# Barrel length's affect on accuracy



## Puma (Dec 7, 2009)

I am new to this forum so please excuse the somewhat novice questions that I am about to ask.

# 1, What is the affect of the length of the barrel with the accuracy of the gun? I just purchased a Rem 700, 30-06 with a 22 inch barrel. I love the gun however I am concerned that I sacrificed accuracy for longer shots. I cannot see shooting any further than 300 yards.

#2 What is the effective range of the gun I described above ( Variable being the shooter of course ) ?

# 3, What bullet in 30-06 do you recommend?

# 4, What telescope do you recommend for the gun described above?

Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated.


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## Woodser (Sep 3, 2009)

It is not barrel length, but barrel thickness that affects accuracy the most. The thicker the barrel, the stiffer it is and the more repeatable are the vibrations in the barrel at each shot. In general, a shorter and heavier barrel will whip around less and be more accurate. Sport contoured barrels will in general be less accurate than varmit/target barrels.

At 30-06 velocities, you will only lose maybe 50 feet per second in a 22" tube as compared to a 24" tube. Overall, that will affect long range killing power very little, if any. 300 yards would be about right, depending on load used and the skill of the shooter.

Bullet selection depends on intended use. For deer and other medium game, the 150 grain bullets are the standard for the '06. 125-130 grainers will give higher velocity, but might expand too much on a deer size animal at closer ranges, yielding a lot of bloodshot meat. 100-110 grainers are intended for varmiting. Heavier than 150 grains is overkill on deer, but might yield best accuracy.

The 3-9 power scope is pretty much a standard for the 30-06 and 308. A 4-12 power would give better long range usage.


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## striped1 (Aug 17, 2005)

Barrel Length has no effect on accuracy as long as the bullet is still supersonic. barrel length will allow you to shoot farther by carrying higher velocitys at all ranges than a shorter barrel.

twist rate
crown
ammo selection
trigger
free floating barrel 
stock material
all are much more important for accuracy than barrel length.


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## SDHandgunner (Jun 22, 2004)

I am not sure what I can add to the excellent replies you have received.

With that said I will address the Velocity issue vs Barrel Length. There is a lot more than goes into what a given barrel will produce in regards to velocity than barrel length. Things that come into play are bore tightness (or lack thereof), bore smoothness (or lack thereof), the individual chamber and throat etc are a few things to consider.

I handload for 5 .30-06's for myself and friends of mine. They are as follows:

22" Ruger KM77 MKII Stainless-Laminated
22" Remington Model 700 ADL
24" Remington Model 700 BDL Stainless-Synthetic
24" T/C Encore with a Bergara Barrel

all the above Rifles use the exact same load, 150gr. Nosler Ballistic Tips loaded with Hodgdon H-4350 Powder (each rifle uses the same exact powder charge, just different cartridge overall lengths for each individual rifle.

22" Remington Model 700 ADL

This Remington uses 150gr. Sierra Spitzer Boat Tails over the same powder charge but with IMR-4350 in place of the Hodgdon offering.

The actual chronographed velocities for these rifles with these loads are:

22" Ruger KM77 MKII Stainless-Laminated = 2972 FPS
22" Remington Model 700 ADL = 2884 FPS
24" Remington Model 700 BDL Stainless-Synthetic = 2874 FPS
24" T/C Encore with a Bergara Barrel = 3054 FPS
22" Remington Model 700 ADL = 2803 FPS

As can be seen they all produce different muzzle velocities. Yes one of the 24" Barrels produces the highest velocity and one of the 22" Barrels produces the lowest velocities. However one of the 24" Barrels produces the next to the lowest velocities I chronographed.

As per the range, I practice a lot at long range and have spent years and years shooting Prairie Dogs at various ranges. With my 24" T/C Encore with the Bergara Barrel I took a Whitetail Buck this past season at a lasered 475 yards. Yes I had a super solid rest, there was no wind and I knew the distance. Besides I had practiced at 450 yards and was placing two bullets holes at that distance 1 1/4" apart from each other from the bench.

However for me that was the exception not the norm. I much prefer shooting at 300 yards and less. However 2 years ago I missed the biggest buck I have ever seen alive and as such have made it a point to practice at longer ranges since that day.

I would not feel handicapped at all with a .30-06 with a 22" Barrel. In fact if you look over the catalogs offered by the major manufactures you'll see that a 22" Barrel on a .30-06 is more commonplace than longer barrels.

Larry


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## southdakbearfan (Oct 11, 2004)

As SDhandgunner posted all barrels vary.

All things the same, the longer barrel will give more velocity. This can be offset by using faster burning powders in a shorter barrel, as with the slower burning powders you will see more loss as you cut length.

Most people prefer a 22" barrel due to handling and especially if you are hunting in trees or getting in and out of a vehicle a lot, it is amazing what that extra 4" in a 26" barrel will catch on.

Here is an interesting article, where they too a 223, with a 22" barrel, and with the same loads progressively shortened it all the way down to 10". A 30-06, or similar larger caliber will see larger losses due to using slower burning powders in comparison to the 223 most of the time.

http://www.accuratereloading.com/223sb.html

Personally, I have everything from 20" to 26" barrels on everything from 222 to 300 win mag. I prefer the 26"s, but that is just a personal preference and they seem to be more accurate for me.


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