25-06 - 22" vs a 24" Barrel

[koschm]

Hello,

I am looking at getting a 25-06 and the one model I am looking has a 22" barrel. Everything I have read indicates that a 24" barrel is the desired length. I want to know from first hand experience if a 22" barrel would be okay for hunting. Or would the increased velocity loss and muzzle blast not be worth it to get the 22" barrel. Also I will be shooting factory ammunition.

Thanks in advance.

[Dick284]

The 25’06 shines with longer barrels.

IMO this cartridge just starts seeing its niche at a 24” bbl, and shines beyond compare once longer than 24”.

Want to run shorter barrels, then look at a different cartridge, like the .260 or skidmoore.

[catnthehat]

I just ran 40 different bullet weights through my program, and got an average of 70.75 FPS faster with the 26" barrel, so for me it would be a matter of balance depending on the firearm.
That was with only one or powder for the heavier bullets and one for the lightest one however.
Dunno what would happen if a person started messing with the optimum powder for each bullet weight.
OOPS!!
I compared a 24” to a 26”, not a 22”to s 24”!
Cat

[catnthehat]

The spread is s not greater between 22” and 24”, 81.75FPS
Cat

[Pathfinder76]

In the field it will mean zip.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by chuck

In the field it will mean zip.

Yup especially at the distance the vast majority of animals are shot at .
Even for long range varmints 80 FPS is not s huge spread as far as trajectory goes.
Cat

[SuperCub]

Really depends on what type of rifle you want in the end. Longer/heavier vs shorter/handier.

I went 23" with my 280.

[graybeard]

Originally Posted by chuck

In the field it will mean zip.

X 3 .....you will never know the difference while hunting....A lot of 25-06's have 22" barrels; For example, I know Tikka is 22".

If you need to corroborate, open this site up....IMHO, 30fps-50fps per 1" barrel loss, in the field, is nothing to fuss about....

https://www.chuckhawks.com/rifle_barrel.htm

[Dean2]

Rifle balance, ease of carry, quick to deploy will mean far more in terms of game harvested than 80 FPS. Too many people get far too hung up on stuff that really doesn't matter in a standard hunting rifle. If you were talking Long Range hunting, different discussion, but for a regular hunting riffle I want light and handy. My go to is 6 Lbs fully dressed with scope, sling and full mag and it has a 21" barrel. No problem so far killing stuff all the way out to 600 yards. Majority however are shot far closer and the light weight and short barrel have allowed me to harvest at least three animals that with a more unwieldy gun I may very well not have got a shot off with.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by Dean2

Rifle balance, ease of carry, quick to deploy will mean far more in terms of game harvested than 80 FPS. Too many people get far too hung up on stuff that really doesn't matter in a standard hunting rifle. If you were talking Long Range hunting, different discussion, but for a regular hunting riffle I want light and handy. My go to is 6 Lbs fully dressed with scope, sling and full mag and it has a 21" barrel. No problem so far killing stuff all the way out to 600 yards. Majority however are shot far closer and the light weight and short barrel have allowed me to harvest at least three animals that with a more unwieldy gun I may very well not have got a shot off with.

How do you find shooting a rifle that light from an offhand position? I dropped down from about a 9lb rifle to one that weighs 7.5Lbs scoped for my main hunting rifle, I appreciate the lighter weight but I don't shoot it as well offhand. I think I might be interested in trying a lighter rifle in the future, but as the vast majority of my animals are shot by necessity from a standing offhand position I cant help but think that going too light would be a mistake.

[Dean2]

It really is all about design and balance. With a full mag, and scope this rifle balances "perfectly" and exactly on the front action screw. I can use one finger on the front action screw and the gun will sit perfectly flat off that one contact point. This makes the rear of the rifle the exact same weight as the front half of the rifle, so it sits neutral in you hands and makes the rifle is very easy to hold steady off hand. The problem with so many light to Ultra light rifles is they are far too light in the muzzle and forearm. There needs to be enough weight forward for the rifle to sit well in your hands. You would be better with a hair more weight forward than rearward if you can't get a perfect 50/50 weight distribution.

[jayquiver]

Originally Posted by Dean2

It really is all about design and balance. With a full mag, and scope this rifle balances "perfectly" and exactly on the front action screw. I can use one finger on the front action screw and the gun will sit perfectly flat off that one contact point. This makes the rear of the rifle the exact same weight as the front half of the rifle, so it sits neutral in you hands and makes the rifle is very easy to hold steady off hand. The problem with so many light to Ultra light rifles is they are far too light in the muzzle and forearm. There needs to be enough weight forward for the rifle to sit well in your hands. You would be better with a hair more weight forward than rearward if you can't get a perfect 50/50 weight distribution.

What is the rifle, scope and rings you speak of? I think I need one.

[Dean2]

Originally Posted by jayquiver

What is the rifle, scope and rings you speak of? I think I need one.

New Ultra Light Arms, with a Swaro Z5 3.5x18x44 BRX and Talley one piece rings. Will easily shoot 1/2 MOA 3 shot groups off the bench all the way out past 500 yards. Also shoots different weights of bullets to a very similar POI. For example 130 Barnes TSX, 47 grains IMR4895, CCI 250 in WW brass and 150 Horn Spire Points with 46 grains IMR4895, CCI 250 in WW brass hit within a 1/4" vertical and no left right variation. With a fouled barrel (5 shots or more) will shoot cold bore and next two to exactly the same POI.

This is a huge Cow I shot this year. Exactly 300 yards standing/offhand using a poplar tree as a rest for my front hand. She weighted 478 pounds on the hook after gutting, skinning, head and legs removed. Bigger body than many of the bulls I have shot.

[jayquiver]

When you said it "balancing perfectly on the front action screw" I thought it was a NULA.

I have a NULA in 280ai (Kurts old one). Only got to carry it only once this season, what a pleasure to carry. I put a swaro z3 3-10 on it but think i may upgrade to the z5 2.4-12x50 (same weight as the Z5 3.5-18x44.) So it should balance almost the same.

Sorry for the slight derail.

Back to the OP, IMO balance, feel and stock fit outweighs the extra velocity you will get from an extra 2". If it feels good and you like all the other features of the rifle just buy it.

[gunluvr]

Others have said 2" difference in barrel length will mean nothing in a hunting situation, and that is true. Most game is taken at an average 100 yds. and hyper velocity, bullet design, extreme accuracy, etc. don't really have a huge influence on the success or failure of most hunting seasons. So why don't we all just hunt with a 30.30 with open sights? Why fret about all the precision and subtleties and various calibers and cartridges and so forth?
Because we can. The act of slaying an animal takes mere seconds but we have all year to worry about how it will happen. If you want to shoot a particular cartridge for whatever reason, you should want to know how to optimize it's performance. Comparatively large capacity to caliber cartridges perform more efficiently with a longer barrel as more of the powder charge is burned within the barrel itself.
I'm no expert on this stuff, it's just what I've read. If none of it matters to someone, they should hunt with a 30.30, and there's nothing wrong with that.

[Pathfinder76]

Shot a deer yesterday over my pack at 440 yds using a particular flavour of “magnum” 7 that most people will tell you has to have a 26” barrel. Mine has a 24” barrel at my request. It didn’t seem to cause an issue. 2” of extra barrel will not make or break a rifles ability to go long. At all.