Does barrel length make a difference in range for aeg's ?

[Wardy27]

Hi I would like to know if barrel length makes a real difference in range in aeg's ?

[M_P]

Not really.

[GiantKiwi]

Pretty much none at all, range is dictated by the hop and the cushion of air behind the bb. To that point, I own pistols that consistently outrange aeg's.

[JB72510]

nope

[Samurai]

Under about 30cm it makes a bit difference. Above that it doesn't matter.

[NH Shooter]

Also... Extremely long barrels help up to a point. That's because they help stabilise the bb... But that's extreme range stabilisation, so nothing a normal aeg would reach.

[Lozart]

It's more important that the cylinder volume correctly matches the barrel length.

[GiantKiwi]

Also... Extremely long barrels help up to a point. That's because they help stabilise the bb... But that's extreme range stabilisation, so nothing a normal aeg would reach.

 

Nope, another misconception. Widebore's do that, having a very long barrel does not.

[Chock]

Yes, barrel length does affect range; a longer barrel has a good chance of reducing the range on an airsoft weapon, and possibly reducing the accuracy as well.

 

It's common for people to confuse the attributes of firearms with those of airsoft when it comes to ballistics, thinking everything is equitable, but it's a mistake to do so. With firearms, the reason for extended barrel length is to allow more of the charge to build up the projectile's speed as the propellant gas expands behind it, and to put a sufficient spin on the projectile via the rifling. Beyond these two physical behaviours which the barrel length is imparting on the projectile as it travels down it, the longer barrel itself has little to do with how accurate the projectile will be, unless one considers that a long barrel might assist in pointing the thing in the right direction. There is no 'build up of gasses behind an airsoft BB and no rifling either, the only thing in there which assists with range is the hop up mechanism. In fact, the turbulence the BB encounters as it travels down the enclosed space of the barrel in an airsoft is likely to render it slower due to aerodynamic drag, and less stable due to buffeting; the sooner a BB is in free air, the less of that it will encounter.

[BrightCandle]

I haven't seen much in the way of tests and proof but I have certainly read that around 450mm is the optimal length for a normal cylinder and that this produces the best possible accuracy, but also in the same comment the same people are saying length doesn't really matter very much at all.