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Barrel Length on 22 Magnum Best ?
hoosier
Member Posts: 1,596 ✭✭✭✭
Have a Savage M-93 22M that someone, threaded for a suppressor. Not sure of the reasoning of the suppressor for 22 Magnum. My suppressor fits loose and was run back in to the front sight dove tail. My suppressor fit fine an all my other rifles.
Has a 20 " tapered barrel threaded part is 2 " Will 18" be ok for the 22 magnum.
I want to cut a new dovetail fro a front sight. in addition to using a scope.
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Comments
18 would be fine.
Since you dont see the use for a suppressor on a 22 mag, I would simply install a thread cap and use it as is. 18 is ok, but longer is always better(to a point).
There are 22 mag rounds marketed for pistols. You could try those also.
Figured I could shoot fine with a shorter barre.
Can't find a threaded cap 2" long. So, I've got a plastic sleeve over it now. Probably won't heat it up enough to melt with the limited shooting I do.
Just want to cut a dovetail for back up sights. Was going to cut it back to keep it from looking weird, with front sight 3" back from the muzzle.
As mike55 says, longer is better - up to a point. But what point?
As background, when a closed gun (not vented, as with a revolver) is fired, the powder burns as much as it is going to within a few inches. Or less, as with very small rounds like the .22 rimfire family. At that point, there is no more gas generated, but pressures are still high enough to overcome friction and increase velocity of the bullet. Pressure decreases with volume, however, and at some barrel length, there is insufficient pressure to keep accelerating the bullet. If the barrel is longer than that, bullet speed can actually decrease due to friction.
Some writer once measured those pressures and found that the optimum length for a .22LR is about 16". That's the length where remaining pressure is just equal to offset bullet friction, and where bullet velocity would be highest. A .22 Magnum's optimum barrel length would be a bit longer than that, but not by much.
Some of those old .22 rifles with 24" or even longer barrels were actually shooting slower than if they were cut back a few inches.
Sooo.... It doesnt already have a front sight? From your original post, it seems it does have a front sight and your supperssor hit the dovetail....... "was run back in to the front sight dove tail."
If there is no front sight, then I would take it to a gun smith and have the barrell shortened, sight added and crown fixed. A jacked up crown can cause issues.
Thinking that's what my original Idea was to have it shortened and a sight dove tail installed. Going to the 18' barrel sounds like it woun't hurt volatility that much. And make it a shorter Truck Gun, for the varmints.
"Can't find a threaded cap 2" long."
HUH?? WHY??
Adding a 'sleeve' to the muzzle doesn't equate to having a longer barrel.
According to 'Ballistics by the Inch' you should get 1985 FPS from CCI Maxi-Mag 40 grain JHP's with an 18" barrel.
http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/22mag.html
Since I got a chronograph (actually 2) a year ago it has been a real eye-opener. My fastest gun with any ammo, even shorts, is a Win. Model 67 with 27" barrel. But others are all over the place. I have a Heritage 16" revolver which shoots nothing fast; barrels down to 4" beat it. My fastest revolver is a Colt Official Police 6" made in 1932. It beats other guns by 25 to 150 fps. My 6" S&W 617 is accurate and well-made but it throws bullets disappointingly slow. There is no hard and fast rule on barrel length versus velocity. It is just nuts.