Author Topic: 24 or 26 inch barrel?  (Read 1171 times)

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Offline Ranger413

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24 or 26 inch barrel?
« on: February 03, 2003, 05:54:40 PM »
Having trouble deciding on which length to get for my Encore.  Will be chambered in .223 Remington.  

I see myself using it for a lot of paper punching (informal), crow, coyote, groundhog, that size of stuff.  Before I got on this Encore kick I was looking at the Ruger 77 Varmint and Remington VLS models - both heavy varmint rifles.  

Is there any real accuracy advantage to the 26"?  Not real worried about the barrel heating up.  Anyone have any comments on either - or both?

Thanks,

Ranger413
Life is like a dogsled team, if you ain't the lead dog the scenery never changes.

Offline KN

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24 or 26 inch barrel?
« Reply #1 on: February 03, 2003, 06:43:46 PM »
If your going to carry it around alot you probably want to get the 24". It has a considerable more taper than the 26" does. If it were me I would get the 26" barrel. If I felt it was too long I would shorten it to suit my needs. I have always liked a heavier barrel contour, but I think the 26" would be a little long for a 223. As far as accuracy goes, I don't think there would be any measurable difference.  Just my personal preference,  KN

Offline rpseven

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Accuracy
« Reply #2 on: February 11, 2003, 05:44:17 PM »
I put in my order today for a new barrel from bullberry and the man ask me how long that I wanted it and I asked what would be best for the best accuracy and he said the 24 inch would be better in the accuracy department he added that I might would lose some velosity from the 24 but I can work with that part. I want the best accuracy that I can get. Since I will only basically have one shot with this encore I want to able to put the bullet where ever I want it to go, if its in the 8 inches kill zone, or through the eye I want to know that its capable of it. Hope this helped. Good luck and Good shooting. :D

Offline axel_g

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24 or 26 inch barrel?
« Reply #3 on: February 12, 2003, 03:30:30 AM »
Another consideration is your other barrels.  If they are 24'', then I would highly recommend the 24" .223 as the 26" is a lot heavier and balances quite differently.  It's like shooting 2 different guns.  The more similar the barrels are, the easier the transition from one caliber to the next.

Offline thomas

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Basically Shorter is more accurate
« Reply #4 on: February 12, 2003, 04:24:49 PM »
Yes it does matter. Barrel flex is a Big factor in accuracy.
In the real world your pistol length contender flexes less and is more stable.
The problem is we want the added FPS from the longer barrel.
Bench rest matches for 100-300 yards are done with 20" barrels of large dia.
In field use a 24" might be a little more accurate than the 26" tube depending on the taper and dia.
Barrel harmonics or the lack of them contribute much towards accuracy hence short barrels for accuracy but long barrels for long range.
In a handgun we like the longer barrel for the added sight radius that helps us shoot better. Hope this helps
tom

Offline thomas

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and as for my opinion
« Reply #5 on: February 12, 2003, 04:29:39 PM »
I have not seen many Accurate 223 barrels from TC
Just my Experience, but the factory 223 have been 3/4 groupers at best.
tom