N/A Longer barrel a negative ?

[Caliber 22]

I saw a discussion where someone said a longer barrel like from 500mm to 600mm or 700mm on a air rifle will have a negative influence on PCP precision / accuracy, mainly because of recoil, shooter movement and harmonics.

What is your experience with different barrel lengths?

 

[beerthief]

what ever the barrel length you need to have every part of the gun in balance . Valve , regulator , hammer spring , ALL in balance .

 

[Emu]

Recoil indeed affects accuracy.

Power helps accuracy at long range because you have less drop.

Longer barrel gives more power and therefore more recoil.

Depending on the kind of shooting you practice then you would like one or the other.

The farther ahead the starting travel of the projectile in regard of the transfer port, the lesser the recoil. That little space allow a smoother acceleration that reduce the physics law that says: (in Spanish: "A toda acción corresponde una reacción, de la misma magnitud y dirección, pero en sentido contrario").

My translation would say: To all action there's a reaction, with same magnitud and direction but in opposite way. Sorry for not using exact technical words.

The recoil of the BRK Ghost in .30 Cal is less than many other .30 Cal air rifles I have shoot with.

 

[Stubbers]

If this were the case the stubbiest barrels would be winning competitions hands down, in any shooting event, which is just...not the case.

I can't imagine its a rule of thumb to say barrel length alone negatively impacts precision.

-Matt

 

[dens228]

Having hunted my entire life with a 30/06. 45-70, and 12 ga shotguns I always chuckle when recoil and air rifle are used in the same sentence.

 

[beerthief]

Having huted my entire life with a 30/06. 45-70, and 12 ga shotguns I always chuckle when recoil and air rifle are used in the same sentence.

different kind of recoil , Apples and Oranges . no comparison.

 

[RM.510bigbore]

Having huted my entire life with a 30/06. 45-70, and 12 ga shotguns I always chuckle when recoil and air rifle are used in the same sentence.

I thought same thing...My .510 Texan with 650 grain spire point boat tails will scope any unsuspecting shooter. I don't let anyone inexperienced shoot anything over 460 grains. That is 1.5 once of lead....Power goes up...slug weight goes up...recoil goes.up...

 

[Nomadic Pirate 66]

I saw a discussion where someone said a longer barrel like from 500mm to 600mm or 700mm on a air rifle will have a negative influence on PCP precision / accuracy, mainly because of recoil, shooter movement and harmonics.

What is your experience with different barrel lengths?

That is the case the Ed ( Edgun ) has been making for a long time.

Maybe not for professional shooters but I also subscribe to the theory, at the relative slow speeds we shoot if your follow through isn't perfect the longer barrels will be more subjective to effect accuracy.

 

[Airgun Al]

I watched a video where someone started with a extremely long barrel, and methodically removed maybe 4" at a time, re-crowned, and tested.
The conclusion was that longer barrels are much more efficient, and accurate, but it gets to a point where the efficiency dimishes, and the longer length was not benificial, and actually caused excessive drag. So , I would say there is a fine line, between too short, and too long. 300mm to 700mm seems to be the extremes, for most airguns.

 

[Peashooter]

I feel.
1: you of course have to tune for what you have, so that should rule out things becoming less accurate, also i would assume this is only so if you go from a long barrel to a much shorter and dont change settings CUZ then the valve might still be open when your ammo leave the shorter barrel.
2: in airguns i will say that changing barrel length in a significant way is sort of like changing ammo in your powder burner, you will need to adjust.

Personally i shoot the longest barrels i can get ( 700 mm ) and i only shoot .177
Mind you in .177 going from say 13 gr to shooting 20 gr slugs i do feel a increase in recoil, but at least in this small caliber you ought to be able to deal with that.

 

[dens228]

I thought same thing...My .510 Texan with 650 grain spire point boat tails will scope any unsuspecting shooter. I don't let anyone inexperienced shoot anything over 460 grains. That is 1.5 once of lead....Power goes up...slug weight goes up...recoil goes.up...

View attachment 447228

I agree with what you're shooting. But that is such a tiny minority of what airgunners are shooting. I remember shooting my Marlin 45-70 at the range, sounds like a cannon. A buddy was near me and asked to shoot it. I put three rounds in the mag and handed it to him. He took one shot and handed it back. I told him there were two more rounds. His reply, "No thanks" LOL

 

[Solo1]

I shoot a hp ghost in field target pushing 13 gr mrds to 810 fps and believe it to actually be an advantage! Smooth shot cycle probably no hp air behind pellet as it leaves the barrel and is very accurate! The .002 thats in the barrel giving me a chance to move probably doesn’t matter at all

 

[DesertSilver]

PB projectiles leave the barrel much faster than airgun projectiles. PB are much less affected by barrel length as a result.

 

[RM.510bigbore]

For example optimal length for 22 or is 16 to 20 inches.. After that no fps gained. For us airgunners in 22 cal we keep gaining velocity even at 34 inches.. Powder burns faster than air....lol

 

[dens228]

When I think of recoil effect I'm thinking anticipation of the shot and jerking the trigger or the rifle itself. I'm not thinking the actual recoil causing a loss in accuracy. Probably why I don't get the air rifle recoil discussion. Well, mainly for 25 cal and under. I just watched some of my video's shooting with a .25 cal at 980+ fps and there's minimal to no movement of the crosshairs, even in slow motion. That would not happen with a powder burner. Hence no shot anticipation messing up my shot.

 

[Firewalker]

 

[Sawney Bean]

Longer barrel gives more power and therefore more recoil.

Not necessarily. A longer barrel can also be used to achieve the same velocity more efficiently, which will result in less felt recoil due to the added weight and the slower acceleration of the projectile.

 

[Bladesx]

for every action there is an opposite action of equal magnatude. at 25 grains/980fps or so of mass vs 6-8lbs of rifle mass sitting the reactive force trying to move the large mass is absorbed. double the velocity and you have more reactive energy and it will move that mass.

 

[Sawney Bean]

When I think of recoil effect I'm thinking anticipation of the shot and jerking the trigger or the rifle itself. I'm not thinking the actual recoil causing a loss in accuracy. Probably why I don't get the air rifle recoil discussion. Well, mainly for 25 cal and under. I just watched some of my video's shooting with a .25 cal at 980+ fps and there's minimal to no movement of the crosshairs, even in slow motion. That would not happen with a powder burner. Hence no shot anticipation messing up my shot.

I suspect there's more movement than you realize. I've shot some groups with my .30 Sidewinder in full auto and about the best I can manage are 2" 3 round bursts at 50 yards and that's with a tight hold on it. The recoil might seem trivial compared to that of a centerfire rifle, but it absolutely is enough to move your crosshairs off target.

 

[DesertSilver]

One thing most people don't consider is the mass of the air that is pushing the projectile. Take your air tank and weigh it empty. Then fill it and weigh it again. I've dry fired my sumatra.25 and I got a recoil. Actually a push from the air rushing out the barrel.