Coyote Hunter,
You forgot to mention 22" rifles are usually lighter also.
There will always be shooters who strive to get the most shoulder thumping, barrel burning, velocity out of
their rifles that they can. Most shooters just want to get normal and decent velocities out of their guns not only for accuracy, but so they can enjoy and be comfortable when they shoot, whether it's target practice or hunting. Coyote Hunter said it right, use whatever rifle you feel comfortable with and will give you decent accuracy and velocities, and don't let barrel length be a priority issue. I seriously doubt if any animal shot would notice any difference in barrel length.
Length of barrel has nothing to do with "barrel burning". And a deer may not know if it was shot by a 250 Sav. or a 257 Wea., but we had better know what the vel. would be at any range we shoot animals, so it's up to us to know, for the sake of a quick kill. Weight of a rifle is another matter & depends on stock, barrel contour & many factors in addition to length.
There is nothing wrong with wanting "decent" or "normal" velocities out of their cartridge, whatever that means to folks. I talked to my friend about this Marlin I mentioned in my first post, it was most impressive for a low cost rifle, but with the 22" tube the velocity was not acceptable to me at all & again this was not my first Rodeo. But I talked to my friend about his actual need,
HIS application, not mine. He wanted to shoot Coyotes with 300-350yds. as the limit. He would also use the rifle for TN. Whitetails out to 250 or so.
Well, the BT load I worked up for him does great for
HIS needs & allmost exactly match the trajectory of his Ruger 338 he uses for Elk, which he can shoot quite well. So, for
HISneeds everything was fine. On top of that, I could have loaded a little warmer & still safe, but it met his goals, so why.
However, the application that the Sendero's and the Target Ruger mentioned before is quite different. We can shoot a 115gr. a little faster than the 100gr. load presently used in the Marlin & we can nail Coyotes waaaay past the yardage that my buddie required & we have used them in WY. for a couple of Antelope
a bit beyond 400yds & the extra energy & wind bucking was quite nice. So, we have 2 different goals, my friend & I, but we are both quite happy with the results.
It allways helps to look at the original question asked.
The question asked was in regards to performance loss due to a 22" barrel as opposed to a 24-26" in a 25-06
specifically & the answer is yes you lose some per. in
THIS cartridge. However, if your specific goals are met with a 22" or a 17" tube, then it works for you, plain & simple.
