Does barrel length matter?

Yes, the longer the sight radius the easier it should be to shoot.

I just bought a new pistol for bear defense and deer hunting. If I was going to use this pistol for deer hunting only I'd go with a 6" or 7" barrel but because I didn't want a gun that would be hard to draw in case of a bear encounter I settled on a 4" which should be harder to shoot accurately.

The Exile said:

one was a 4" 7 shot and the other was a 6" 7 shot. The shaved off weight was minor, but noticeable; am I losing anything significant with those two inches?

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Yes. Depending on the load and what you consider significant in terms of velocity.

http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/357mag.html

But the reason 4" barreled versions of revolvers are available is because they're much more practical to wear all day.

I have a 6" and carry the 3" 686 and yes the size of the barrel makes quite a significant impact on shooting the gun, at least for me. For me the differences are felt recoil for example, I can practice all day long with the 6" barrel shooting full loads and it is very pleasant to shoot. With those same loads on my 3" barrel If I want to shoot more than a box of ammo I personally require a glove after 50 rounds because the recoil is very stout and it hurts my hand. I imagine the 4" barrel will not be as bad as the 3". As far as accuracy shooting it single action at 50 and 100 yards my groups are much smaller than the 3" group and my groups on my 3" barrel are much higher than the 6" barrel. I suspect because recoil is more pronounced and the bullet is still in the barrel just long enough too catch the recoil moving the barrel up slightly.

It depends on what kind of accuracy you want out of the gun and what you are using it for. I feel pretty good with a 2.5" all steel snub for practical SD applications. I dont hunt. I dont kid myself in thinking I will pull off impossible head shots. It needs to be accurate at combat ranges and be easy enough to actually wear in the urban jungle or heavily traveled foot paths in the woods.

I've had 6.5", 5.5", 4", 3", and 2ish" .357s. The only ones that got much carry time were the snubbies. Yes, I am giving up performance, but im ok with that trade off for my needs.

It doesn't matter as much as a lot of people seem to think. I've heard some say that a magnum revolver should be no less than 6" for all the powder to burn but those folks need a stiff lesson in internal ballistics.

ms6852 said:

I have a 6" and carry the 3" 686 and yes the size of the barrel makes quite a significant impact on shooting the gun, at least for me. For me the differences are felt recoil for example, I can practice all day long with the 6" barrel shooting full loads and it is very pleasant to shoot. With those same loads on my 3" barrel If I want to shoot more than a box of ammo I personally require a glove after 50 rounds because the recoil is very stout and it hurts my hand. I imagine the 4" barrel will not be as bad as the 3". As far as accuracy shooting it single action at 50 and 100 yards my groups are much smaller than the 3" group and my groups on my 3" barrel are much higher than the 6" barrel. I suspect because recoil is more pronounced and the bullet is still in the barrel just long enough too catch the recoil moving the barrel up slightly.

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Just to be clear, recoil is raising the gun up on all your guns before the bullet exits. The gun moves rearward as soon as the bullet starts to move forward.

I understand that a longer barrel gives greater velocity buton't know how much difference in MV there is with a 2" or 3" difference in barrel length. I prefer longer barrels because they balance better for me. At 25 yards or closer the extra sighting radius doesn't matter much. At greater distances the longer sight radius definitely helps. For carry purposes where I'll be sitting sometimes, a five inch barrel is about the longest that's comfortable.

Jeff

What I have found;

1. I've found a barrel over 5 to 5.5 inches (I'm probably taller than BullRunBear) makes it a bit unhandy to sit with it holstered.
2. To hunt with a handgun in Ohio, it has to have a barrel of at least 5 inches long.
3. I haven't found a longer sight radius to be that advantageous. If it's to be used for close range self defense, I can't see that a long barrel is of any advantage.
4. A longer barrel will give higher velocity but velocity will be adequate with a shorter barrel.
5. A longer barrel will tend to INCREASE barrel flip. I've shot a Bond Arms derringer loaded with full house 454 Casull loads (I'm not recommending you do this). Barrel flip wasn't bad at all and I didn't think it was uncomfortable but of course, I also shoot bigger stuff like 444 Marlin and 375 H&H Magnum loads in Encore handguns.

