22" vs 20" barrel length

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pabst_20

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is there advantages to having a barrel cut down i have a savage axis .223 that i am thinking about having it taken down to 20" from 22" or i could even have more than just the two inches taken off i have always heard a shorter barrel is more accurate the most i will be shooting with this rifle would be 300 yards and that is the absolute farthest. mostly will be inside of 200 yards. can anyone give me any ideas on what length i should go with.
 
Length does not have a direct affect on accuracy.

The advantage would be a few ounces less weight and slightly more maneuverability.

The disadvantage would be 50-100 fps loss of velocity.
 
Barrel length has nothing to do with mechanical accuracy.

I'm a fan of long barrels.

But inside 300yds you could make the .223 sub-sonic and still hit targets.
So shorter barrels shouldn't be a problem for you.
I wouldn't go shorter than 18.
 
He means that at 200-300 yards velocity doesn't matter much.

I've never been a fan of short barrels either. Seems like trading velocity for nothing.
 
I'm not a stickler for long barrels. I love low profile rifles. The longest barrel i plan on having is 26" on a magnum. Of course shorter barrel rifles like a 18" .308 are going to require more elevation and more windage at distance but they can still get the job done. Just depends on the situation i guess.
 
Our sniper rifle needed a new barrel and we replaced it with a stiffer 20inch which held the accuracy fine for police ranges, (out to 300yds.) A .223 and .308 work pretty well (complete powder burn,) with 20-22 inch barrels. Magnums and 22-250 or 25'06 require at least a 24 inch barrel and work better with a 26inch.
 
I shoot with a friend that had his 223 cut to 16.5 inches. He is still very accurate with it. The only real difference I see in it is it seems much louder now.
 
5.56 effective range is about 600m give or take. I run a 18" in a AR and get around 2700fps with a 77gr SMK. As stated above it can be effective out of a 16.5, hence cutting your barrel isn't going to hurt much considering the caliber.
 
To add to what peetza said you can't go below 16" without a permaweld bringing it to 16" or having filled out the proper paperwork for a SBR.
 
Don't you gain some potential accuracy with shorter barrels because they're stiffer and less prone to harmonics (i.e. barrel-whip)? I'd been led to understand that short barrels will whip less than long ones, making it more stable and therefore more accurate.
 
horseman308 said:
Don't you gain some potential accuracy with shorter barrels because they're stiffer and less prone to harmonics (i.e. barrel-whip)? I'd been led to understand that short barrels will whip less than long ones, making it more stable and therefore more accurate.
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Do a google search for "barrel length accuracy". You will find many articles written by apparently knowledgeable people claiming exact opposite conclusions.

"Longer barrels are inherently more accurate."
"Shorter barrels are inherently more accurate."
"Longer barrels are not inherently more accurate but prove so practically."
"Shorter barrels are not inherently more accurate but prove so practically."

Uh huh.

Now, a long barrel might shoot one particular load better than a short barrel, but then that short barrel might shoot a different load better than the long barrel. There are many things to consider. Every inch of barrel is one more inch that could have a defect. Shorter barrels create more muzzle blast. Longer barrels might vibrate more. Shorter barrels have that vibration at the tip rather than the chamber more frequently and are harder to "time" the exit of the bullet.....
Many, many variables.
 
Subsonic trajectory, please enlighten me

62 gr Berger Match Varmint
1130 fps

50 yards -- +6.6 inches

100 yards-- +7.3 inches

150 yards-- 0

200 yards-- minus 15.9 inches

250 yards-- minus 41 inches

300 yards-- minus 75.9 inches

That does not equate to adequate performance in my book. :D
 
It will change vibrations. Weather it becomes more or less accurate, or how this will effect the accuracy nodes is something you will be gambling on. I say cut 2 inches, re-crown and let us know how it goes.
 
That does not equate to adequate performance in my book.
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Mine either. But the bullet still would get to 300yds.

But truthfully I was using hyper...hyber...hy...um, I was exaggerating to in order to underline a point.
 
If you want a 20 inch barrel, have em chop it. My Ruger Hawkeye has a 22 inch barrel, and I've been thinking about the same reduction of 2 inches. Only problem is that the darn thing shoots so good right now that I'm afraid to make the change - being worried that I might mess up the way it shoots or that the terrific bullet/powder combination that I've found might not be so magical after the reduction. As for velocity, since the 223 uses relatively quick powders, I don't expect that you'd lose much muzzle velocity from having 2 inches less barrel. And from the other guys you already have the scoop regarding accuracy.
 
The disadvantage would be 50-100 fps loss of velocity.
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That depends upon the load...... I only lost 160 f/sec from published data with my handloads ..... published data used a 24" barrel ....I had a 16" barrel.

YMMV.
 
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