What barrel length in a pistol carbine Lever Action 16" or 20"?

[huntersdog]

What length lever action carbine do you like the best for plinking and hunting with the, 16" or 20" barrel?

I would say the 20" is a great shooter, of the ones I had the chance to shoot.

[Harter66]

I had a 16" and 20" 45 Colts a 16" 45 ACP and an 18" 357 . For a fact the ACP and 38/357 were the ones that had the greatest gains in every aspect . The 2 in Colts however didn't give nearly the returns for the closed breach and longer bbl unless you turned to powders more suited to rifles than to revolvers . When treated like a big bore straight case they really came around .
The 20 is probably about the best split , winning the aesthetics ,mag capacity, and ballistic gains class . In the lever gun league it's really no handicap either . I've not been in a place where the 4" less bbl would have made a big difference . The 18" 38/357 carried best of all but I think with a full mag the 16" in Colts would edge out the 2" there .

A last note the standard loads in a 45 Colts 24"rifle actually lost ground to the revolver they were loaded for, so that's a point to ponder also.

[Scharfschuetze]

Depends on your age and eyes. A longer barrel will provide you with an easier to use sight radius, particularly as you age.

Ballistically, you're probably just fine with either. If you're running a trap line or other work while carrying your rifle, then probably the 16" barrel.

A longer barrel will hang a bit better for off hand shooting too. From a bench rest it's no big deal but for field shooting I'd recommend the longer tube.

My pistol calibre .357 has a 24" barrel. With a Lyman aperture sight, I enjoy a whopping 27 inches or so of sight radius for accurate shooting and a clear front sight.

[Shawlerbrook]

Might like to split the difference at 18".

[Ramjet-SS]

Subjective, however for me it's all about being "handy" and you can get plenty of velocity from the 16" pipe. The handiness of a short carbine in a thumper pistol cartridge is what these little lever guns are all about.

[Les Staley]

I have 16" 357 mag and 44mag, 18.5" 460 S&W mag, 20" 44 mag (2) and 24"(25-20). Guess I'm covered. Like 'em all! Depends on what I'm hunting..

[Greg S]

I've got alittle of both and one inbetween. For an occassional walker, I've got a 92 TD Trapper in 45 Colt, great for blasting cans ect out to 60-75 yards, an 18" 1886 and two 20" 92s in 357 and 32-20. For serious $1 taking, the two 20"s are the heat. It all goes to personal prefrence but I can see a Rossi 20" in 45 Colt in my future.

[Hickory]

By definition a 16" barrel is a Trapper, a 18-20" is a carbine and a rifle with a barrel over 22" is a rifle.

[Greg S]

Winchester has a 20" carbine and a 20" rifle, the difference is in the butt plate and fore end and if I'm not mistake, rifle is sans receiver ring.

[Artful]

Just for general carry and handling I am getting to liking shorter - If I run into a mare's leg I might just buy it and SBR the sucker.

[budman5]

I like the 20 inch tube for the extra round capacity.

[mcdaniel.mac]

Just for general carry and handling I am getting to liking shorter - If I run into a mare's leg I might just buy it and SBR the sucker.
I have it on good authority that the Rossi looks real purdy with Boyd's Pepper laminate and a threaded barrel.

[Good Cheer]

My favorite jack rabbit eye ball shooter was a Model '92 with a 20" barrel.
But that said, would have preferred a little more barrel.

[OverMax]

Both rifles have open barrel sights.:
Have a Marlin 36 sporting carbine. It groups its 30-30s well. Had a Winchester 94 Trapper 30-30 that couldn't group on a closed barn door.
Some rifles shoot well others don't in 16". Same applies to 20" and longer..
I personally like the looks of a short barreled rifle. Kind'a Nifty looking. Longer barrels. Well you know? Its just a another common rifle.

[runfiverun]

20"
the short rifle configuration is the only one that should even be made.
it balances the best and is easy to carry, plus it comes with the flat butt stock.
it's also the hardest to find for some reason.

[TXGunNut]

16 and 18" carbines are cute and handy but I like the balance and stability of a longer barrel; 20" seems ideal to me most days. Quite honestly my favorite pistol caliber long guns are 24" rifles but I have a weakness for short rifles as well.

[Mtnfolk75]

I like my 16" Rossi .357, after I bought it I thought I had erred in not buying the 20". But nearly 4 years of handling & shooting has cemented my original decision on the 16", I like it :)

[John Boy]

Ballistic-ally, the 4" difference doesn't mean spit - take your pick and enjoy shooting the pistol caliber rifle at the short distances the caliber was developed for. Even with a 24" barrel & a pistol caliber, accuracy at 300yds is contingent on a skilled marksman and good aftermarket sights!

