44 mag barrel length question

The difference is less than an inch and IMHO, not worth spraining your brain over. Personally, I like the shorter length and find it to lack nothing in utility. I liked mine so much that I converted it to a Bisley and had it spiffed up a bit. It shoots into 2"@50yds.

That is a NICE looking hunka iron!

When I was going to take up handgun hunting picked up .454 revolver with 7.5" barrel. Never used it for hunting but shot plenty of .45 Colt out of it before the gun was sold. Since you're well out of CCW category on this one I would advise 7.5 barrel instead. Unless you're going to shoot .44 special only the longer barrel will make the gun more pleasant to shoot.

That's conventional wisdom but I don't agree with it. The sixgun above and this are about as identical as they can be. Same basic configuration, same chambering, same gripmaker, same grip profile, even modified by the same gunsmith. Only appreciable difference is barrel length. IMHO, the longer barrel has more leverage against your wrist and is more wrenching. The short barreled gun gets shot and used more.

i haven't shot a 7.5" barreled super blackhawk, but have handled them and i concur with craigc. for me, at least the shorter barrels balance better. in terms of recoil, i feel as though it has more to do with grip configuration than barrel length. my 3.75" bisley super blackhawk isn't unpleasant at all to shoot. i'd say it comes down to aesthetics mostly when considering 4.62 vs. 5.5".

Had a 7 1/2. Sold it. Bought a 5 1/2. Gonna keep it. I like the fluted cylinder, balance, just plain easier to handle.
I reload light target loads anyone can shoot.

I have a 4 5/8" and 7 1/2" but no 5 1/2" to compare. I will comment that the 4 5/8" is a handful(for me at least). With my 60ish eyes and arthritic hands, the 4 5/8" is a short range gun. It's the one I carry in bear country if that helps.

5.5" is my preferred barrel length in a Ruger "Bisley".
This one has been cut to 5.5" (amongst other mods) and is in .45 Colt.

Although this is not exactly comparing apples to apples I'm going through a similar decision on my Ruger Redhawk.

I've owned and hunted with the 7.5 inch barrel for years. I have recently scoped (bought the scope from someone on this site) it and am very happy with the revolver's accuracy.

I'm not thrilled with how unwieldy it's become though. I'm considering having the gun re-barreled or shortened. A shorter barrel will cause a lose of velocity as shown by Ballistics by the inch: http://www.ballisticsbytheinch.com/44mag.html

Any thoughts?

I have owned all three at one time or another. Started with the 7.5" and it kept breaking my fingers with the Dragoon trigger guard. Sold it and bought the 4.65". With 44 special and low end 44 mags, it was fine but then I bought the 5.5" barrel and fell in love. Easy to carry when hiking or hunting, solid with full house loads, accurate and perfect balance. I sold the shorty and never regretted it.

JMHO, BTW

If you're going to hunt with one I don't like barrel lengths much shorter than about 6". 5.5" is close enough in my opinion. If I really feel I have to have more than 6" of barrel to get the job done I'd just as soon carry a lightweight rifle than lug around a 7-8" barreled handgun.

For a gun you're going to carry around a lot the shorter length really helps. My personal 44's are 3" and 4" Smith 629's and I wouldn't want them any longer.

Yes I do lose velocity, especially from the 3" gun, when compared to the stated velocity taken from 8" barrels. About 250-300 fps slower. But it is worth it to me to have a more compact gun. As said earlier. If I need more power I have some 5 lb rifles that are easier to tote around than some 4 lb., 8" barreled revolvers.

The difference between 4 5/8" and 5 1/2" would be a close call for me as well, but I'd lean towards the shorter barrel based on how I'd use the gun. The extra speed you get from the longer barrel might be worth it to you and for your uses. Look at the BBTI link posted earlier. I've found their data to be fairly close to my own experiences and decide how much velocity loss you are willing to give up.

ldlfh7 said:

I am looking to buy a ruger superblackhawk in 44 mag. I can't decide between the 4 5/8ths and 5.5 inch barrel. I like the look of the shorter one a little more and think it would be easier to tote around. However, I don't want to cause myself issues like less range and increased recoil with the shorter barrel. So my question is : is there a big enough difference in recoil or range that I should look to the 5.5" rather than the 4 5/8ths"? Thoughts? Experiences?

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I'm in the market myself for a Colt SAA in .45 Colt, with the 5.5 inch barrel.

Why the 5.5 inch barrel?

Because I like the look. It looks symetrically more pleasing to me than the other two available lenghts. That's the one I've always wanted, ever since I was a little boy, growing up watching westerns on TV.

Others here with experience don't seem to have any significant accuracy problems. Which tells me that there is no practical reason for you not to get that shorter barrel length that you find so pleasing.

I have a 4 5/8 in 357 & 45 and 5.5 44 mag Blackhawks and I prefer the slightly shorter 45/8 for its not quite as front end heavy and the short ones balance perfectly for me.