Rifle barrels

spideog7

Off the back of reading the "Practical Shotgun" thread I was wondering what is main effect of variation in rifle barrel lengths and what is the advantage of a carbine type rifle... surely a longer barrel (although more difficult to handle) would give much better accuracy and power ...or am I way off the mark and is it mainly up to the calibre in question ??

I'm gonna go read up a bit on barrel rifling then i'll be back with some questions on that too !!!

Rovi

spideog7 wrote:

...what is the advantage of a carbine type rifle... surely a longer barrel (although more difficult to handle) would give much better accuracy and power ...

For the same calibre and ammunition, the carbine/short barrel will give up a little power and accuracy, as you say.
In a hunting/farm/truck gun, it's of no consequence though, and makes for a much handier, lighter, easier to manoeuvre firearm.

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CJhaughey

Carbines are designed to be easy to carry especially in heavy undergrowth are usually lighter and shorter barrelled versions of a normal rifle using the same calibre amunition.
I think the original idea was that they could be used by mounted soldiers where a longer barrelled firearm would have been to cumbersome.
You are correct the tradeoff for light weight and easy carry is reduced accuracy and range.

Hezz700

Short barrells are all fine and dandy from the weight and transportability side of things. but if said rifle is chambered in a kicky caliber they can be a real pain(pun intended). for example, the Lee Enfield .303 mk4 or the SMLE and their little brother ,The jungle carbine. six inches makes a huge difference, that carbine is harsh on the shoulder.
Short barrells are fine in the roll of a light stalker were you will discharge the weapon once or twice in the day.

Hezz

spideog7

ok thats what I imagined, thanks.
so from the point of view of some farmer wanting a .22WMR for the odd fox or rabbit basically it won't have much impact (excuse the pun) on the rifles effectiveness at its relatively short range (as it would normally be used anyhow).

thelurcher

Doesn't it have a lot to do with powder burn rates etc?
E.g. heard people saying that the short barrel on the .22lr pistols never/rarely? allow the round to go super sonic - I suppose this is because not all the powder will have burned.
16" on a .22lr is considered the length you need to get the most from the round - any more doesn't add much at all to power or accuracy.
I've read that firearms manufacturers always produce longer barrels mainly for cometic reasons - again I'm talking about .22lr