Does barrel length really matter for accuracy?
- Thread starter Owen
- Start date
rfd
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2025
- Messages
- 86
For centerfire cartridge long guns it will depend on the the type of gun, cartridge chambering, and the cartridge build for fit to the chamber, then all the cartridge components and the consistent care with how they're stuck together, and as always "what the gun likes best", during cartridge build selection. The burn rate is a clue as some cartridges won't get a full powder burn in a shorter length bbl. Some hefty smokeless cartridges will require long bbls for best powder burn.
I had AR15 builds with bbls from 16" to 24" and with careful cartridge builds the 16" could hit the same 12" plates @ 500 yards as the 24" builds. Going out lots longer might make a difference ... sights used are as important as the brain behind the trigger. My AR15 is now 16". My chassis bolt .223 for 800 yards is 22". No, for the most part, I don't need long bbls for certain cartridges, I need great cartridges, good sights, good eyes, good trigger finger.
I spent years shooting BP PPB cartridges at 200 yard matches with Sharps and rolling block rifles, black powder fueled paper patched bore riders, all bbls were 30" to 34", sights were Vernier Soule peep rear, spirit globe front. I won some matches with that gear. Today I use a cheap CVA Scout w/25" bbl and the same cartridges and can consistently hit a 10" plate at 300 yards with a 6 power scope (the ol' eyes don't work so well as they used ta!).
I had a pair of Taurus TX-22 pistols - Competition 5", Compact 3.5" - both had red dots. On an 8" plate the 5" was dead nuts for 50 yards, the 3.5" at best for just under 20 yards. Didn't matter what cartridges were used - CCI Std, CCI MM, CCI Blazer, Fed Punch, Eley Team/Target/Match.
I had AR15 builds with bbls from 16" to 24" and with careful cartridge builds the 16" could hit the same 12" plates @ 500 yards as the 24" builds. Going out lots longer might make a difference ... sights used are as important as the brain behind the trigger. My AR15 is now 16". My chassis bolt .223 for 800 yards is 22". No, for the most part, I don't need long bbls for certain cartridges, I need great cartridges, good sights, good eyes, good trigger finger.
I spent years shooting BP PPB cartridges at 200 yard matches with Sharps and rolling block rifles, black powder fueled paper patched bore riders, all bbls were 30" to 34", sights were Vernier Soule peep rear, spirit globe front. I won some matches with that gear. Today I use a cheap CVA Scout w/25" bbl and the same cartridges and can consistently hit a 10" plate at 300 yards with a 6 power scope (the ol' eyes don't work so well as they used ta!).
I had a pair of Taurus TX-22 pistols - Competition 5", Compact 3.5" - both had red dots. On an 8" plate the 5" was dead nuts for 50 yards, the 3.5" at best for just under 20 yards. Didn't matter what cartridges were used - CCI Std, CCI MM, CCI Blazer, Fed Punch, Eley Team/Target/Match.
