I am more accurate with shorter handguns?

[texassako]

First off, my essential tremor will never let me be a great handgun shooter. I realized recently I am more accurate with shorter handguns. I love shooting my 6" Security Six, and from a rest it is very accurate. There is just something about the longer barrel or the weight way out there that makes my tremor worse. I run into the same problem with my Browning Buckmark. Anybody else run into something similar or just prefer shorter? It is bad enough I am considering getting rid of the Ruger in favor of something shorter.

[OS OK]

Don't have tremors but do prefer a shorter barrel as in the 1911, my Commander has a different feel, feels right, feels balanced...on a good day I ain't bad either.
I remember from childhood watching a man shoot Dad's snubnose...he had terrible tremors...didn't understand what it was at that age.
I like revolvers @ 5"...balance again.

[opos]

I don't like 6" barrels...I don't hunt and only shoot paper so the 4" is perfect for me and the 6" or longer is too much for these 80 year old arthritic hands. Snubs and short barrel guns are fine for me if I'm practicing "up close and personal" shooting with my SD guns from their hiding places in my house...Also the amount of shooting I can do these days is limited by physical stuff so any shooting tires me quickly....I have a friend with a 6" gp 100 with a nice little red dot on it...like new...said I could have it for $400. I shot it for about 20 minutes and was shaking like a leaf...nice gun and a decent buy but nothing I want.

[LAGS]

I prefer the Feel of shorter barreled pistols.
That is why I jumped on a S&W 25-2 that had been cut to 2 3/4".
It feels good.
And so far 3" at 25 yards is good enough for me.
But it will reach out and hit a gallon jug at 100 yards.
Takes a while for the bullet to make it that far.
To me a 5" is a long barrel

[Brad Cayton]

I used to like long barreled handguns and did well with them but it seems I shoot shorter barrels better the older I get. I don't know why for sure but I do.

[Thumbcocker]

Some times the sights on a shorter barrel are easier to se with middle aged eyeballs. Don't know the source of your tremors but one person I personally know had shaking so bad he had to give up shooting. He underwent surgery with an electrode implanted in his brain and as soon as it was activated his shakes were gone.

[mulespurs]

My opinion is that the longer barrel amplifies my ofhand wiggles and destroys my confidence. I probably won't shoot any worse with a longer barrel, but because I can see my wiggle wobbles more easily it ruins my confidence.
If I know that I can make the shot, especially on game, my confidence stays up and I probably follow though better,and I have often made shots in years gone buy,that are against all odds.
I like 4 to 5 inch barrels.
For sure it is harder to focus on the sights than it once was

[GhostHawk]

I learned when I put a Red Dot on my wife's Ruger Mk III 22/45 that it is not the barrel so much. It is the strain of trying to hold that alignment. And once I realised that I quickly found out I could have a barrel dropping back down after recoil, and just pulsed the trigger as the red dot was centered. And all of a sudden I could put many more shots down range in the same period of time.

And as long as I kept the barrel tracking straight, and timed the trigger right, they all hit in a nice tight little group.

And my buddy who used to out shoot the heck out of me with his Beretta 92fs with laser all of a sudden lost his magic when he saw mine.

It is not the holding, its fighting the wobble that creeps in. So don't fight it.
Use it.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Not that I am some pistol master, because I am far from it.

Don't fight yourself, work with what is happening. If you need different tools, then you need different tools.

All I can say is I love shooting that ruger.

20 feet it will put 10 shots you can cover with a pop cap. On a good day, tighter than that.

[Walks]

I can see the sights better on a 5-6" barrel than shorter barreled guns. Allthough the heavy barreled guns with under lug barrels, i.e. COLT Python, S&W 586/686 Are just too muzzle heavy for me. I do shoot a 3" RUGER Service-6 very well at 50ft. But then I've been shooting that particular revolver with the same load for 30yrs.

[texassako]

I guess I will see since I traded some stuff for an EAA Windicator .38 snubby today. Kind of the opposite extreme, but I can hold it steady and keep the sight centered at arms length. Side by side comparison with the same ammo, the classic 2.7gr BE 148gr HBWC load.

I know what you mean GhostHawk, and I can kind of do that occasionally by accident if I don't have to deal with a DA trigger and speed things up. A lot of times my eyes don't aquire the sights quick enough. I replaced the broken Red Dot on my Buckmark; so I will try that on purpose next trip.

