Velocity by Barrel Length of Various Calibers

This page will examine barrel length to velocity differences for various calibers. We'll mostly stick to common calibers, but others will likely be added as well. But first, the concepts will be discussed below. The data will follow.

How Does Barrel Length Affect Velocity?

It is well-established fact that the length of a firearm's barrel will affect velocity (and therefore muzzle energy and even trajectory) to varying degrees. This is because the longer the propellant has had time to burn, the more of its maximum effect on the projectile can be utilized. Otherwise, energy will be wasted and propellant will likely burn off outside the barrel.

Why Does Barrel Length Affect Velocity?

This can depend on a number of factors, such as burn rate of the propellant, bore diameter, and probably others as well. The same caliber gun with the same barrel length could even show different results. For example, two revolvers of the same caliber and barrel length could differ in their amount of cylinder gap, allowing one to waste a bit more energy than the other. Likewise, semi-automatic or fully-automatic firearms will typically have lower muzzle velocity due to some of the propellant's energy being bled off into the gas system to work the action, and this can vary by individual firearm as well. Some guns, such as Heckler & Koch's integrally suppressed MP5SD are actually designed to bleed off excessive gas pressure to make sure any rounds they fire will remain subsonic! However, that is an edge case and can mostly be ignored as it pertains to the topic at hand.

We'll note various barrel lengths and load data on various calibers, from various sources.

.22 Long Rifle

Data for .22LR shown below is sourced from Ballistics by the Inch. A number of popular loads from major manufacturers were tested.

Barrel Length	CCI 27 gr. CPHP	CCI 29 gr. CPRN	CCI Stinger: 32 gr. CPHP	Remington Yellow Jacket 33 gr. (truncated cone, CPHP)	Remington Viper 36 gr. (truncated cone CP)	Remington Golden Bullet 36 gr. CPHP	CCI Mini-Mag 40 gr. CPRN	Winchester Super X 40 gr. RN	CCI Velocitor 40 gr. CPHP	Aguila Sniper SubSonic 60 gr. LRN
18"	1158	1114	1510	1407	1342	1181	1212	1250	1366	903
17"	1116	1060	1502	1396	1304	1178	1206	1227	1376	903
16"	1130	1094	1489	1398	1306	1185	1207	1251	1340	900
15"	1133	1083	1496	1369	1305	1178	1211	1241	1336	879
14"	1096	1103	1483	1334	1294	1163	1224	1222	1349	883
13"	1098	1071	1496	1381	1296	1147	1183	1248	1341	891
12"	1089	1074	1476	1334	1293	1167	1221	1235	1335	892
11"	1092	1079	1463	1360	1280	1180	1210	1223	1338	881
10"	1115	1065	1452	1304	1270	1150	1169	1193	1316	859
9"	1092	1042	1430	1315	1267	1129	1169	1203	1275	868
8"	1092	1048	1396	1271	1212	1101	1158	1191	1268	857
7"	1060	1056	1367	1284	1229	1073	1139	1162	1244	820
6"	1049	993	1321	1249	1165	1063	1101	1133	1093	824
5"	1029	1014	1286	1214	1156	1009	1097	1070	1172	796
4"	956	948	1191	1113	1104	984	1014	1043	1120	762
3"	907	893	1129	1045	998	890	948	965	1026	726
2"	861	860	974	945	875	846	856	862	882	663

.22 Magnum

The table below shows velocity and barrel length data for various .22 Magnum loadings. This data can be especially useful, since this cartridge has gained significant popularity for self-defense, especially in smaller revolvers. This information has been sourced from Ballistics by the Inch.

