What length barrel

[TexasShooter]

What is the best length barrel for 22lr? I've seen one that was 28" on a 10/22 target rifle. Is there a too long and too short?
TexasShooter

 

[Preacher]

I have read that anything over 20 inches is a waste of barrel length, just not enough powder in that little case to gain velocity with a long barrel.. 28 inches seems a lot
for a rimfire..
my 63 S&W has a 4 inch barrel and works fine.....

 

[RichinKansas]

Although 16 - 17 inches gives maximum velocity with most rimfire ammo, it depends on what your after. Extra velocity doesn't help kill a piece of paper,target). None of those short barrel guns ever win sanctioned rimfire benchrest matches. 20 inch barrels win once in a great while, nothing shorter. Many of the longer, 28 inch barrels of the past were made long for sight radius. But we do that today with bloop tubes. But those longer length barrels do win more than there fair share of matches. I would guess 24 - 25 inches is most common with bench guns. Why, lots of theories. One is that rimfire ammo gets a more consistent shot to shot velocity from a longer barrel. One thing though, being scoped and balance not a great factor, barrel length is only decided for one purpose, accuracy. Another thing about the fickle .22 rimfire is that it drifts less in the wind the slower it goes, the exact opposite of a high velocity centerfire. That is why target shooter use standard velocity instead of high velocity. So a longer barrel can have advantages. But when a smith cuts a barrel to length he might consider if the barrel has a tight spot. A little choke at the muzzle can help accuracy. Bottom line, in my opinion, there is no set length. But myself I would make my barrels as long as the blank will allow. Rich