Difference between revisions of "Velocity by Barrel Length of Various Calibers"

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Revision as of 22:16, 19 March 2021

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.

9mm Luger

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

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 text 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
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