Barrel Length	CCI Game Point 40 gr. JSP	CCI Maxi-Mag 40 gr. JHP	CCI Maxi-Mag +V 30 gr. JHP	CCI V-Max 30 gr. Polymer Tip	Federal 30 gr. Speer TNT HP	Fiocchi PSD 40 gr. JSP	Fiocchi PSD 40 gr. JHP	Hornady Critical Defense FTX 45 gr.	Hornady V-Max 30 gr.	Hornady NTX 25 gr.	Winchester 30 gr. V-Max Polymer Tip
19"	1827	1999	2285	2348	2355	1908	1936	1773	2296	2265	2149
18"	1837	1985	2322	2298	2324	1920	1950	1764	2313	2235	2110
17"	1825	1980	2280	2288	2334	1918	1938	1755	2318	2241	2160
16"	1780	1987	2316	2276	2283	1887	1934	1702	2252	2166	2129
15"	1799	1967	2304	2294	2275	1916	1873	1738	2240	2229	2127
14"	1783	1963	2230	2298	2244	1885	1951	1751	2243	2250	2105
13"	1749	1889	2181	2220	2227	1852	1886	1698	2245	2191	2071
12"	1750	1881	2168	2204	2163	1843	1811	1699	2144	2138	2052
11"	1709	1835	2079	2097	2135	1788	1845	1652	2093	2146	1989
10"	1687	1817	2060	2144	2102	1791	1772	1643	2069	2065	1951
9"	1672	1759	2000	2061	2018	1723	1772	1630	1966	2024	1924
8"	1594	1706	1950	2012	1979	1650	1696	1536	1977	1928	1803
7"	1529	1617	1887	1904	1879	1626	1606	1525	1821	1818	1763
6"	1484	1575	1763	1804	1821	1526	1544	1454	1740	1824	1694
5"	1355	1474	1672	1723	1657	1433	1477	1307	1602	1670	1575
4"	1248	1353	1510	1504	1457	1287	1269	1239	1379	1492	1454
3"	1089	1160	1236	1336	1228	1101	1117	1049	1153	1308	1288
2"	887	946	884	1085	895	899	853	843	962	1114	n/a

.25 ACP

The velocity and barrel length data for .25 ACP found below, was sourced from Ballistics by the Inch.

Barrel Length	American Eagle 50 gr. TMJ	Winchester .45 gr. Expanding Point	Winchester 50 gr. FMJ
18"	1049	1001	978
17"	997	996	980
16"	1005	977	1026
15"	999	991	1032
14"	1016	986	1057
13"	1003	996	1023
12"	1015	979	1014
11"	1023	999	1001
10"	1025	994	997
9"	982	951	1005
8"	1000	951	982
7"	1003	970	1007
6"	963	939	983
5"	904	902	949
4"	847	896	942
3"	867	850	903
2"	753	816	780

.32 ACP

Below is a table of velocity / barrel length data for the .32 ACP cartridge. It has been sourced from the Ballistics by the Inch website.

Barrel Length	American Eagle 50 gr. TMJ	Winchester .45 gr. Expanding Point	Winchester 50 gr. FMJ
18"	1394	902	865	941
17"	1358	982	941	1035
16"	1292	983	891	983
15"	1354	1037	990	985
14"	1325	1071	921	991
13"	1332	1009	976	1015
12"	1291	943	944	990
11"	1345	996	976	1023
10"	1332	945	971	999
9"	1302	944	976	990
8"	1305	964	996	1009
7"	1264	957	979	1018
6"	1242	1019	959	980
5"	1231	1012	973	967
4"	1157	939	939	933
3"	1074	893	871	874
2"	944	805	782	787

.38 Special

Velocity by barrel length data for the .38 Special - Sourced from Ballistics by the Inch.

barrel length	Cor Bon 110 gr. JHP	Cor Bon 125 gr. JHP	Cor Bon 110 gr. DPX	Federal 125 gr. Hydra-shok JHP	Speer 135 gr. Gold Dot HP	18"	1243	1190	1332	1247	n/a
17"	1211	1209	1298	1233	n/a
16"	1298	1261	1388	1252	1315
15"	1220	1210	1301	1231	1255
14"	1187	1180	1274	1214	1264
13"	1151	1182	1311	1199	1247
12"	1181	1164	1298	1192	1233
11"	1200	1144	1232	1178	1242
10"	1163	1135	1232	1182	1217
9"	1162	1129	1230	1144	1209
8"	1105	1092	1214	1119	1189
7"	1095	1069	1171	1094	1145
6"	1021	1014	1106	1052	1115
5"	1009	1045	1129	1029	1101
4"	1013	996	1084	954	1027
3"	851	854	963	831	892
2"	675	723	814	700	756

.357 Magnum

Velocity by barrel length data for the .357 Magnum - Information sourced from Ballistics by the Inch.