[bullseye67]

Good evening, I chose other. I have a Rossi 357 Mares Leg with a shoulder stock on it. I added a Steve's peep site and it has shot 100's of gophers with 3.5grs of titewad and the Lee 95gr SWC. At 50 yards it shoots ragged 1 hole groups and less than 3"s at 100 yards. I also have a Marlin with a 20" barrel and it shoots as well with that load, but only in 357 brass. The Mares Leg shoots the same with 38 or 357 brass. The Rossi I have in 45 Colt, SS and 20" barrel, really likes the 200gr tumble lube Lee. Which is alright by me as I cast 1000's of them for my 45Acp.

[Hipshot1]

I've got alittle of both and one inbetween. For an occassional walker, I've got a 92 TD Trapper in 45 Colt, great for blasting cans ect out to 60-75 yards, an 18" 1886 and two 20" 92s in 357 and 32-20. For serious $1 taking, the two 20"s are the heat. It all goes to personal prefrence but I can see a Rossi 20" in 45 Colt in my future.

What caliber is the 1886 ?

[outdoorfan]

When I was looking to get into a Rossi levergun, I wanted the 20". Couldn't find one locally, so I ended up with a 16" ss. Can't say I regret the decision, although I don't have a comparative 20"er to compare to/by. However, I am not at all handicapped with the 16" barrel. Marksmanship is no problem with the 16" and peep sights.

[Bzcraig]

Just got a Rossi 16" and though I haven't shot it yet, I sure like the way it handles.

[marlin39a]

I'm one of the few others. I have a Rossi 357 mag with the 24" barrel. Use it on jackrabbits.

[dragon813gt]

16" in this configuration. If I'm going to carry a longer rifle it will be in a more powerful cartridge. Pick up a Ruger American Ranch and you will realize how light and handy a 16" barrel can be. In the case of the Ruger you are giving nothing up and I'd love for it to be even shorter.

[Greg S]

A Chiappa Ridge Runner in 45-70.

[robg]

I like short guns just seem right to me but I wouldn't be put off by a longer barrel,

[PerpetualStudent]

Having handled many but shot none, I honestly don't like the 16in barrel in pistol caliber lever gun. Maybe in something like 45-70 it'd feel right to me but it just felt...like a toy to me and I'm under 5'8! If I was hauling it around on a trap line, yeah a 16 in would be fine. Though I seem to recall those guys like 22wmr.

The 20in I think is my minimum. I handled a Rossi 24" in an octogonal barrel...outfitted with a tang peep sight. That one I really liked. Luckily for the family budget it was in .45Colt instead of the .357 I'm looking for. I'm also of the "if it feels right to you, you'll probably shoot it better" school. So don't listen to strangers on the internet- handle some and see what calls your name.

[Grapeshot]

I shoot both a .45 Colt 1873 Carbine and a .44WCF 1866 Carbine. Both have 20 inch barrels. The '73 sports a Douglas barrel with a 1:16 inch twist. The .45 Colt Carbine out shoots anything I ever shot in SASS. I also have a Short Rifle w/octagon barrel in .44/40. It's heavier and not as fast as the carbines.

[mnewcomb59]

You don't gain much going from 16" to 20". A 357 with max loads of Lil' Gun and 140 (21 gr powder) or 158 grain (19 gr powder) bullets might pick up another 100 fps. Of all the pistol calibers, 357 has the most powder per bore volume, meaning it keeps accelerating for a longer time. But, your average 357 load, or any 45 or 44 load will hardly have a difference.

This makes your choice more about light and handy OR steady and quiet.

My 16" 357 is smaller than a Red Ryder bb gun. However, there is hardly any weight on my left arm and therefore it doesn't feel natural to swing it at a running deer/rabbit compared to a 28" shotgun barrel. After shooting a 20" side by side with mine, I realized how much quieter 38 specials are in the longer barrel. I didn't shoot moving targets with it but it also felt better to swing around.

[JSnover]

For plinking/small game or short range deer 16" carries like a dream. For anything more I'd like a longer barrel and/or a more powerful cartridge.

[PositiveCaster]

I currently own two M94 Winchesters, A 1955-vintage and one from 1986. The older 20" is in .38-55 rebored by PO Ackley, and while I have used it on deer I prefer the 16" Trapper in .45LC. Lighter, easy to carry, good killing power and plenty accurate. The sight radius difference is meaningless in the field, for older eyes the closer the sights are to each other (and the front sight to you eye) the better. I fixed all that with a Burris Fastfire on the receiver ring. Not traditional, but very fast and not too obtrusive.

