Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Rimfire bolt action rifles, lever action, pump action and self loading rifles. Air rifles.

Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by bladeracer » 23 Jan 2020, 5:52 pm

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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by bladeracer » 23 Jan 2020, 5:58 pm

TheFirearmEnthusiast wrote:BladeRacer;
So you reckon that the barrel length is kinda irrelevant for what I wanna do (which is target shooting at 50metres away with a rimfire) Is that right?
:)


No, the length is not irrelevant, although for a new shooter it may be of no consequence.
You want to weigh velocity against barrel time. Higher velocity reduces both barrel time and flight time, but best accuracy is generally (not always) achieved with subsonic ammo, so you don't want to go much faster than about 1080fps at the muzzle.
If you are shooting from a rest, barrel time will have little effect on accuracy, unless you have a very long lock time. But from field positions barrel time needs to be minimal as it's impossible to hold the rifle perfectly stationary as it fires.
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by bladeracer » 23 Jan 2020, 5:59 pm

SCJ429 wrote:Why are you not using your Ruger to do this shooting? Why would you buy a second rimfire to do this?

What sort of accuracy are you getting from this rifle? Why would you want to try and hit targets at 500 metres with a rimfire? Are you able to hit targets currently at 200 metres?


I don't think anybody needs a reason to want more than one of anything.

Hitting targets at long ranges is just as much fun with a .22LR as a centrefire, just at half the distances, and probably teaches you more.
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by SCJ429 » 23 Jan 2020, 6:00 pm

The longest range competition for rimfire I am aware of is 200 metres.

If you current barrel is longer than you consider ideal, you can take it to your gunsmith and have him shorten and recrown it for $100.

The Henry is an inexpensive rifle that is a poor performer. Other than plinking at close range, it has limited uses. Great if you want to pretend you are John Wayne. Buy one with low expectations.
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by RoginaJack » 23 Jan 2020, 6:09 pm

I reckon the choice of 22lr ammo will have more effect on accuracy than a 18 or 20" barrel plus make of rifle - quality of steel and profile of barrel etc.
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by bladeracer » 23 Jan 2020, 6:12 pm

TheFirearmEnthusiast wrote:SCJ429;
Although I love everything about the Ruger Precision Rimfire Rifle
I wanna buy the Henry Youth lever action .22LR as well
Only because I freaking love lever actions hahaha
And I'm only using my rimfires for shooting targets at 50metres away
:-)

But I'm just thinking for down the track
If I get into long distance target shooting down the track
I'm wondering if I'll needa go with a short or long barrel for then
Hence why I'm asking about barrel length for long distance target shooting right now as well.
:)
May as well, since this thread is about barrel length
:)
And I wouldn't wanna shoot past 100metres with my rimfires
I'm not that brave haha
:-)


I really wanted the Youth 001Y myself, but it was unavailable when I bought my 001. They are the identical rifle though, just with a slightly shorter barrel and butt stock, so a 001 can easily be turned into a 001Y.

With the .22LR, regardless of distance, you want to stay subsonic, so barrel length really won't matter. With centrefires, a longer barrel like 30" can certainly make hundreds more feet-per-second, which can be important to maintain velocity above transonic by the time it reaches the target, as well as reducing flight time. And the higher velocity can broaden the window when building a precision load, a bullet that shoots great at 3500fps may be wasted in a barrel only capable of 3300fps. But again, for field shooting you need to weigh in barrel time and how stable you can position the rifle.

I do actually recommend at least trying the .22LR at longer ranges, if only because the distance enlarges the errors, and the lessons learned. And it's just damned good fun waiting to hear the ding as the bullet makes a longer journey than it ever hoped it might enjoy :-)
At 500m your bullet gets to live more than a dozen times longer than it does at 50m.
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by bladeracer » 23 Jan 2020, 6:18 pm

SCJ429 wrote:The longest range competition for rimfire I am aware of is 200 metres.

If you current barrel is longer than you consider ideal, you can take it to your gunsmith and have him shorten and recrown it for $100.

