[Bezoar]

what makes a revolver good for target work compared to just somethig for hunting or self defense? Is it barrel length or sights?

[22-rimfire]

You have to learn to shoot it fairly well to hunt with a firearm and that is where the target shooting comes in. In my opinion, self defense is a mind set and if you can hit a 6" plate at 15 yds, you are good enough as a shooter. Tactics and familiarity with a firearm are another matter.

Years ago, most of the national target matches were done with revolvers. The Colt Officers Model Match comes to mind. Semi-autos have pretty much displaced revolvers for serious target competition and probably for good reason even though I favor revolvers. A semi-auto pistol has one chamber into which the cartridges are fed into and fired. In a revolver, you essentially have six or whatever chambers in which the cartridge is fired. Hence, different machined tolerances in the cylinder can affect accuracy for high end competition shooters. I still prefer revolvers.

The barrel length does affect most shooters in terms of accuracy due to the wider sight picture with a longer barrel. Technically, there is no difference in accuracy between a short or long barreled revolver. Sights are about the same for either pistols or revolvers.