18" || 1718 || 2113 || 1941 || 1936 || 2072 || 1719 || 2017 || 1721 17" || 1686 || 2067 || 1947 || 1907 || 2026 || 1689 || 2009 || 1712 16" || 1790 || 2119 || 2004 || 1946 || 2051 || 1739 || 2044 || 1741 15" || 1728 || 2069 || 1942 || 1915 || 2032 || 1708 || 2012 || 1718 14" || 1691 || 2054 || 1933 || 1897 || 2017 || 1732 || 1993 || 1715 13" || 1682 || 2024 || 1916 || 1885 || 1979 || 1674 || 1984 || 1687 12" || 1725 || 1994 || 1851 || 1858 || 1945 || 1654 || 1934 || 1679 11" || 1667 || 1978 || 1814 || 1831 || 1973 || 1643 || 1922 || 1671 10" || 1619 || 1943 || 1802 || 1804 || 1943 || 1630 || 1922 || 1638 9" || 1615 || 1901 || 1745 || 1779 || 1881 || 1563 || 1812 || 1586 8" || 1600 || 1851 || 1717 || 1728 || 1817 || 1570 || 1810 | 1593 7" || 1578 || 1784 || 1671 || 1682 || 1784 || 1516 || 1765 || 1536 6" || 1461 || 1715 || 1580 || 1648 || 1702 || 1465 || 1662 || 1485 5" || 1377 || 1614 || 1493 || 1552 || 1571 || 1373 || 1586 || 1402 4" || 1286 || 1496 || 1394 || 1471 || 1511 || 1293 || 1453 || 1332 3" || 1109 || 1257 || 1172 || 1271 || 1255 || 1102 || 1194 || 1122 2" || 928 || 904 || 911 || 1050 || 949 || 858 || 919 || 914

9mm Luger

Also known as 9mm Parabellum, 9x19mm, etc. Data is from Ballistics by the Inch.

barrel length	Cor Bon 110 gr. JHP	Cor Bon 125 gr. JHP	Cor Bon 140 gr. JHP	Cor Bon 125 gr. DPX	Federal 125 gr. JHP	Federal 158 gr. JHP	Federal 130 gr. Hydra-Shok JHP low recoil	Federal 158 gr. Hydra-Shok JHP

Barrel Length	Cor-Bon 90 gr JHP +P	Cor-Bon 115 gr JHP +P	Cor-Bon 125 gr JHP +P	Cor-Bon 115 gr DPX	Federal 115 gr JHP	Federal 135 gr Hydra-Shok JHP (low recoil)	Federal 105 gr Expand'g FMJ	Federal 124 gr Hydra-Shok JHP	Federal 147 gr Hydra-Shok JHP	Speer 124 gr Gold Dot Short Barrel
18"	1754	1543	1449	1458	1297	1194	1370	1231	1038	1395
17"	1766	1550	1421	1455	1320	1207	1381	1250	1096	1400
16"	1740	1525	1430	1476	1295	1185	1358	1243	1073	1379
15"	1768	1536	1392	1416	1304	1194	1364	1244	1090	1375
14"	1767	1532	1405	1440	1295	1182	1372	1241	1090	1390
13"	1738	1517	1477	1427	1281	1183	1343	1237	1081	1378
12"	1716	1514	1385	1380	1282	1184	1273	1225	1081	1361
11"	1690	1496	1372	1391	1268	1166	1318	1212	1059	1360
10"	1647	1474	1372	1379	1253	1167	1314	1211	1067	1338
9"	1663	1476	1369	1377	1238	1161	1307	1212	1055	1345
8"	1634	1458	1366	1366	1234	1145	1278	1180	1047	1329
7"	1619	1446	1329	1350	1223	1136	1258	1161	1040	1316
6"	1566	1402	1312	1332	1188	1113	1235	1131	1030	1284
5"	1539	1372	1282	1315	1166	1085	1194	1115	1007	1259
4"	1444	1316	1226	1265	1094	1039	1140	1061	951	1203
3"	1345	1245	1170	1215	1029	976	1074	988	902	1108
2"	1215	1134	1061	1132	948	909	985	900	837	1074

Best Barrel Length For 9mm?

Based on the data above, it appears that almost all loads tested got their greatest percentage increase in velocity up until about a 7" barrel length. Velocity did of course increase further with longer barrels, but to a much smaller degree. For example, going from a 4" barrel to 7" (a 3 inch difference), every load got well over a 100 fps increase in velocity. However, going a full 10 inches longer up to a 17" barrel gained most of the tested loads under 100 feet per second in velocity. In fact, going from a 17 inch barrel up to 18 inches, actually LOST velocity in all but two of the loads, although the decrease was negligible.

It appears that overall, the optimal barrel length for 9mm (for something like an AR-15 pistol build, SBR, or similar setup), is about 7 to 8 inches for maximum efficiency and handling. If you still wanted to maintain an ultra-short setup with a suppressor, you could go even shorter with barrel length, as the additional length of the suppressor will increase velocity. Even at 7-8" barrel, the additional length of a suppressor would still allow the pistol or SBR to remain more compact than a 16" barrel. A 7" barrel with a 7" suppressor would still give an overall length of 14 inches. If you were looking for a rifle setup, there appears to be no major reason to go above the federal 16" barrel requirement, unless local laws differ, or whatever the case may be.

