I'll add my 2 cents too, from a technical stand point, yes...the fps drops off with a shorter barrel...all things being equal, but if you hand load you can use a faster burning powder and end up with almost the same velocity from a shorter barrel. I use a model 7 in 308 (18 1/2") and also a browning lever action, and get almost identical velocity from both with the same load. And both will shoot MOA, the shorter barrel is handy in the thick stuff, but the longer barrel is more stable off hand and mentioned before.