16" Barrel for a 22lr a bad idea?

[tacks]

I am looking at a T1x 22 and thinking of a 16" barrel. I do not plan to shot more than 100 yds and mostly 30-50 yds. Plan to buy a suppressor for it, the next up would be a 20" barrel. Bad idea?

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Not a bad idea at all. 2 of my 3 22s have 16" barrels and the one with a 20"" barrel is getting sent out to be cut.

 

[Chris in TN]

What would be bad about it? Barrel length has an almost negligible impact on velocity/trajectory with .22lr, especially with subsonics. The expansion ratio is so much smaller than bottlenecked centerfires that it's just not an issue.

Shorter makes suppression easier without being clumsy in the squirrel woods.

ETA: my squirrel guns are 16" and 17".

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Not a bad idea at all. A .22 LR gets almost full velocity out of a 16-18” barrel, on average. It’s especially nice with a suppressor on it.

 

[WyldGoose]

My 10/22 takedown has a Tacsol barrel that’s designed for suppressor use. The last 5 or 6 inches of “barrel” are just a shroud that the supressor sits inside so it’s technically a 16.5” barrel(not SBR). It’s just a way to use a can without adding the extra length to a 16” barrel. So really it’s like an 11” barrel or something. Shoots awesome.

 

[Billy Goat]

20" with a can is kinda PIA.

I'm mostly shooting 100-225ish, using 16", 970ish fps ammo.

I'd say the 20" is the bad idea.

 

[Steve300xcw]

Not sure why a 16 would be a bad idea?

I cut a 17hmr down to 16 a while back and its a damn handy lil rifle!

 

[douglasfir]

I don't see a reason for a 22 barrel over 16". I wish it was the standard.

 

[khuber84]

A 22lr doesn't gain any speed past 16-18", so yes it's bout right.

 

[Chris in TN]

I don't see a reason for a 22 barrel over 16". I wish it was the standard.

I can think of two basic exceptions:

1) Open or peep-sighted rifles. I have an old 513T that I shoot for fun that has a really long sight radius. I also have an old 341-P that once in a blue moon goes squirrel hunting with me. I bought it because I had good memories of shooting an identical rifle that my grandpa owned when I was a kid, and I enjoy it immensely.

2) I have read, but can't confirm, that some people see more consistent results with .22lr at extremely long ranges, with longer barrels. I've seen different explanations offered for that. I've never tested them. I do have a 24" barreled CZ 457 that the kids and I shoot ELR with for fun as much as anything, from time to time, but I've never done any sort of testing with an eye towards confirming on demonstrating that. We just shoot it for fun. Suppressed subsonic .22lr form a 24" barrel is about as quiet as it gets. I sometimes wonder if my neighbors ever hear the faint ringing of steel with no associated gunfire and wonder what I'm doing.

But for my normal everyday .22s that I'd grab to go hunting (if I actually want to kill stuff) or to shoot a varmint in the chicken yard, I absolutely agree that shorter is better.