26'' vs 22'' barrel

[bessemerbob]

In the world of long range shooting 300yrds and such how much of a diff will 4'' of barrel make. Both barrels are 1-9 twist and its the same caliber 223......

 

[woof]

I've often wondered if there is any round that doesn't max out at less than 26 in. ??

 

[Ed Ames]

I found this table online (another forum, and not very well formatted) and cleaned it up slightly.


NOTE: The original post had what was probably a misprint for the velocity of the 20" 55gr win FMJ. I adjusted that value to what I suspect is correct. It was originally 3529 and 3229 makes more sense.

Length	Win. 55 FMJ Velocity	Mil 62 Velocity	Win 55 FMJ Energy	Mil 62 Energy
10            2739                2627                916                 950
11.5          2872                2738                1007                1032
14.5          3064                2907                1146                1163
16            3112                2989                1198                1230
20            3229                3095                1297                1318
24            3315                3158                1342                1373	
26            3391                3231                1404                1437

So according to that you gain 75 fps or so going from 24" to 26" in .223 but it doesn't list 22" so interpolate.


There are plenty of cartridges that really benefit from longer barrels...typically small diameter heavy projectiles of whatever sort. Maybe not enough, but they do benefit.

 

[benzy2]

Not much. 300 yards isn't much distance. From what I have read .223 remington has about 90fps change from a 22"-26" barrel. I ran a ballistics program with a few different .223 weight bullets with a difference in velocity of 90fps. At 300 yards the difference in windage holdover in a 10 mph 100% value wind was half an inch(14.6" of holdover for the slower and 14.0" for the faster). The difference in bullet drop at 300 yards from a 100 yard zero was about in inch (13.3 inches of drop from the faster, 14.4 from the slower). Thats just what the program I used said real quick.

 

[Zak Smith]

benzy2 is right. 300 yards isn't that far and the difference will be hard to notice.

 

[sam700]

I think the biggest differance you would notice is that longer barrels are easier to keep steady when shooting unsupported. Since they weigh more and have the weight farther forward, they tend to be a bit easier to keep steady. The differance in velocity probably won't be noticed much.

 

[Float Pilot]

Many standard non-magnum cartridges gain about 25 feet per second per inch. So 4 inches equals around 100 feet per second (much of the time)

Once you start going less than 16 or 18 inches things change more per inch and depend more on powder and the specific cartridge.