My favorite hunting load in the Trapper is the Lee 255 RF boolit over 16 grains of BlueDot.


.

[psweigle]

Ballistics by the inch is a good website for this very question. I have a ruger 77/357, and I used the website to work up a load. Lots of good info in there.

[flyin brian]

My Son chopped his 45 Colt Marlin down to 16.5" and he has just about worn that thing out shooting it. I'm guessing 10K at least down the tube, but it still keeps on keeping on!! I'll have to ask him what his speeds are.

[Kosh75287]

My .45 Colt carbine had a 20" barrel, and I could tell a big difference when the loads I made for use in my revolver (18.9/2400/250RNFP) were shot from the carbine. The amount of "hold over" needed to hit a 100 yard gong was far less when using the carbine than when using the pistol. Bullet impacts moved the gong more, and were more audible. It is difficult for me quantify the velocity difference, but I would guess with reasonably high confidence that it was +200 f/s in the carbine. The revolver was a 7.5" Ruger Redhawk, btw.

[Harter66]

Right at 200 fps gain from a 7,5 BH to a 20" 92' . Only about 165 fps to a 16" .
This held true whether it was Unique or H110 .

[robg]

My trapper 357 has had thousands of rounds through it since I bought it new in 98 maybe 30k still shoots great broken 4 ejectors and 1 lifter that was my fault ,caught it with a cleaning rod.still my most fun gun!

[Multigunner]

I can remember an episode of Gunsmoke in its B&W days where several townfolk were being stalked by a serial killer armed with a takedown model 92 carbine fitted with a Maxim Silencer, this was a real option back in the days before the first gun control act.

I don't much care for lever actions but I've always wanted a takedown model 92 with barrel exactly the same length as the action with stock. I suspect that would be around 18 inches maybe closer to 16 in. If threaded for a suppressor the OAL with an efficient modern suppressor mounted would still be no longer than one of the 24-26" barrel rifles.
I recently saw a youtube of a short barreled (maybe 12") 92 style carbine fitted with suppressor, it looked pretty good.

[rondog]

My Rossi 92 with the 24" barrel in .45 Colt gave me venison this fall with a 250 yard heart shot. I'd hesitate to try my 16" Winchester Trapper in .44 mag at 250 feet.

[Multigunner]

Short barrels are potentially as accurate as long barrels, so long as there's enough bullet travel for efficient burning of the charge, which should be no problem with pistol caliber carbines. The drawback is the shorter sight radius which magnifies shooter error.
A short carbine with receiver mounted peep sight would have the same sight radius as a longer barrel gun with barrel mounted open sight. If scoped there should be no noticeable difference in effective range.

The longer and heavier standard 260gr .45 Colt bullet would have an advantage over the standard 240gr .44 Mag bullets at this sort of range.

[Rodfac]

I've had an 1894 CS in .357 for several years now that I thoroughly enjoy...but for nearly 30 years I thought the shorter barrel length made it look a bit peculiar...how wrong I was. The combination of that shorter bbl. and the .357 cartridge is a combination made in a shooter's version of heaven! Mine is superbly accurate with jacketed or Lyman's 358156 gc SWC (1-1/4" at 100 yds with either from bench with a 2.5x scope mounted.) It's become my favorite rifle for general toting around here on our farm, and especially with that Lyman cast boolit and a Hornady gc. For jacketed bullets, I really like Hornady's 158 gr XTP FP for most any purpose...it's a proven deer killer out to 100 yds or so and is equally accurate as the Lyman 358156 gc....

If you're looking for a sure-fire load with the 358156 gc bullet, 2400 has worked well for me in moderate loads. For full power loads with deer in mind, and with Hornady's 158 gr XTP/FP, I like 296 at the high end of the charge weights.

As to bbl. length, with a scope, there is no advantage to the longer barrel. The velocity difference is minimal (18.5" vs. 20"); I'd estimate less than 50 fps for that inch and a half. But the real life handling difference can readily be felt. I use the carbine from my tractor, on horse-back and afoot and it's handier than any longer tube. Guess you can see that I'm a fan of the shorter carbine, and especially for this one, superbly accurate in .357 Magnum.

HTH's Rod

[hwilliam01]

Late to the discussion, I know, but one consideration is...If you plan on using it for cowboy action shooting, you will want the 20" as it is the only one that will hold the minimum 10 rounds required for competition. Just a thought.

[jmort]

I have two 16" and I would have to load another round on the clock
That would not be good

[psweigle]

It will depend on the caliber you intend to shoot. Some will work better with a shorter barrel while others work better with a longer barrel. if you google ballistics by the inch, they have a real world chart for all the calibers already made up. hope this answers any questions.