[JSH]

Confidence is a huge thing. If you go in doubting good results, that's what comes in return.
The older we get the softer we get. I work with my hands a large part of the day five days a week.
Upper body strength can go away fairly quick.
I would suggest some of the therapeutic putty or a tennis ball. Leave it where you may be of an evening. Play with it and squeeze it as long as you can.
Retired buddy did this after I heard multiple excuses from him. His shooting came around again.
One of those small dumb bell type weights, 1-5 pound, can be picked up at a lot of garage sales for pennys. Most are slightly used if at all.
That extra little bit of weight and heft from some revolvers is a lot when you put it out at arms length.
Watch the movie Hannie Caulder, you will get the idea

[FergusonTO35]

I shoot my concealed carry guns as good or better than my larger pistols. Which is as it should be, I am more likely to have one of them in a life or death situation than something larger and so I practice with them a lot more.

[bobthenailer]

Decades ago most of my revolvers had barrels over 6" today I only have one with a 7.5 " barrel all the rest are 6" or less, with 5" being my favorite, for my 70 year old eyes most have MRDS or tube style RDS so barrel length is usually unimportant as far as accuracy goes.

[fortrenokid]

Concur with the other Pards on going with what works for ya. I prefer longer barreled pistols and tell myself the longer sight radius and heavier weight makes 'em steadier. Howsomeever, there have been lots of experiments that indicate barrel length is not correlated with accuracy. Now comes to mind an article years back in a shooting magazine. The gun writer was pleased that Bill Ruger gave them a 10.5" barreled Super Blackhawk for a test. The writer took a rest (Ransom Rest IIRC) and his favorite gunsmith w/portable gunsmithing fixtures to an indoor range. They fired a test group with the unaltered pistol. Then, in stages, cut 1" off the barrel (the gunsmith very professionally shortening and crowning the barrel each time), and shot groups. They took the barrel all the way down to 2.5". The best group? 8.5". The next best group by a few 100ths of an inch? The 2.5" barrel.

Again, I'll say, stick with what works for ya.

Good luck and good shootin'

Adios

Fort Reno Kid

[imashooter2]

My Father shot competitive Bullseye for our club. He told a story of a visiting team that had a competitor with Parkinson’s and that man with his terrible disease still shot Master. The man noticed my Pop staring at him incredulously. The gentleman finished his string, turned to my Pop and said "Squeeze when they’re on son. Squeeze when they’re on."

Such a simple game. Squeeze when they’re on. [smilie=1:

[Hickory]

I went to a shooting match once and one of the shooters had a terrible shaking problem.
One of the events was slug gun at 50 yards. You had one minute to shoot 5 rounds. He had over come his shaking problem by snap shooting the target not trying to hold the gun for more then 1/2 second before squeezing off the round.
As I watched him shoot, I felt embarrassed for him, knowing he would be luck to hit the target even once.
But as it turned out he won the slug gun event with 10's and X's.
I asked him about it afterwards and his only comment was, "You have to know when to squeeze the trigger."

[The Governor]

I don't think I'm more accurate with a short barrel hand gun but I think I should be more accurate with a long barrel hand gun than I am.

[LAGS]

With the shorter barrels , I have a built in Excuse if I Miss something.
" What do you expect , it is a Short Barrel "
But it was also brought up about Ballance or Forward weight with longer barrels or even a full under barrel lug.
Thinking about that , i prefer most of the weight to the rear of the gun.
I do not shoot a smith L frame as well as I shoot the older K frame with a half barrel underlug.
The overall weight of the pistol does not seem to factor in for me.
I shoot a 3" Rossi just as well as a 4" N frame smith with the same loads

[str8wal]

They fired a test group with the unaltered pistol. Then, in stages, cut 1" off the barrel (the gunsmith very professionally shortening and crowning the barrel each time), and shot groups. They took the barrel all the way down to 2.5". The best group? 8.5". The next best group by a few 100ths of an inch? The 2.5" barrel.

Interesting. But, the trouble I have with a test such as this is that you may find the sweet spot for the load, rather than the gun.

[44MAG#1]

I am glad to see someone that has the foresight to realize that "If you can shoot well you can shoot well if you can't you can't". Barrel length is just psychological. It is not mechanical. If you can hold sight alignment you can hold sight alignment. Now if someone has a psychological problem with barrel length I'm sorry. I did at one time.

