Prefered barrel length

[white eagle]

I was curious what you all like for barrel lengths
Personally I do really like 5.5"so much so that I had a smith cut my 7.5"sbh down to 5.5"
Bout as handy as it gets (for me annaway) :cbpour:

[Heavy lead]

I guess if I had to pick just one for single actions it would be 5.5", 5" to 6" for double actions, with that said I have a lot of lesser and a few more, none longer than 7.5" though, that's plenty long enough for anything I'll ever do.

[HammerMTB]

I think it depends on what you imagine the pistol is going to do.
I have a 4" bbl Redhawk on my hip much of the time. It is a good camp gun, backpacking gun, and defensive weapon.
I had a 7.5" bbl Redhawk for a long time. It had a nice long sight radius, so it was good to easily 100 yds. Mighta been more, but that was all I tried to make of it.
I have a 4-5/8" Blackhawk. Good horse mounted gun, handy cowboy style gun.
Then there's the 9-1/2" bbl Redhawk. It's got a 1.5-4X scope on it. It is more a hand carried rifle.
So, what you intend the gun for has a lot to do with what works well.... :Fire:

[Jack Stanley]

When I used to hunt I'd have a six inch laying in the blind with me . Now , if I'm out and about the field with a tractor or chain saw , it's usually a four inch under the carharts . I had a five inch once I really liked but when I was buying guns it wasn't offered in the forty-four .

Jack

[TDC]

Another vote for the 5" barrel in anything.... Those who have carried, owned and shot them all usually tend to agree...

When you consider sight radius, weight, carry comfort, muzzle blast, balance and ballistics all combined in the equation a 5" is the ideal "one gun" compromise.. IMHO, shorter and longer barrel lengths are simply adaptations intended for more specialized purposes like better concealment, longer range hunting, target shooting, etc...

Flame suit on.....:grin:

[44man]

A primary hunting gun is going to be a long barrel for me. A carry gun can be what you like.
I shoot smaller groups at longer ranges with longer barrels and feel I can hit deer farther but I have nothing against a nice feeling shorter barrel.
My only reason for not having some short barrel revolvers is that I can't afford so many guns.
I have set 7-1/2" for my shortest hunting revolver, mainly because I can't have two or three to choose from.
Any gun on the belt is better then a sharp stick.

[NickSS]

In a single action I like 5.5 inches as they seam to balance the best in my hand. The 4 and 5/8ths ones are also nice but have more muzzle flip than and 5.5" as for longer barrels I do not like them at all and have had several that I have owed cut off to 5.5". In a DA revolver I like 4 or 5 inch ones for general carry and shooting. I do have one six inch that I like it is an old Ruger Security Six with no under lug. Every six inch that I pick up that has an under lug seams muzzle heavy to me and I do not like them. As for longer barrels they are not for me. Shorter barrels I do not generally like except that I own one 2 inch and one 3 inch small frame revolvers that have their use for CCW.

[Lloyd Smale]

4 inch in da revolvers and 1911s and 4 5/8s in sa guns.

[nicholst55]

I also like 4" DAs and 4-5/8" SA barrels, unless something else is required by law; in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Maryland, 6" is the minimum for hunting.

[bob208]

i like 5" or there about. in fact as soon as i make a fixture to locate the front sight. i am going to cut my .45 blackhawk to 5".

[MakeMineA10mm]

With that 5.5" comment, I thought you were talking about Single-Actions, but then I saw you were talking about your Smith & Wessons.

Here's what I like, and it has nothing to do with anything other than what "looks right" to me:

S&W N-Frame = 5" barrel (old style without the full underlug, but with the ejector shroud)
S&W L-Frame = 3.5" barrel (again, the old-style barrel without full underlug but with ejector rod shroud - yes, they made them that way for the Mountain Guns, but in 4", so they also need cut-down 1/2"... Basically, makes an L-Frame look similar to the pre-war Registered Magnums of the FBI.)
S&W K-Frame = 3" barrel (with ejector rod shroud and no underlug)
S&W J-Frame = 3" barrel (with no ejector rod shroud, just the lug that houses the spring-loaded retaining pin on the end of the ejector rod)

Can't explain it, other than those are what look and feel the most balanced to me.

Now on Single-Actions, I have a different take:
Large-frames, like the Ruger BH/SBH/Freedom Arms 83 = 7.5" barrels
Medium-frame, like Ruger Flat-top/3-screw/Colt SAA/Freedom Arms 97 = EITHER a 4.25" barrel (w/ ejector rod housing even with end of barrel) [kind of half-way between a shopkeeper's model and a standard 4.75"] for a compact carry gun (I also prefer Bird's Head grips on these), or a 6.5" barrel for a hunting gun.

[Rodfac]

4-5/8" in a Ruger. 4-1/2" in a Colt Commander...a good all around lenght, good for packing every day on the farm. Comfortable on a tractor, horseback, or in the truck. Out to 50 yds, I can't see any difference in shot placement on deer, and that's about my limit with an iron sighted hand gun. I can't abide a scope on a short gun...but understand those that find it useful. For Me, I like a side arm in my rear jeans pocket or in a belt holster...a scope defeats that purpose.
JMHO, Rodfac

[358wcf]

Many years ago, I began carrying 6" double action S&W revolvers when hunting and working on the ranch- the only exception for many years was a 4" kitgun in 22lr.
In recent years, I find myself migrating to 4" barrels for overall handiness, with minimal loss in "shootability". If I was ever to ask Mr Bowen to build me something special, I think I would lean hard towards 5" as optimum. Custom holsters are not cheap, but neither is quality custom pistolsmithing-- pay for what you want, and be happy!

358wcf [smilie=1:[smilie=1:[smilie=1: