Barrel length and accuracy

[hornady308]

When it comes to slow moving, heavy bullets, is it easier to get good accuracy from a short barrel rather than a longer barrel? I have a Rossi 92 in 44 mag with a 16" barrel and another in 45LC with a 24" barrel. It seems that the short barreled Rossi is easier to shoot accurately off-hand, while both are about as accurate off the bench. It would make sense that the shorter barrel would be more forgiving due to less required follow-through after the shot.

[wv109323]

I don't think that the extra time in the barrel ( between 16 and 24") would amount to any loss in accuracy. I think the weight of the trigger and the balance of the rifle would contribute more than follow through.

[missionary5155]

Greetings
There were several experiments done in years past whereby a barrel was wacked and recrowned one inch at a time to measure accuracy and velocity loss.
There was no accuracy loss until barrel got too short to fully spin a boolit which was well under legal limits. Velocity natural was drasticly affected especially with any powder except the fastest.
So all you really gain in one particular barrel is sight distance and velocity. Of course that is saying a barrel of good condition the full length.
Mike in Peru

[fecmech]

As far as the actual accuracy I don't think barrel length between 16-24 is important. I'm no rifle expert but have read that follow through is important in rimfire competition and there is very little recoil and pretty heavy rifles in that sport. Comparatively, the .45 colt in a relatively light rifle and heavy bullet, with the same barrel time as a .22 rimfire, to me would suggest follow through could be a factor. The other side of that coin is the intrinsic accuracy of a .45 colt in a lever gun is many steps below a .22 target rifle.

[Hyphenated]

Shooting from a bench minimizing the human element probably no difference if both barrels are of equal quality. I like a longer barrel (24") when shooting off hand because they seem to hang better. Of course this is a personal thing. I have shooting buddies who like the short barrels.

[BCRider]

If you're shooting the shorter barrel more accurately when shooting offhand I'd suggest that it's because the shorter gun balances better for you.

All else being equal the LONGER barrel should be giving you a longer sights baseline. So it SHOULD be easier to be more accurate with the longer barrel.

Between barrels there should be no difference if the rifling and muzzle crowns are both in good condition and you're shooting well fitting boolits in each. But since you're getting more or less equivalent results when shooting rested it suggests that the difference is due to how they balance in your hands.