[country gent]

Several things change with barrel length on a hand gun. 1) balance a longer barrel puts more felt weight on the wrist arm. This is due not only to the actual weight but the "leverage the extra weight has due to length. 2 Sight radious and seeing sights a shorter barrel may put the front sight into focal distance for a shooter. This is a plus. the shorter sight radious means sight alighnment is more important. 3) Barrel time is less with the short barrel so tremors flinches and poor follow thru dosnt affect them as much. A 8" barrel a small flinch can really cause a flier, with a 2" or 2 1/2" barrel not nearly as much

[smokeywolf]

Have to agree with much of what 'country gent' mentions.

With Parkinsons, handshake is typically seen when hands are at rest. With Essential Tremor, hands shake when under load. More load often I think results in more shake with Essential Tremors. It differs a bit from person to person. A light load might cause acute shake with one person while it may not with another. Weight, load, angle or direction of load on the hand/wrist/arm and hand position make a big difference. Low blood sugar and/or caffeine levels make a big difference.

There is also a prescription medication sometimes used to treat hypertension that crosses over and has been shown to reduce tremors in those who suffer from Essential Tremors.

[FergusonTO35]

What medication is that? I'm borderline HBP and probably going to go on meds at some point.

[smokeywolf]

What medication is that? I'm borderline HBP and probably going to go on meds at some point.

Coming from a state where people sue McDonalds for serving them the hot coffee they ordered, 'm hesitant to talk specifically of prescription meds. However, your doctor will be able to tell you which blood pressure med is also used to treat the symptoms of "essential tremors". You can also find this info yourself by web search.

[Lloyd Smale]

I too shoot a short barreled gun off hand better then a long barreled gun.

[charlie b]

.....With Essential Tremor, hands shake when under load. More load often I think results in more shake with Essential Tremors. It differs a bit from person to person. A light load might cause acute shake with one person while it may not with another. Weight, load, angle or direction of load on the hand/wrist/arm and hand position make a big difference...


This for me.

It is all about how the load is on the hand. Certain positions of moving a computer mouse generates the termors for me. Holding a bag just right will do it.

Yes, longer barrel handguns will do it as well for me. I do the same as the other gent mentioned, I don't hold the gun in position long enough for them to react. Double action revolvers work better than single actions of any type.

I have gone to mostly shooting long guns. If I put just the right amount of pressure in the grip I don't have an issue.

[FergusonTO35]

Coming from a state where people sue McDonalds for serving them the hot coffee they ordered, 'm hesitant to talk specifically of prescription meds. However, your doctor will be able to tell you which blood pressure med is also used to treat the symptoms of "essential tremors". You can also find this info yourself by web search.

No prob, I understand.

[FergusonTO35]

This year I have taken a new approach to shooting that has really helped me, at least as far as determine whether a gun is shooting as it is supposed to. I no longer worry about bullseyes and group sizes, unless I am shooting off a very sturdy bench rest (rare). Instead, what I try to discern is where does the shot land in relation to where the front sight or crosshairs are when the gun fires. The bullseye or whatever is just sort of a reference point for where I am supposed to place the boolit. It would be nice to place it there most of the time but my tremor won't allow it. At typical hunting distance I can usually get it within 2-3". It might be high, low, left, right but it will nearly always be within that radius. So, I focus on mentally recording where the sight or crosshair was when the gun fired and compare that to where the bullet strikes. Sighted in my NEF muzzleloader yesterday at 60 yards. The target paper looked like poo, as if someone was just blazing away. However, I knew that the final shots landed where the front sight was pointed and that is what counts.

[44MAG#1]

"However, I knew that the final shots landed where the front sight was pointed and that is what counts."

Another that has his head in the right place.

[FergusonTO35]

Thanks bro!

[texassako]

Test was a bit inconclusive. The Speer HBWC shot about the same, but a SWC load did quite a bit better than in the Ruger it was worked up in originally. Overall I shot the 2" Windicator as well or better than the 6" Ruger Security Six, when shooting SA cocking with the offhand.

[Rick Hodges]

I shoot 4" revolvers better than 6" or longer. I have a tendency to "snatch" at the trigger when the sights are lined up....as I can see more sight error with the longer sight radius. My trigger control (really mind control) is better with the shorter sight radius....it looks better so I don't try to jerk the trigger.

[Bigslug]

It's worth considering that, given the same set of sights, the front sight will appear narrower in the notch of the rear when you put it farther away at the end of a longer barrel.

Just sayin' that, before you automatically conclude that barrel length is the issue, it might actually be one of proportionality of the sights. Fiddling with notch and blade size might hold the answer you're looking for.

It's probably also worth taking a largish-print document and testing what distance you can most easily read it from. A gun that puts your front sight in the middle of that "clear zone" might be your best friend.