22LR muzzle velocity versus barrel length

[alpha_romeo_XV]

While I had the chrono out to test some centerfire hand loads I decided to see how much loss in velocity there is with rimfire going from rifle to pistol length barrel.
All guns were semi-auto/blow back action. 20" and 16" were dedicated 22AR uppers, the 5½" was S&W22A, and the 3½" was Walther P22. 10 shot averages plotted.

While I could still feel and hear the difference between the subsonic and high velocity ammos, none of the ammo was supersonic out of the pistol length barrels. Not much difference between 16" v 20" rifle. For energy dropwise, the 3½" barrel gives only about 60% the energy of a rifle. So Walther P22 for home defense? Probably better as a loud noise maker than knock downer.

On a side note the Thunderbolt had the largest spread of velocities (5%) Winchester Xpert not much better. The Remington Golden was good 1% same as subsonics.

[ojisan]

Good, solid real-world info.
Thanks for putting this together.

[Dan_Eastvale]

Your study prompted me to check the muzzle velocity of my North American Arms .22lr 1 1/8 inch revolver.. A mean of 707 fps with mini mag 36g hollow points. Even more of a noisemaker than the Walther..

[Paperchasin]

Excellent information!

[riftol]

Originally Posted by Paperchasin

Excellent information!

+1

Thank you OP.

[1911man]

Thank you. Can you find me that chart in a 17 hmr?

[snypr]

Good info, thank you for putting this up.