slightly more accurate. I see more flyers with higher velocity ammo (close to 1100 fps) I prefer to keep my ammo down around 1040 fps - 1060 fps. Depending on the environmentals short barrel rifles shooting fast match ammo can start flirting with transonic. Plus I have this whole theory about barrel harmonic dissipation vs length and internal ballistics.

But this is just me talking out loud so...

 

[375fan]

I've got a 22" Vudoo and had a 18" Vudoo, prefer the feel and balance of the 22". In my testing using same lots of different ammo, velocity differences were negligible between the 2 lengths. Which surprised me.I use a Magnetospeed 3.

 

[Asared]

I agree another factor to consider is the rifle balance. I see a lot of people buy the lighter barrels and then have to add weight to get everything to balance. I have a Vudoo 22" Ace MTU barrel and without any weights it balances a couple inches in front of the mag well right where I want it with a MPA comp chassis. Also, I have recorded the following average velocities over multiple lots, strings and temps:

SK Rifle Match
82* 1079 Advertised velocity 1073
76* 1083
44* 1060

Center X
76* 1090 Advertised velocity 1073
44* 1099

Polar Biathlon
44* 1099 Advertised velocity 1106
40* 1109

LR Rifle Match
76* 1116 Advertised velocity 1106

I would be interested to see if a longer barrel really slows down modern 22 match ammo and at what length. All of the above loads over multiple lots have an average SD of 8 fps.

The SK/Lapua ammunition velocity is measured from a 660mm/26" barrel. You're very getting very close from your 22" barrel. Wonder are the factory controlled atmospheric test conditions responsible for the 26" barrel not having slower velocities? Maybe your Vudoo would shoot a little faster in the SK/Lapua factory range. Either way, there's not much in it. I think the SAAMI and CIP spec's are from a standardised barrel around 26" in length. I know RWS state their velocities are from a 650mm barrel.

I prefer a longer barrel to slow the match ammo down a little more. 24"-26" is my choice length. Over the years I have found the longer barrels are more consistently accurate and tend to be slightly more accurate. I see more flyers with higher velocity ammo (close to 1100 fps) I prefer to keep my ammo down around 1040 fps - 1060 fps. Depending on the environmentals short barrel rifles shooting fast match ammo can start flirting with transonic. Plus I have this whole theory about barrel harmonic dissipation vs length and internal ballistics.

I see SK have just announced a new "High Velocity Match" ammunition - 385m/s / 1263fps. Maybe a better performer for you to try when it hits the shelves? (or maybe just more marketing spiel!)

https://sk-ammunition.com/new-for-2021-sk-high-velocity-match/

 

[Norman1950]

I had a great conversation with a local shop that deals with mostly 22LR and hosts many 22LR matches. I had the same question on what the optimum 22LR barrel length was.

His answer surprised me quite a bit.

They did a test at his shop several years ago (but didn't video document, wish they did) by starting with a 26" barrel. They shot a certain amount of rounds (don't remember the target distance and the number of rounds) and recorded the velocity and accuracy. They proceeded to do this by cutting down 1" at a time, re-crowing and shooting it again the same amount of times and the same ammo. He said from 16" to 21" there was no discernable difference. Above 21" the velocity slowed way down and affected the long-range accuracy.

The best accuracy groups and similar velocities were actually out of a 12" barrel. Now of course we can't run that short for a rifle. But it was sure an interesting conversation.

I was dead set on an 18"-20" barrel, but after this conversation going with a 16.5" barrel. Adding a suppressor to the 16.5" barrel will make it a bit easier to wield around.

Just my $.02.

 

[jbell]

It would be very interesting to have more data on that test like what barrel, what ammo, actual velocities, how many rounds per length, and what level of accuracy they were seeing. Too bad they did not record it...

 

[littlepod]

I had a great conversation with a local shop that deals with mostly 22LR and hosts many 22LR matches. I had the same question on what the optimum 22LR barrel length was.

His answer surprised me quite a bit.