The Henry is an inexpensive rifle that is a poor performer. Other than plinking at close range, it has limited uses. Great if you want to pretend you are John Wayne. Buy one with low expectations.


I'm sure there are longer rimfire competitions than 200m, not to mention the long-range challenges that are posted across social media just for giggles, shooting an egg at 300m for example :-)
https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2019/3/22/all-about-precision-rimfire-competition/

I agree about the Henry 001, it is cheap, it is fun, it is not a competition rifle except for CLAS lever-action Silhouette, which is also pretty good fun. But there are other .22LR lever-actions that can offer the same or better. But we can still own as many CatA firearms as we want, so there's no reason not to get them all, while we still can.
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by bladeracer » 23 Jan 2020, 6:20 pm

RoginaJack wrote:I reckon the choice of 22lr ammo will have more effect on accuracy than a 18 or 20" barrel plus make of rifle - quality of steel and profile of barrel etc.


I agree, ammo is the primary ingredient in .22LR accuracy, test everything until you discover what your rifle shoots best, then work on optimising the rifle and the scope.
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by TheFirearmEnthusiast » 23 Jan 2020, 6:51 pm

This could sound bad
But I honestly do love firearms so much
So I just wanna go down to the range
And I just wanna kick back and plink all day long haha
(As a figure of speech)

So if I wanna plink all day long
(As a figure of speech)
For now
I may as well stick with the .22LR's
With their ammo' s costing $0.10 per shot/per bullet
It's awesome
It's extremely affordable for heaps of plinking fun

If you wanna plink a lot
But if you don't wanna break the bank at the same time
Then sticking with the .22's is a great choice
(For me for now anyway)

- I wanna buy the Tikka T1X in rimfire
(I just bloody love that smooth action and trigger)
- I already bought the Ruger Precision Rimfire
(Love the tactical look of it and the 15x mag)
- I wanna buy the CZ 457 in .22LR
(Heard is a great precise rifle)
- I wanna buy a henry lever action
(Coz I love cycling the lever actions)

I reckon those 4x firearms
That's a pretty neat collection of rimfires right there
:)
Last edited by TheFirearmEnthusiast on 23 Jan 2020, 7:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by TheFirearmEnthusiast » 23 Jan 2020, 6:59 pm

But yeah anyway
I'm pretty interested in the Henry Lever Action rimfires
They come in 2x barrel lengths
1x short
1x long
Hence why I started this thread
To see what's the difference is between a short and long barrel in terms of accuracy
:)
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by TheFirearmEnthusiast » 23 Jan 2020, 7:09 pm

But I did hear that the Henry Lever Actions in .22LR aren't the most accurate..
(I'm not sure if that's true or not but it is what I heard)

So, if you guys recommend any lever actions in .22LR that shoots very accurately for under $1,000

I'm keen as to hear about it!
:-)
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by bladeracer » 23 Jan 2020, 7:33 pm

Henry do the .22LR in 16, 18.5, 20 and 24" barrels - for under $2500 you can get one of each length :-)
https://www.henryusa.com/henry-rifles-and-shotguns/

I'm glad you asked the question, it gave me a needed nudge to test something I've wanted to do for a very long time :-)
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by bigpete » 23 Jan 2020, 7:37 pm

It goes back what I said earlier about iron sights....if you are going to stick with them on the Henry,then the longer barrel will technically be easier to shoot accurately. Plus it will hold more ammo in the tube mag....
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by TheFirearmEnthusiast » 23 Jan 2020, 7:39 pm

Are you happy with your Henry Lever Action BladeRacer?
Is it in .22LR
And would you say it's "accurate enough" or?
:)
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by TheFirearmEnthusiast » 23 Jan 2020, 7:42 pm

BigPete;
I agree with you
That makes complete sense
100%
:)
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by bladeracer » 23 Jan 2020, 7:49 pm

