barrel lengths?

[fortress49]

NEF offers most of their rifle barrel lengths in 22" with a couple of exceptions where they are 24" and 26".  Perhaps my question would be more suited to a "custom" barrel site, but here it is anyway.  What are the optimum barrel lengths for the following calibers: .22 LR, .223, 30-06, 45/70, 375 H&H?  Why did NEF choose 22" for most of the lengths?  There must be a point in any caliber where additional barrel length gives no further increase in performance.  Also, there must be some barrel lengths for particular calibers where they could benefit from additional barrel length to get full performance.  I am NOT a handloader so using various powders is not an option to get ultimate performance out of the calibers.

Take for instance the .223 from NEF.  It comes in 22" standard and bull and a 24" bull barrel.  Is there any advantage of the 24" over the 22"?  Does the .223 even need 22" to realize it's full potential?

Thanks for any thoughts on this subject.

Matt

[Wlscott]

Matt, I've always heard that you can expect an additional 30 fps per inch of extra barrel.  I've also heard as much as 50 fps increase per inch.  

As with all things, there is a trade off with barrel lengths.  A longer barrel will usually produce more velocity.  However, the longer lenght is not near as handy.  So, with a shorter barrel length (22"), you get a "handier" rifle.  Thus the moniker Handi Rifle.  

I have an Ultra in .223 with a 24" barrel.  I sent that frame off for a 22" 45-70 barrel.  I was kind of worried about the velocities I would get out fo the shorter barrel vs the 32" BC barrel.  But when I got it and shouldered it, the thing pointed like a fitted shotgun.

[AZ223]

I agree with Wlscott; the only thing that I would add is in regards to the .22LR. Optimum barrel length for it, so I've heard, is only about 18". After that, the bullet is no longer accelerating because of the small powder charge. I used to think the longer the better, until I started reading up on it. I also found that some tactical urban sniper PD units use the .308 with an 18" barrel.

I think the rifles from years ago benefitted from longer barrels as much from sight radius as anything else. It's also possible that black powder, with its slower burn rate, was a factor as well. In either case, if you're using a scoped weapon burning smokeless powder, sounds like you won't lose anything with a shorter barrel.  I would guess handloaders may be able to make use of the longer barrels by using slower burning powders, but that's a practice I'm just starting to get into.

I have the Ultra in .223; the 24" has never been a hindrance, as the gun is light, but I have not desire to cut it down -- I like the way it looks!  

[Cottonwood]

I've often thought myself as well, of taking the 32" barrel for the Buffalo Classic and cutting it down to 28" and having it crowned as well.  The 32" Buffalo Classic barrel is a great target shooter with proper sights unlike the ones that come with it.  But in 28" like many of the hunting Sharps rifles it would serve as a better hunting partner.

JMHO  :lol:

[Mitch in MI]

I've also heard the 18" claim for 22LR, but I've never cut down a gun and tested it. The 22LR is a 100 ft-lb cartridge, the .223 is a 1000ft-lb cartridge, with enough powder to fill a bore several feet long. I doubt that any centerfire rifle cartridge in the Handi would shoot as fast with a 30" as it would with a 32", but the gun gets unhandy by the time it hits Buffalo Classic proportions.

The industry seems to have standardized on 22" in "standard" calibers and 24" in "magnums" for bolt action rifles, a 26" handi is typically as long as a 22" bolt gun.

Accuracy is often better with shorter, stiffer barrels, but at any given velocity, the shorter barrel will have lots more muzzle blast.

Here's an article on a .223 barrel cutting test. Unfortunately, it was only 22" to start with. They cut it down to 10", at which point it must have been deafening. It lost 30-50fps depending on the load used in the first cut from 22" to 21".

http://tinyurl.com/3stqa