Barrel length

[BunkTheory]

Have you folks noticed a genuine reduction in the capability of your 38 or 357 when you switch from a 6 inch to a 4 inch model?

Im just focusing on the family of wadcutters and l58 grain and large bullets, no interested in the light weight stuff. have shot enough of that in my buddys gun and it doesnt interest me as other then being a 38 special load that wont go through the wall.

[Tokarev]

You can punch all that info into a ballistic calculator and see the difference in muzzle velocity and bullet drop.

[BunkTheory]

1. dont have muzzle velocity on any loads yet, would have to use paper specs from reloading data

2. im interested in the purpose of "hey, im finally trying to get my own revolver, have a source that claims to have two revolvers i can live with, a 586 and a gp100, that i can AFFORD, ie both are under 800% and they show 4 FFL within 50 miles of me they deal with.

3. Im looking at it as a 38/44 with the use of magnum cases to generate wadcutter loads, standard HBWC, DEWC loads in the 148 to 170 that i want to push to 1,000 fps. And a chance to play with 200 to 230 grain wadcutters for giggles.

4. Looking at is as a carry piece, as a sam browne or 1950s police gun belt isnt going to work in the summer time, id be considering shoulder rig.

[memtb]

This is just my opinion, for my personal uses. With handguns, I don’t greatly concern myself with velocity loses with shortened barrel lengths. I see the longer barrel providing a longer sight radius, which enhances my shooting at longer distances or small targets. If the target, as in a defense situation, is close....I don’t see the rather minimal velocity loss as a negative. In a defensive situation, the additional barrel length is potentially a greater issue than the velocity loss.

Again, this is just my opinion! memtb

[Outpost75]

A four-inch gun having a minimum cylinder gap of pass 0.003"/hold 0.004" will produce higher velocity with .357 ammunition than a 6-inch gun at Customer Service Maximum of 0.008" pass/0.009" hold. Be aware also that today S&W considers a BC gap as large as 0.010" on a new gun as being within spec, resulting in about 100 fps velocity loss compared to a gun built to Mean Assembly Tolerance of 0.005" pass/0.006" hold.

More important to take your feeler gages to the gun shop and learn how to use them properly, than to fixate upon the length of the phallus.

[BunkTheory]

A four-inch gun having a minimum cylinder gap of pass 0.003"/hold 0.004" will produce higher velocity with .357 ammunition than a 6-inch gun at Customer Service Maximum of 0.008" pass/0.009" hold. Be aware also that today S&W considers a BC gap as large as 0.010" on a new gun as being within spec, resulting in about 100 fps velocity loss compared to a gun built to Mean Assembly Tolerance of 0.005" pass/0.006" hold.

More important to take your feeler gages to the gun shop and learn how to use them properly, than to fixate upon the length of the phallus.

thats just a wrong post.

[BunkTheory]

I have no feeler gauges.

Gun stores dont let you do that here. They let you take it out of the box, work the action once or twice and compare the serial number matches the box and paper work.

The gun stores in my area wont remove the trigger locks when you want to look at a gun.

[cwtebay]

I think Outpost has very good information there. Not sure where you are, but I can't imagine any gun store that wouldn't allow you to use a feeler gauge on a prospective purchase. They are readily available and inexpensive and quite handy for the revolver owner that is interested in shooting for accuracy (assuming that you are with your wadcutter comment).
The sad thing is, as Outpost stated - the feeler gauge is almost necessary when purchasing a new revolver due to the lax acceptable specs that have become the norm.
I personally don't have the body frame to conceal a 6" barrel, so if that's among your interests it's definitely a factor.
Below are some photos of a handy program on:
Shootersnotes.com
Apologies for the artifacts on the photos.
I changed only the barrel length, looks like a difference of 119fps with that particular load.


Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[shooting on a shoestring]

BunkTheory, let me explain.
1. Outpost75 has had an extensive career in the firearms industry.
2. You don’t own a chronograph or even a set of feeler gauges. You’re still cutting your teeth.
3. “ thats just a wrong post.” No. The proper response is “Thank you sir.”

BunkTheory, there’s a wealth of knowledge available here for the learning. Knowledge that can expand your abilities and shrink your groups. But…much of it is counter to your current views. That will change as you get more experience.

[Texas by God]

I assumed that Bunk was speaking of the phallic pun made by Outpost.......

Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk

[ABJ]

BunkTheory, let me explain.
1. Outpost75 has had an extensive career in the firearms industry.
2. You don’t own a chronograph or even a set of feeler gauges. You’re still cutting your teeth.
3. “ thats just a wrong post.” No. The proper response is “Thank you sir.”

BunkTheory, there’s a wealth of knowledge available here for the learning. Knowledge that can expand your abilities and shrink your groups. But…much of it is counter to your current views. That will change as you get more experience.

I don't usually respond when I read things of this nature but "shoestring" said it better than I could.
Tony

[Outpost75]

I have no feeler gauges.

Gun stores dont let you do that here. They let you take it out of the box, work the action once or twice and compare the serial number matches the box and paper work.

The gun stores in my area wont remove the trigger locks when you want to look at a gun.

They would not get my business, then.

[gwpercle]

I have no feeler gauges.

Gun stores dont let you do that here. They let you take it out of the box, work the action once or twice and compare the serial number matches the box and paper work.

The gun stores in my area wont remove the trigger locks when you want to look at a gun.

The last revolver I bought , about one year ago , was at Cabela's ... they wouldn't remove the trigger lock of even let me pull the hammer back and ease it down ...lock stayed in place and that was all I could see ... after sale was completed , Locked gun went back in box and salesman escorted me to and out the door and told me not to stop and not to open the box and drive off the lot !
Weirdest gun transaction I ever went thru ... the guy acted like if given a chance I would load the little Ruger Wrangler and go on a shooting rampage or hold up the store ... I'm not buying from Cabela's again ...I had a bunch of gift cards and they had a Black Ruger Wrangler ...
If that's the way your gun shop treats you then I will tell you they sure don't want you looking too hard at the handguns and pulling out a feeler gauge might get you arrested ! I can fully understand what you are saying .
There are other local gun shops I usually deal with ...they let you look at the firearms ...but Cabela's treated me like a possible criminal ... I thought I was in the Twilight Zone .

Is it Me ...or is the World getting weird ?
Gary

[charlie b]

Sportsman's lets me examine the guns as much as I want. No trigger locks on anything. The Cabela's in El Paso did not have trigger locks last time I was there (two years ago). Customers were working actions on the pistols.

I think you may have some weird local rules.

[JimB..]

Cabellas here started refusing to remove the trigger locks a couple years ago. They also have an “all sales final” policy for used guns. Makes for a difficult purchasing process.

[cwtebay]

I don't understand how one would consider a firearm, especially a used one with no inspection allowed. Seems like buying a car after walking around it a couple of times.
Those store policies are ridiculous in my humble opinion.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[stubshaft]

In answer to the OP question, YES, I have observed a difference in velocity between 4" and 6" barrels. It was not as pronounced as the loss between 4" and 2.5" barrels which is more dramatic. I am not discounting the fact that BC gap plays a factor in velocity but you can only burn so much powder in a given barrel length.

[black mamba]

Go to "Ballistics by the Inch" to see the effects of different barrel lengths on different calibers. Very revealing.

[Larry Gibson]

Many years ago, a friend had a Dan Wesson chambered in 357 magnum with 4, 6 and 8" barrels. He was very interested in testing the velocity difference. Since, at that time I had probably the only chronograph in a 3 county area, he and I did a velocity test between the 3 barrels. We tested a target load using Bullseye powder under a 358477 and a magnum load using 2400 under a 358156. I had the moulds and cast the bullets used. The barrels, when installed, had the barrel/cylinder gap set with the feeler gauge that came with the Dan Wesson revolver for such. I believe it was a .004 feeler gauge.

The velocities did, in fact, reduce with the shorter barrels. Not so much with the Bullseye load but markedly with the 2400 load. As I recall there was about a 250 - 300 fps difference between the 4" and the 8" barrel from just over 1200 fps to right at 1500 fps.

As Outpost75 mentions, there are many variables that affect velocity in revolvers. Not only barrel length but barrel/cylinder gap, chamber/throat variations. If comparing the velocity of a 4" revolver to a 6" revolver the testing should be done back to back with 10 or 12 shot test strings on the same day, under the same conditions with the same exact ammunition. Testing them on different days or even with the same ammunition/load but loaded at different times will most certainly give meaningless data for a comparison.

[Baltimoreed]

Never bought a firearm with the thought ‘gee I wonder how well this will perform ballistically’. But I'm not a bullseye target shooter or dangerous game hunter. I buy mine for the firearm’s esthetics, the maker’s logo, price and what I’m going to use it for. Though I have bought firearms just because.