Why Such Long Barrels?

[goinssr]

I have noticed that almost everyone's custom builds are utilizing 26" - 30" barrels. I don't understand the logic. 99% of the calibers that these customs are built around are short action calibers and don't use powders that burn slow enough to fully realize the advantage of such a long barrel. Something else that I think about is barrel whip (oscillation). The longer the barrel is the more it is going to oscillate during the shot cycle, unless of course it is of very large diameter, in which case creating excessive weight. My "old" school of thought dictates that any caliber up to the 30-06 case family will thrive very well in barrels between 20" - 22" and magnums (i.e. .300 WM, etc.) do their best work out of barrels in the neighborhood of 24".

[scope eye]

Some guys go for the tactical look, we all like the musket look, LOL all kidding aside the longer barrels stabilize the bullet better, along with some even if it is minimal fps gain.

Dean

[Westcliffe01]

What you choose to shoot is entirely up to you. There are plenty of factory rifles with 20-24" barrels and buying one costs nothing extra. I would actually say that the majority of the populace is buying into the carbine trend with lots of 308 caliber rifles with 16" barrels. People in the long range shooting camp are just a tiny minority of the millions of gun owners.

Usually, someone who is putting together a custom rifle is trying to get the most out of it and it just so happens that the most popular custom barrel is a 26" varmint contour, which with the single taper is certainly heavier but to the buyers apparently worth the penalty. Particularly if one actually intends to shoot long distance, one is not doing typical "spot and stalk" type close engagements, but rather finding a high position, glassing and getting into position for a long distance shot which allows the needed time to prepare for all the variables of the shot. There are lighter weight carbon fiber re-inforced sporter barrels, but the cost is way higher than $320.. and typically only available on full custom rifles which often run $4000-$7000. I'm not that well heeled.

Most of this group of people are hand loading and have the choice of any powder on the planet (assuming you have a stash or can actually buy any now) and frequently achieve velocities that are higher than anything that comes out a factory. This of course going along with shooting heavy, high BC bullets that you also typically don't find in a store. Your arguments for barrel length are based on what would typically be middle of the road weight bullets, where faster powders are needed like a 150gr GMX or Interlock as opposed to a 215gr or 230gr Berger VLD. If you actually tried shooting maximum weight VLD's out of short barrels, I think you would be disappointed and the muzzle blast would be more substantial.

I have noticed that almost everyone's custom builds are utilizing 26" - 30" barrels. I don't understand the logic. 99% of the calibers that these customs are built around are short action calibers and don't use powders that burn slow enough to fully realize the advantage of such a long barrel. Something else that I think about is barrel whip (oscillation). The longer the barrel is the more it is going to oscillate during the shot cycle, unless of course it is of very large diameter, in which case creating excessive weight. My "old" school of thought dictates that any caliber up to the 30-06 case family will thrive very well in barrels between 20" - 22" and magnums (i.e. .300 WM, etc.) do their best work out of barrels in the neighborhood of 24".

[65impala]

It's primarily about velocity and stability.

My "old" school of thought dictates that any caliber up to the 30-06 case family will thrive very well in barrels between 20" - 22" and magnums (i.e. .300 WM, etc.) do their best work out of barrels in the neighborhood of 24".

Please don't think me rude, but my experience and chornograph will disagree with your school of thought. I have personally chonographed even cases as small as the 22 hornet and even with 10 grains of powder I was able to achieve higher velocities in a 22" barrel than I did in my 18" barrel. I'm not saying that all barrels should be overly long, and of course there is a point where the extra velocity per inch tapers off considerably with more length. The length is of course dependant on case volume as you noted.

I think the main key is the rifle's intended use. When I lived and hunted in the Appalachain Mountains of Northeast Georgia I carried a 16" barrel carbine and loved it! Hunting in the open prarie of Wyoming I use a 28" barrel 25-06 for Antelope and in the mountains a 26" barrel 338WM for Elk. For benchrest shooting I like a 26"-28" for smaller cartridges and a 28"-32" barrel for magnums. The best long range gun I ever had was a 32" barrel 338 that would give me a solid 300fps better velocity over the same exact loads in my 26" hunting rifle. BUT, I didn't have to lug that 22 pound rifle through the woods hunting deer

[lal357]

for its velocity my f class t/r rifle is 30" long bull barrel most of our club shooters shoot 20-22" 308's (some even cut them down that those lengths ) and they work good at 300yrds now take that same gun and try shooting at 1000yards and some ran out of come up on thier scopes where as i still had plenty left(1 shooting 185gr pills had to go with a 30moa base). plus with the thicker barrel heat is not as much a problem than with the thinner barels.

[Topstrap]

We shoot both short (15"-16") and long (28") barrels on our LR guns. The short barrels are really stiff and heavy as our long barrels on the rifles. All are full bulls with a brake. For our long range matches it really helps to see your own hits/misses for corrections and the weight helps for that. Usually we don't carry the guns from station to station so the weight isn't a big factor. We do lose approximately 25fps per inch of barrel loss on our short barrels compared to the rifle barrels. Our 15" 260 barrels are running 2525fps with a 140gr Hornady BTHP and the 28" barrels are running 2850fps with the exact same load. Roughly 325fps difference. Both are exceptionally accurate but the rifle is a heck of a lot easier to shoot being so much heavier.

I think the 24 - 26 inch lengths are about right for most matches where you need to keep velocity up and still have good accuracy but a 20" for hunting or even some long range matches can also be very acceptable. Short versus long? Good arguments for both, if it shoots good and fits your needs for the distances you're shooting then go for it.

Topstrap

[BRIAN G]

For me it's about stability. I like a big heavy chunk of metal out front on a gun that I'm going to shoot supported by a bipod or a bench rest. The heat dissipation thing is a bonus as well. I'm not lugging these rigs over the countryside and through the brush so I don't care about the comfort factor. My hunting rigs have sporter weight barrels

[efm77]

I did it for the added velocity. My 28" that I put on my 300 win mag gets over 3200 fps with 180 grain SST's. That is in 300 Weatherby territory and very close to 300 RUM without the added cost or recoil of the bigger cases. Of course if you used a barrel that long for a RUM you'd be that much ahead of the win mag again. But the last time I chrono'ed mine i was getting 3228 fps with 180 grain SST's and that's plenty fast for me.

[squirrelsniper]

Velocity has always been attractive and that's why most people do it. Even though an extra 50fps at the muzzle doesn't mean anything practical, everyone seems to want it anyway.

Long range shooting/hunting seems to have suddenly become "what the cool kids are doing" over the last few years and many people want all the velocity they can get, especially newbies to game. Those of us who've been doing it for a while just want an accurate rifle, regardless of whether we're shooting 200fps slower than everyone else. Everyone else wants something fast enough to try to out-run the wind drift. It's certainly easier to launch a 30cal 220gr VLD at 3,000fps than it is to learn to read the wind correctly.

On the other hand, I've seen that over the last few years shooters who prefer cartridges like the 308 are actually going down on barrel length as higher BC bullets have led to 16" barrels doing the same thing as what it use to take a 24" barrel to do.

I'm just plain and simple. All my short actions wear barrels from 20"-24" and my long actions wear 22"-26" barrels. That's worked well for me for several years, so I don't see any point in changing now.

[rrflyer]

Velocity and weight.

I want the fastest/flattest possible and the heavier the less recoil for quicker follow up shots.

My hunting gun is a 16.5" 308 or 223 though. For shots out to 500ish it works fine and is a lot handier to use.

[Jamie]

I have firearms in both long and short barrels (17"-28") and they each have a purpose. I can tell you that my shorter barrel specialty pistols do not have an issue stabilizing bullets as I have shot them to 1000 yards numerous times. Velocity is not great so you have to run more MOA in your bases to get there though. Accuracy wise, they tend to embarrass a lot of rifle shooters. I haven't noticed any real wolrd stabily problems and most likely won't be an issue until you find the yardage where you drop to sub-sonic velocity. A friend of mine has killed prairie dogs at 1800 yards and big game over 1000 yards with 15-18" barreled specialty pistols.

My 28" .243 AI is about perfect for what it does, scream. It is just a heavy bench gun that is easy to load for and shoots tiny groups waaaaay out there. With roughly half the drop at 925 yards as my buddies .260.

I would never feel under gunned going afield with a 20-22" barrel and actually prefer them for most occasions.

[yobuck]

bottom line answer would be velocity. if your not looking for max velocity barrel legnth dosent matter much.
velocity is caused by pressure. some cartridges requiring slower powders need longer barrels to burn it.
short barrels might not be burning all the powder but spewing it out the end.
a factory 30x378 26" weatherby for example isnt the same animal as the same gun with a 30" or longer barrel.
modern powders are also having an effect on barrel legnth.
sometimes it takes awhile for mindset to catch up with reality.

[wal0001]

This might help.. from an expert.

https://www.accuracy1stdg.com/content/docs/Binder7.pdf