09-19-2018, 09:58 AM
A 12 inch barrel of quality will be accurate to 600, just slower bullet speeds.
I compete with rifles starting at 18" shooting out to 900y.
Barrel length is all about what you plan on doing with it. The longer the barrel, the more weight (especially if you get a heavy profile), and hiking through the woods/brush, is an additional factor to keep it from snagging.
The longer the barrel the more muzzle velocity you get (typically, I have an untypical 24" that is woefully slow). The more MV, the less room for error farther down range (less drop and wind drift).
You also need to give us your definition of "Accurate". You are the majority of that accuracy, the rifle, unless it is really shoddy work is inherently accurate at about 1.5-2 MOA (based on what I have read on others rifles, barrels, et al for the last 12 years and my own experience). My definition of accurate is consistent .5 MOA with good ammo (another huge part of the equation) if I do my part.
If you want to ring a 12" plate (2 MOA) at 600 yards, a $200 upper will work. If you want to print 2" groups on paper at 600 (.3 MOA) you had better quadruple your budget, and have the skills that only about 2% of the membership here.
I compete with rifles starting at 18" shooting out to 900y.
Barrel length is all about what you plan on doing with it. The longer the barrel, the more weight (especially if you get a heavy profile), and hiking through the woods/brush, is an additional factor to keep it from snagging.
The longer the barrel the more muzzle velocity you get (typically, I have an untypical 24" that is woefully slow). The more MV, the less room for error farther down range (less drop and wind drift).
You also need to give us your definition of "Accurate". You are the majority of that accuracy, the rifle, unless it is really shoddy work is inherently accurate at about 1.5-2 MOA (based on what I have read on others rifles, barrels, et al for the last 12 years and my own experience). My definition of accurate is consistent .5 MOA with good ammo (another huge part of the equation) if I do my part.
If you want to ring a 12" plate (2 MOA) at 600 yards, a $200 upper will work. If you want to print 2" groups on paper at 600 (.3 MOA) you had better quadruple your budget, and have the skills that only about 2% of the membership here.
Sticks
Catchy sig line here.
Catchy sig line here.