ms6852 said:

I have a 6" and carry the 3" 686 and yes the size of the barrel makes quite a significant impact on shooting the gun, at least for me. For me the differences are felt recoil for example, I can practice all day long with the 6" barrel shooting full loads and it is very pleasant to shoot. With those same loads on my 3" barrel If I want to shoot more than a box of ammo I personally require a glove after 50 rounds because the recoil is very stout and it hurts my hand. I imagine the 4" barrel will not be as bad as the 3". As far as accuracy shooting it single action at 50 and 100 yards my groups are much smaller than the 3" group and my groups on my 3" barrel are much higher than the 6" barrel. I suspect because recoil is more pronounced and the bullet is still in the barrel just long enough too catch the recoil moving the barrel up slightly.

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So you're saying your groups are much smaller with your 6" barrel?

You lose velocity, and a longer sight radius makes them easier to aim at longer distances. It's a matter of what you want to do.

It's not like a 4 inch barrel is inadequate for defense and range fun.

Personally I think 5 inches is the sweet spot.

I like 460Shooter above love a five inch as a sweet spot, this is my EDC revolver, 629 Classic in a Mernickle PS6 revolver, conceals well under a vest or jacket.

The biggest thing I notice is the balance of the gun.....for example, the 4” 629 with a half lug on the barrel felt better balanced ( not as nose heavy) as my 629 6.5” with a full lug.
As for me, I prefer anything from 4” to 7.5” barrels....I am very liberal that way...

Targa said:

The biggest thing I notice is the balance of the gun.....for example, the 4” 629 with a half lug on the barrel felt better balanced ( not as nose heavy) as my 629 6.5” with a full lug.
As for me, I prefer anything from 4” to 7.5” barrels....I am very liberal that way...

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I have a 6" .22 and find it front heavy. I'd rather it was 4". You get a longer sight radius and higher velocity but the gun is also heavier and shakes more, and of course bulkier to carry. At least i didn't get the 8"!

Being relatively new to fine revolvers I agonized over which barrel length for quite a while. I finally scored a great deal on a scoped 8". It turned out to be way too long and front heavy for me for general range use even with the scope removed. So I spent a couple hundred buck and ordered a new Dan Wesson 4" barrel from CZ. It took me about 3 minutes to change out the barrels the first time. Now I have both lengths.

I can't fathom buying a non-Dan Wesson revolver any more. I really do love mine!

The Exile said:

am I losing anything significant with those two inches?

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Not something you would hear from John Bobbit, but it depends on how good your eyes are and how fast you need to clear leather.
I don't think the velocities are more important than those considerations.

I've owned wheel guns in barrels of 1&7/8ths, 2, 2&1/2, 2&3/4, 3, 4, 4&5/8ths, 5, 5&1/2, 6, 6&1/2 and 7&1/2. Mostly in various magnum class cartridges.

4" barrels are far and away my favorite general purpose barrel length. All my favorite shooters have been 4" guns.

My carry type guns, a little less, my hunting guns a little more (only because as mentioned, the ODNR thinks we Buckeyes can't be trusted with less than a 5" barrel).

Did a little research on barrel length a while back, longer doesn't always mean better and loadings also have to be taken into account.
My take on what I've learned from 357 is that it does very well in 6" barrels but the 4" isn't discernible for practical purposes. My perfect choice in 357 for general purpose use would be something with a 5" - 5½" barrel, partial lug. Coupled with a 16" marlin and you have a very good all purpose combo.

The Exile said:

I just returned back from the gun store and I was mostly looking at the autoloaders but I thought "why not" and asked the clerk to check out a 686 and wouldn't you know the thing fit my hand pretty good. I walked away to think things over but I might actually get the revolver.. or maybe both? There was two different revolvers they had in stock at the front desk, one was a 4" 7 shot and the other was a 6" 7 shot. The shaved off weight was minor, but noticeable; am I losing anything significant with those two inches?

