Short Barrels vs. Long

[Gamo X-Ring Shooter]

So here's just an interesting topic that I'd like to know ya'll's opinions about.  Which are better shorter barrels or longer barrels?

 I am a big precision smallbore rifle shooter and this is a topic that's kind of at the forefront of our sport right now.  Its commonly believed that a longer barrel allows the bullet to stabilize better before it leaves the gun, the tradeoff is that the longer the bullet is in the gun the more time you have to affect its flight.  Anschutz's new line of rifles is centered around the basic theory of shorter barrels with longer bloop tubes.  The reasoning is that since most competitive shooters are shooting standard velocity ammo, not high speed stuff that the bullet stabilizes rather quickly and the extra barrel isn't needed.  As a matter of fact the extra barrel is affecting the accuracy because it is humanely impossible to be completely still and the slight movements your making before the bullet is out of the barrel affects its accuracy.

So do ya'll think the same concept holds true for airguns?  This doesn't mean going out and start sawing off your barrels to like 6 inches lol

Brian  

P.S. Personally I've decided to stick with my standard barrel on my Anschutz.  No one has beat me yet with a short barrel and all your national champions and stuff tend to have the standard barrels as well.

[Gene_SC]

Brian, there has been a number of posts about short vs long barrels on the GTA. What I get out of it is that in pellet rifles that shoot low fps, the shorter barrels are standard with FT shooting. But that does not answer your questions and I think you will find that other members will chime in on barrel lengths.

Hope the thread continues, cause I would like to see some actual statistics on pellet rifles.

Gene

[dave2288]

from what ive seen, barrel length doesn't have much to do with accuracy...what you said about moving the gun more before the projectile leaves the gun is more of a shooter issue, and just requires technique to repeat patterns.  ppl usually look at barrel length more when thinking about velocity, like with a pcp, the larger, the faster, but with spring guns, the pellet with be at its fastest at around the first 10-12 inches of the barrel, and it slows down for the rest of the trip to the muzzle.  most unmodified co2 guns use up all their co2 within the first 15-18 inches, so getting a 24" barrel on a stock 2250 will just hurt a guns velocity...but if you let more gas through the gun with the shot(get it modified) then it will take longer for the gas to fully expand, so a 24" barrel is most desired.  

hope this helps you out, and helps the discussion get rolling a bit, cuz i aggree with gene...this could get interesting.

Dave

[PeakChick]

I'd totally agree with what Dave related. Springers tend to have made maximum power within 7-12" of barrel length. PCP rifles can vary , depending on power level, ditto for CO2.

Here's a few of the listed barrel lengths for some high end springers that are considered to be very accurate, (I can personally attest that my BSA Lighting XL is):

Air Arms:
TX200HC: 7.1"
TX200MkIII: 14.6"
Pro Sport: 9.5"

BSA:
Lightning XL: 10.0"

Weihrauch:
HW97K: 11.81"
HW95: 16.14"

Beeman (Weihrauch):
R11: 16.25"

[Gene_SC]

Maybe that is why my 13" L/W Choked .177 is so accurate on one of my S1K's.. Only problem is that it seems to have picked up a bit more sensitivity to the hold. I had to really work with it before I found the sweet spot but it is deadly accurate when I am on a roll.. Now the 16" L/W Choked .20 barrel on my other S1K, is very easy to shoot with no apparent hold sensitivity at all. Just aim and shoot..

I will never learn everything about air rifles but it will be fun as long as I can play with them..

Gene

[Gamo X-Ring Shooter]

I agree 100% with you that the movement is a people problem.  If your a really good shooter and you've conditioned yourself right, how long the bullet is in the barrel will not throw you out of the 10 ring.  Some people just don't want to take the time to develop their techique to this point or are just looking for an excuse if you ask me.

So speaking of the pellet reaching its fastest point how do you determine what this is?  Would it be ideal to cut the barrel back to this point so you don't loose velocity with the excess barrel?

[DanoInTx]

Gene,

Your S1K with the shorter barrel actually weighs less with that missing 3" at the muzzle.  Could it be that either the gun jumps around more without that weight, or maybe it just changes the balance of the gun?  You have a fair selection of S1K's, maybe you need to shoot the lighter one slightly different than the others?  Sounds like whatever the case you've figured out how to make it a great shooter for you.

Interesting thing I found out today with my B26....prior to the tune it shot Crowmagnums real well and CPHP's real poor, now after the tune they shoot just the opposite.  DaveD and I spoke on the phone this afternoon and we talked a little bit about how the same gun will shoot different for different people, I would think that any variation from one gun of the same model to another would effect how it shoots for a particular shooter...maybe the same is true for your lighter, shorter barreled S1K?

Oh and to comment on what the post was about in the first place, I don't think the length of the barrel has anything to do with accuracy, unless the barrel was like 1" long, then it might.  I think on airguns at least that barrel length has more to do with velocity and how much "oomph" you can get behind a pellet, especially on gas guns...carbine length PCP's and CO2 guns are always a bit slower than a comparable full length barreled gun.  I also agree that accuracy being better with a long/short barrel has alot to do with the shooter and how well they keep the crosshairs held during the firing cycle.  With that said it "should" be easier to shoot a carbine length barreled gun accurately because there is less time to wander, but this is not always the case....as shown by your short barreled S1K.

Now I just need to learn how to shoot a springer right.  Maybe I'll take my FX out tomorrow to rebuild my shooting confidence...hehe!!!

[Gene_SC]

Ya Dano, that is the effect. Shorter and a different center point of weight distribution. At first I was trying to shoot it like a stock S1K and it did not work.. lol, so with a bit of determination I worked it out.

And as far as pellet choice before and after a tune, I had noticed that over a year ago. That is when I started marking my different air rifles with tape on the butts with pellet choice. After a tune the pellet choice would change entirely. At first I though I had put wrong ID's on the butts but not the case.. That was my learning experience with breaking in a new gun after finding a pellet it liked and then after a tune, it would change.. lol... Then start over again.. hehe..

Gene

[Big_Bill]

Hey Brian,

I guess we could call this the long and short of airguns...lol

But I have observed that shorter barrels are stiffer, and are effected less by barrel harmonics. The longer barrels whip more causing accuracy difficulties, this occurs more in powder burners, as the tend to change their harmonics as they get hotter.

I don't think anyone would sacrifice accuracy for velocity ? But as Gene pointed out, all you need to do is find a new pellet to fill that need !

Years ago, a few companies came out with rubber weights to place on your barrel, and you would move them back and forth trying to find that sweet spot that would dampen the harmonics, giving you better accuracy.. JMO

Bill