They did a test at his shop several years ago (but didn't video document, wish they did) by starting with a 26" barrel. They shot a certain amount of rounds (don't remember the target distance and the number of rounds) and recorded the velocity and accuracy. They proceeded to do this by cutting down 1" at a time, re-crowing and shooting it again the same amount of times and the same ammo. He said from 16" to 21" there was no discernable difference. Above 21" the velocity slowed way down and affected the long-range accuracy.

The best accuracy groups and similar velocities were actually out of a 12" barrel. Now of course we can't run that short for a rifle. But it was sure an interesting conversation.

I was dead set on an 18"-20" barrel, but after this conversation going with a 16.5" barrel. Adding a suppressor to the 16.5" barrel will make it a bit easier to wield around.

Just my $.02.

Really comes down to chassis and balance. The new AI ATX chassis and the MDT ACC chassis are both going to require at least a 20" barrel to clear. Running a 16.5" barrel and then having to buy 4lbs of weights just seems wasteful.

Again also what kind of shooting you are doing. If I was talking about something for varmint hunting, sure get a light 16.5" CF barrel, in a CF stock and call it good. But if you're talking about PRS shooting, I haven't seen anything balance with a 16.5" barrel unless you're really throwing every weight out there.

 

[Norman1950]

littlepod, I would completely agree with you on this. I just thought it was interesting information.

I also wish they would have documented the whole process, and so does the owner of the shop. At the time he said it was more of a "fun" experiment. I wish I could convince him to do it again. Maybe if I get enough people bugging him, he might.

 

[littlepod]

Ya, I'm just giving my 2cents... I have an 18" Kukri, and wish I had a 22" MTU. So I don't want someone to make the same mistake I made when getting into this NRL22 game..

 

[drglock]

RimX
Green Mountain M24 at 18” with all the internal weights and two external weights and the bipod on the rail. Total weight was 16.6lbs with the balance point just forward of the barricade stop. In this picture it just barely balances on the pickup bed.

Green Mountain 1.2 straight at 21.5”. No internal or external weights and no bipod. Total weight of 15.4lbs. Balance point several inches in front of the barricade stop. To me the balance is just right when shooting off of barricades, rocks,tires and so fourth. If shooting off the top of a barrel using a rear bag and bipod with it all the way back for both to fit on top of the barrel it is a bit front heavy.

I’m really liking this new setup with this barrel for overall NRL22/PRS22 matches. Shooting the same lot of Center X in both with the temps in the low 40’s I’m getting 1091 FPS out of the 18” and 1073 FPS out of the 21.5”. So it just all comes down to what feels best to you. Wish i would of went with the longer heavier barrel the first time.

 

[littlepod]

RimX
Green Mountain M24 at 18” with all the internal weights and two external weights and the bipod on the rail. Total weight was 16.6lbs with the balance point just forward of the barricade stop. In this picture it just barely balances on the pickup bed.
View attachment 7533174
Green Mountain 1.2 straight at 21.5”. No internal or external weights and no bipod. Total weight of 15.4lbs. Balance point several inches in front of the barricade stop. To me the balance is just right when shooting off of barricades, rocks,tires and so fourth. If shooting off the top of a barrel using a rear bag and bipod with it all the way back for both to fit on top of the barrel it is a bit front heavy.
View attachment 7533175
I’m really liking this new setup with this barrel for overall NRL22/PRS22 matches. Shooting the same lot of Center X in both with the temps in the low 40’s I’m getting 1091 FPS out of the 18” and 1073 FPS out of the 21.5”. So it just all comes down to what feels best to you. Wish i would of went with the longer heavier barrel the first time.

Yep... that's the balance I want to get... can't wait to switch to a 22" MTU and drop a lot of these weights.

 

[drglock]

Yep... that's the balance I want to get... can't wait to switch to a 22" MTU and drop a lot of these weights.

View attachment 7533181

I think you’ll really like how it balances. I was really surprised that it ended up being 1.2lbs lighter with a night and day difference in balance.

 

[Stev0]