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An interesting question and as an RSO instructor I have been questioning for years. Yes, a longer sight radius will make for a more accurate shooting gun IF, the shooter can hold the extra weight steady and IF the extra length does not destroy the balance of the gun in the shooter's hand.
Personally, double action, out to 25 yds. I can shoot my 3" 586 and 686 3" guns better than any other barrel length. Something about the balance and feel that allows me to hold a bit more steady.

YMMV.

Agree with what 340PD said. The older I get, the harder it is for me to hold longer barreled guns steady. My current favorites are 2 3/4" .357 Mag (S&W M66-8) and a 2 3/4" .44 Mag (S&W M69 5 shot L Frame). Shoot both, offhand between 25 and 75 yds two or three times a week. Mostly use factory iron sights. Have been playing with small red dots like the Trigicon RMR over the last 3 or 4 months and they are a big help to aging eyes (although I don't like the look).



Paul

I have shot a variety of length .357's and best accuracy was always with a 4 Inch Ruger. I could never quite match it with my six and seven inch barrels. It wasn't a big difference but it was clear cut. It could just be the difference in guns.

A couple years back I wanted to do a little testing with a specific bullet for the 357mag. I used max loads for the testing and loaded up 200 rounds of each powder. I did head to head testing with 2400 vs h110 vs mp-300. I used a 2 1/2" bbl'd revolver, two 4" bbl'd revolver, three 6" bbl'd revolvers, 8" revolver and a 10" contender. I ran all shots over a chronograph while shooting targets @ 50ft.

I was interested in loads for the 2 1/2" bbl'd 586 l-comp and figured I'd do a little bbl length testing while I was at it.

At the end of the day the 2400 out performed the h110 & mp-300 in the 2 1/2" bbl'd revolver. (1200fps+)
They all were even in the two 4" bbl.'s.(1300fps+)
The h110 & mp-300 started to pull ahead (+50fps) in the three 6" bbl.'s.(1400fps+)
With the 8" bbl it was all over, the h110 & mp-300 was impressive.(1500fps+)
The 10" bbl'd contender was a real eye opener with the h110 & mp-300 both doing 1600fps+ with that 158gr hp.

As far as what bbl lengths bring to the table, simple put a couple statements out there and see if they hold water:

The majority of ppc revolver had 4" bbl.'s, very rarely would you see any 6" bbl'd ppc revolvers
At camp perry shooters preferred 3" & 4" bbl'd revolvers.over 6" revolvers
Bullseye shooters use the 3"/4" bbl'd 1911's instead of the standard 5" configurations.
The most popular bbl length for shooting silhouettes is 4" bbl.'s.
It's hard to find a 50m free pistol that has a bbl longer than 4"s.

Aim1 said:

So you're saying your groups are much smaller with your 6" barrel?

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Yes. As stated the sight radius is longer the recoil is more manageable which results in better accuracy. Now this applies to me only. Someone else could be a better shot with the 3" barrel than I am, but my personal experience is that I am a better shot with the 6" barrel.

fxvr5 said:

Just to be clear, recoil is raising the gun up on all your guns before the bullet exits. The gun moves rearward as soon as the bullet starts to move forward.

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Yes I understand this. I guess I should have worded it better but the recoil on my 3" revolver is more pronounce than that of the 6" barrel.

One thing the barrel length can affect is how well you can see the front sight if you have presbyopia. For example, last weekend, I shot my Uberti Bisley with a 5.5" barrel and Ruger GP100 with a 4" barrel on an indoor range. Under the florescent lighting, it was much easier to see the front sight on the Uberti even though it's only a little longer. (I also shot my H&R 733 with a 2.5" tube and I may as well have been point shooting.)

Outdoors in natural lighting when your pupils are constricted you get better depth of field and this isn't as much of an issue.

Friggin' middle age. One of these days I need to spring for a Merit sight disc.