Optimum Barrel Length?

This general guide for a precision bolt action rifle, there can be exceptions.....

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[markandsamafterwork]

For all those about to comment with what about the F TR and palma 308's that have up to 33" barrels shoot the 155grn bullets at 3000fps, yes, specific area where they have come up with a combo to use those lighter bullets and specific powder to get that result...not the norm but yes that does happen in that case, but also, other things going on there, and doesn't quite translate so well in the ELR precision stuff, Cheers

[duggydo]

"I've seen all sort of things over the ages." You let it slip out Mark. Now we know you're a Highlander who's been around for centuries! 😂You're right about the barrel length too of course. I saw a video once where guy started with a really long barrel and recorded velocities as he cut it down an inch at a time. Velocities went up for a bit and then back down as it passed the optimum length.

[etravix]

Mark, I enjoy your easy to understand discussions. You have answered my shooting questions without all the double talk. Keep those good videos coming. May you and Sam have more years of bliss and blessings too.

[magnumcipher]

I’m having good results shooting the 230 grain A-Tips in a .300 Win. Mag. with a 27”, 1:9 twist barrel and a pretty aggressive brake. Another great video. Thanks for what you guys do!

[Boogyman]

I stopped making long-barrel competition rifles long ago. Great presentation.

[martrg]

Thank you for this video. So many people think that that long barrels inherently mean more speed and more accuracy, and refuse to believe anything other than their dogma.

[vettepilot]

I’m a gunsmith and decided to do an experiment on this myself. I had a 300 PRC with a 26” barrel and cut it down to 20”. I lost approximately 100 fps (checked by Magnetospeed ). By comparison, that’s roughly a 23% shorter barrel with only 5% reduction in velocity. Modern non-belted cartridges are more efficient and thus don’t need a barrel as long and aren’t as affected by barrrel length as the older belted mags. It is a VERY loud gun with a 20” barrel and brake. Agree completely that shorter barrels are EASIER to shoot rather than being necessarily more accurate.

[michaelreed]

You're not "just one human" Mark, you are superhuman. And a fairly OK shooter! Thanks for the video, good info. Cheers!

[Jeff_Seely]

Thanks Mark. Your last barrel-length video really spoke to me and it made some key valid points. It made sense that extra-long barrels could be to the point of diminishing returns, whereas there could be added movement and friction to the muzzle, and a longer dwelling projectile could be negatively impacted. I now believe that a 6.5CM with a 28" stainless bull-barrel verges on this effect and will be having my gunsmith take ~2in (or maybe 4) off of the end and instead of preserving the 11-degree target crown, I will have him thread it for a small brake. I don't hold anyone accountable for my own decisions. I have a lifetime friend for a gunsmith who agrees with my decision as well. Open-minds and larger ears shoot smaller groups. And I enjoyed the video!

[cesarsaavedra]

I just took my 26” barrel 308 to be cut and threaded at 20”
2550 is perfect for me. 1000 yard it stays super sonic.

[matthewtracy]

There is a lot of math involved in finding the perfect barrel length for different cartridges. You do a great job explaining why you can't just add length for speed and accuracy. Cheers!

[TrentusMaximus]

Great video. I have a Howa .243w varmint, 1/10. Had the 24" barrel cut to 16.5". Damn thing is a tac driver! Slower speed, but much more accurate for my application. 85gn pill spits out at 2900fps w/ 1587ft.lbs of energy w/ a gyro of 1.95. Clover @ 100yds. Much lighter too, and easier to manoeuvre.

[phil_]

Ayesome! I'm just catching up on your .270 Win videos. I decided to go with that because the Army recently chose that projectile, and I was in the U.S. Army so I gotta! Actually, I was already narrowed down to .243 Win - .30-06 range. CHEERS!

P.S. I'm looking at upgrading a Remington 700, in .270 Win, to a 27" barrel with a 1 in 8". That's what the limit is before price goes up per inch. 😅 This video gives me confidence in my choice. Thanks!

[semperfi]

Such a deep rabbit hole!!! Soooo many factors. Maybe I missed it, but I didn't hear you discuss volume increasing as the projectile travels down the bore, which causes pressures to decrease as volume increases byond the initial spike in pressure....hence the need for a slower burning powder for mass per bore diameter and barrel length. It's not always grains of powder for a barrel length....It's also burn rate and twist rate. Faster twist rate also = more resistance. Your platform also want's to "Twist" more depending on twist rate, mass, velocity, I loved your video!!! Keep up the good work.😁

[walterwjr]

It made perfect sense to me. And, I must stop, to compliment you on your humility. It is refreshing to see in 2022.

Good daee' mate, Cheers!

[jamesstewart]

I can speak to this a bit, F-tr shooters (223/308 only) here in the states tend to go with 28-30” barrels but it largely doesn’t have anything to do with increasing performance but so that the barrel can be set back at the end of each season and those barrels have very long shanks and are intended for doing just that, I think others are seeing this and assuming it’s a performance adder when in reality it’s just to get a bit more life from it.

[andersonsprairieviewfarm]

I recently built a 300 win mag its weighing in at 20lbs with a 32 heavy barrel with a very slight taper, I started at 175 gr bullets and worked up to 208, every time I went up the group got tighter, waiting now to try 220 grs I think that's going to be its sweet spot, my wife is 5'1" at 118lbs and she can shoot this thing all day long and so can my 10 year old nephew at 65lbs that was truthfully my real goal, to get younger and small family members to enjoy shooting long ranges with out beating them up, after all isn't that what this is all about sharing our passions with a younger generation so they can carry that forward.

[Sanman]

PO Ackley devotes an entire chapter to the concept of "Bore Capacity" in which barrel length is a variable. There are optimal lengths for most calibers, and there are under- and over-bore capacities in which the boiler room for combustion and pressure creation are simply mis-matched for the cartridge in that caliber. Your example of the .243 going from 31.5" to 26" and INCREASING velocity is a perfect illustration.

[tdp]

Thanks for all your content Mark. I only discovered you're channel recently and find your wealth of knowledge and crisp delivery of set knowledge an absolute treasure in my journey to long range shooting and also load development. Thank you.

[thomandstacieverroad]

I have a Remington 700 that was made in 1983/84 with a 24" 1 in 9 twist that outshoots anything any of my friends own that cost many times more and one of my friends has the same rifle with a 26" barrel and doesn't perform any better all other things being equal. Thanks for this. I'll be sure to rub this in his ego just a little bit as he swears his 2" extra length is all that. I tell him it's just harder to manage in the brush lol