.40 S&W

Velocity by barrel length data for .40 Smith & Wesson - Sourced from Ballistics by the Inch.

barrel length	Cor Bon 135 gr. JHP	Cor Bon 150 gr. JHP	Cor Bon 165 gr. JHP	Cor Bon 140 gr. DPX	Federal 135 gr. expand'g FMJ	Federal 180 gr. JHP	Federal 135 gr. Hydra-Shok JHP low recoil	Federal 180 gr. Hydra-Shok JHP	Federal 165 gr. Hydra-Shok JHP	Federal 155 gr. Hydra-Shok JHP	Speer 180 gr. Gold Dot Short Barrel
18"	1662	1457	1378	1442	1411	1165	1425	1189	1117	1355	1105
17"	1650	1498	1387	1460	1403	1196	1414	1207	1133	1346	1133
16"	1636	1464	1351	1433	1398	1142	1398	1175	1084	1317	1143
15"	1672	1478	1392	1438	1421	1165	1398	1181	1114	1341	1149
14"	1649	1460	1377	1448	1382	1156	1401	1170	1128	1337	1134
13"	1630	1429	1379	1393	1385	1148	1392	1160	1132	1327	1137
12"	1618	1438	1341	1414	1373	1120	1371	1163	1123	1313	1143
11"	1591	1408	1350	1403	1359	1124	1355	1132	1103	1300	1124
10"	1587	1405	1329	1392	1345	1123	1338	1148	1124	1294	1125
9"	1555	1406	1297	1382	1349	1113	1342	1133	1096	1297	1136
8"	1537	1382	1293	1384	1314	1104	1318	1115	1096	1257	1099
7"	1514	1354	1272	1368	1305	1084	1288	1092	1064	1241	1101
6"	1476	1340	1251	1328	1281	1067	1267	1081	1052	1209	1068
5"	1453	1303	1225	1308	1233	1047	1225	1051	1038	1190	1053
4"	1350	1240	1164	1236	1201	1016	1155	1022	985	1126	1011
3"	1212	1169	1085	1190	1152	962	1080	964	924	1065	979
2"	1117	1071	998	1093	1032	905	964	892	869	972	930

.45 ACP

The .45 ACP velocity and barrel length data below is sourced from Ballistics by the Inch.

Barrel Length	Buffalo Bore 185 gr. FMJ Flat Nose (Std. P)	Buffalo Bore 230 gr. FMJ RN (Std. P)	Buffalo Bore 185 gr. JHP (+P)	Buffalo Bore 230 gr. JHP (+P)	Double Tap 160 gr. Barnes "TAC-XP" (+P)	Federal 230 gr. "HST" JHP (Std. P)	G2 Research 162 gr. "RIP" JHP (Std. P	Hornady 185 gr. FTX Critical Defense (Std. P)	Hornady 220 gr. Flexlock Critical Duty (+P)	Liberty Civil Defense 78 gr. JHP (+P)
18"	1031	985	1398	1161	1457	926	1074	1210	1057	2230
16"	1024	1016	1438	1163	1442	n/a	n/a	1214	1077	n/a
14"	1008	996	1399	1148	1451	n/a	n/a	1196	1066	n/a
12"	976	996	1357	1129	1410	924	1057	1183	1063	2153
10"	909	955	1326	1110	1334	n/a	n/a	1151	1059	n/a
9"	916	952	1308	1097	1270	n/a	n/a	1135	1040	n/a
8"	921	944	1286	1094	1280	n/a	n/a	1123	1035	n/a
7"	891	923	1257	1075	1224	n/a	n/a	1100	1026	n/a
6"	867	923	1236	1062	1245	n/a	n/a	1089	1017	n/a
5"	854	880	1196	1016	1208	896	990	1041	985	1865
4"	820	845	1135	981	1143	838	953	994	951	1823
3"	722	800	1063	907	1049	789	914	906	907	1672

.460 Rowland

The .460 Rowland is essentially a magnum cartridge of the .45 ACP, meant to create and handle much higher pressures for a significant increase in performance. It is meant to replicate .44 Magnum performance in a .45 ACP semi-automatic handgun.

The data below is sourced from Ballistics by the Inch.

Barrel Length	Cor-Bon Hunter 230 gr. JHP
18"	1356
17"	1366
16"	1354
15"	1352
14"	1342
13"	1344
12"	1314
11"	1293
10"	1335
9"	1303
8"	1299
7"	1273
6"	1261
5"	1208
4"	1124
3"	1082
2"	974