I'm looking at buying a .22 rifle to try long range shooting.

I have a limited budget so am looking at spending around 400 to 600 or so for the rifle.

Is the Ruger Precision worth looking at or are there other rifles I should check out?

I noticed that there are several barrel lengths available. If shooting long range would a longer barrel be advisable for higher velocities? I'm not going to use a suppressor.

What barrel length do you suggest?

A video from someone who knows more than I about the subject…

Barrels over 21 inches will significantly slow the projectile.

Between 16” and 21” is all cosmetic.

Be longer than 16” and shorter than 21.1”




I’ve had 16, 17.5, 18, and 20.

All shoot well out to 250.

I don’t get to shoot past that all too much.

Great video that answered my question on barrel length.

Do you have any suggestions on decent rifles?

I went into this thinking a 22 or 24 inch was the way to go. Guess I learned something.

In the price range you establish, I would start with a tikka t1x. They are offered in 16, 18, and 20 iirc. You can upgrade the stock when you can afford to. Krg bravo for $25 is a great option) The trigger is not super great, but a $5 spring can get it pretty damn nice.

I just ordered a vudoo and went 22" for the legnth. The reason being is balance or not using as many weights on the chassis and hopefully sd's etc. For that amount of it's going to be tough and if you don't plan on upgrading your rifle such as with a cz, I would go tikka. I have a tikka in 17hmr and if they would offer a heavy barreled version I would pick one up. I own several tikkas and you can't beat the smoothness and trigger.

Unless something has changed, the tikka is 16" or 20" and my triggers have adjusted wonderfully without any springs and are crisp.

Do not confuse Ruger's use of the work "precision" in the model name to denote any type of accuracy guarantee...it's not there.  The rifle simply looks like it's centerfire cousin the Ruger Precision...so they borrowed the name.

In the price range you stated, check out the Bergara BMR, Tikka T1x, Savage FV-SR (or any Savage Mk II series rifle), or any CZ 457 model in that price range.

I just got a Tikka T1X with a 20" barrel. I'm glad I got the 20" over the 16", both for balance and looks.

I got a Savage MK II FV SR and it was a dud. Sent it back to Savage. Haven't gotten it back yet, but a Tikka fell in my lap

looking for a Tikka or Begarro. Thanks for the suggestions.

Just for reference, all of my rimfire rifles have barrels longer than 16" or even 18".  I would guess they are 24".

My rimfire rifles are not about maximizing velocity, quite the opposite.  I shoot standard velocity (subsonic) ammo and do not want to it go at higher velocity.  I bought it to be subsonic and I want it to stay subsonic.

If it starts out too fast and passes thru the (turbulent) trans-sonic regime, it loses accuracy - not what I want.

A side benefit of a longer barrel is a longer sight radius, which helps (a lot!) with aiming through iron sights.  Many people add a "bloop tube" to the end of their barrel to enhance this effect.  

My final point will be this - the extra weight of the longer, large diameter barrel really helps stabilize the rifle when shooting offhand (standing).

For me, in my context, starting with a 16" barrel is NOT the way to go.

With top quality, centerfire ammo costing well over $1/round, rimfire shooting is a bargain.

Enjoy your new rifle when you get it, whatever you buy.

The "16 rifles look stubby to me so I'll be looking for a "20 or at least an "18. Just starting my search but am already growing impatient!

I can say that my current Ruger 10/22 with a 16 inch Tac Sol light barrel is really wonky to shoot off hand.  Not good practice for our off hand centerfire matches for sure.

I must truly be an anomaly.  I love iron sights offhand.  I find it the most challenging of all.  

200 yard offhand on steel targets is a LOT of fun.  

For me, it is not about competition.  It is about the personal challenge.  

If it were easy, it wouldn't be as much fun.


OP, did you buy a rifle yet?  If not, have you considered a used rifle.  The barrels never die.

I just ordered a 16" barreled rifle a few days ago.  My reasoning is for certain barricades like the ladder, a shorter barrel will be more maneuverable and possibly quicker to reposition, or at least not get hung up as easy.

For most of the barricades it's probably true, but even at 16.5" my Savage MkII FVSR got hung up on one of the ladder rungs in the February NRL22 match where you had to work your way down and then up the ladder.  If I'd had a longer barrel, suppressor, tuner, brake or anything else hanging out there, I might have caught it on more than just the one rung.

Excellent post.  Just to further emphasize the point, true match grade target ammo for .22LR is subsonic for a reason.  The reason is stated above.  You want to stay subsonic, and it actually has less wind drift.  Holdovers are pretty easy with a "tree" type scope reticle and/or accurate, repeatable exposed turrets.  Its the wind drift that is the greater challenge.