TheFirearmEnthusiast wrote:But I did hear that the Henry Lever Actions in .22LR aren't the most accurate..
(I'm not sure if that's true or not but it is what I heard)

So, if you guys recommend any lever actions in .22LR that shoots very accurately for under $1,000

I'm keen as to hear about it!
:-)


The mechanism of the lever-action generally works against precision shooting, though modern rotating-bolt, box-magazine rifles address that quite well, in centrefire.
Scoped off the bench, my Henry is good for around 2.5MoA for fifteen rounds at 100m, my Norinco JW21 is good for 2MoA, not a lot in it, but the JW21 is more accurate for me. But I normally shoot them both with Williams peep sights, with which both give me around the 4-5MoA (120mm to 150mm) mark off the bench at 100m. That's more indicative of my eyesight than either rifle though, testing with a scope is a better indicator of a rifle's abiity.
The JW21 is a licence-built Chinese copy of the Winchester 9422, which is no longer made.
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by bladeracer » 23 Jan 2020, 7:57 pm

TheFirearmEnthusiast wrote:Are you happy with your Henry Lever Action BladeRacer?
Is it in .22LR
And would you say it's "accurate enough" or?
:)


I would say that overall I'm happy enough with the Henry, for the price it's a fun little rifle.
But it did disappoint me greatly because I actually only bought it to "step up a notch" from my Norinco JW21. The JW21 shoots better, is put together better, and is just more enjoyable to shoot - for me. The JW21 is also an excellent break-down rifle that easily fits inside a pack with no modification, although a 16" barrel would be much better than the 20". Both rifles cost me $550 new when I bought them. The Henry has very nicely finished parts, metal and wood, but they're fitted together poorly in my opinion. The butt stock and the forend both move due to poor fitting.
I think the Henry feed system is a better design over the Winchester though.
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by SCJ429 » 23 Jan 2020, 8:18 pm

Personally I would not buy a Tikka or a CZ because they won't do anything that your Ruger cannot do. But it is your money so fill your boots.

Please shoot a Henry lever before you commit to buy one. The lever action rifles that are fun and cheap to shoot are also in pistol calibers like 357 or 44 Mag. You could use these in cowboy action competitions.

Browning make a BL22 which may be a little better than the Henry.
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by in2anity » 23 Jan 2020, 9:38 pm

One step at a time Lad. Get your Ruger. Shoot your Ruger. A lot. Perhaps shoot some comp with your Ruger. Perhaps 200m fly - that’s a hoot. Then take it from there. One step at a time. You might be ready to step up to centerfire at that point - perhaps a 223 or a 222. Then go shoot your Ruger some more :P
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by rc42 » 23 Jan 2020, 11:02 pm

Take a look at olympic grade 22LR target rifles from Grunig, Bleiker, Waltlher, Feinwerkbau, Anschutz etc, barrels are generally the same dimensions, heavy bull types and about 26" in length with additional sight extension tubes on the end. This is where the best accuracy can be found although for most people a 16" barrel will be just as good as it won't be the limiting factor. (look in a mirror to find that)

If you want to take part in competitive 50m shooting then guns (well mostly the stocks) also differ between prone (including 3 position) and benchrest so know what you want to do, also many target ranges only allow single load rifles so no magazines (this is actually an ISSF rule for prone/3 position)

Second hand might be a good option, check out places like Target Rifle South Australia, they usually have old club guns for sale which a still very servicable and accurate.
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Re: Short Barrels v/s Long Barrels (Accuracy)

Post by WookyMysta » 24 Jun 2020, 8:25 pm

bladeracer wrote:
SCJ429 wrote:Why are you not using your Ruger to do this shooting? Why would you buy a second rimfire to do this?

What sort of accuracy are you getting from this rifle? Why would you want to try and hit targets at 500 metres with a rimfire? Are you able to hit targets currently at 200 metres?


I don't think anybody needs a reason to want more than one of anything.

Hitting targets at long ranges is just as much fun with a .22LR as a centrefire, just at half the distances, and probably teaches you more.
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