does a longer (handgun) barrel allow for higher accuracy?

[DEA]

i believe that just being faster and having more energy doesn't mean you'll get a more accurate round
tight groupings are more a function of good marksmanship fundamentals than the weapon's characteristics

 

[UffDa]

i believe that just being faster and having more energy doesn't mean you'll get a more accurate round
tight groupings are more a function of good marksmanship fundamentals than the weapon's characteristics

That's true up to a point. Unlike some sports, the best marksman in the world won't do well with an inaccurate gun. A mediocre shot will tend to do better with an accurate firearm. To a poor shot, it doesn't make much difference.

I see this quite often at the range. There is one guy who has a rifle capable of minute of angle groups, yet he is lucky to keep his shots on the paper. My AR-15 carbine will shoot into 1 1/2" at 100 yards from the bench. Realistically, no matter how good I am, I can't expect to shoot better then that except with some luck.

 

[SIFU1A]

A round that comes out of a longer barrel, assuming everything else equal, will come out faster, and have more energy no?

thats correct, usually.

some pistol cartriges powder burn up quicker thus ya reach the point of diminishing return , ie a .45ACP will gain a little velocity up until about 10" and after that it doesnt gain much, IIRC a 9MM will continue to gain in a longer bbl as its powder burns slower, IIRC.

 

[bammann45]

The increased length in site radius does make a big difference for precision shooting. When I competed in int'l 3 position smallbore, many shooters placed what we called "burp tubes" on the end of the target rifles which allowed for the front aperture to be placed even farther from the rear aperture -- particularly in the prone position -- a side effect was the rifles burped on the line.

 

[ahgar]

My preference in handguns is a barrel no longer than 4" with the exception of the 1911 which is 5". Don't know why but ever since i started shooting handguns i've shot the shorter barrels much better. In theory the longer sight radius should help with accuracy but in my case the opposite is true. Give me a 2.5" barrel and i'm pretty good, give me a 6" barrel and you could just about stand in front of me and i'd miss. This pretty well carries over into rifles {16"-20"} and shotguns{18"}. to each his own. ahgar

 

[David E]

David, you are correct, other factors come into play. But if have two barrels of the same age and manufacturer, bored and rifled on the same machines, will find that your velocity will be higher from the longer one.

Absolutely ! But it does show that barrel length ALONE does not guarantee higher velocities. If everything else IS equal, then a 6" barrel will have a higher velocity than a 4" barrel.

(On a different but related note, some .22 rifle barrels are actually slower than shorter barrels, due to the powder charge burning up before the bullet exits the barrel. If the powder burns up and the bullet still has 5" to go, then friction will slow the bullet down.)

And accuracy does have to do with velocity- it effects how quickly the bullet drops. It doesn't have as much effect on the group size (precision), but it will effect how far above or below point of aim you impact. Confusion between accuracy (how close to your point of aim) and precision (how close your results are clustered) is a common mistake.

You are making the mistake of assuming the point of aim will be the same for each gun at each distance. If the group size is the same regardless of barrel length, then a simple matter of sight adjustment will address the Point of Aim / Point of Impact element.

It's more a matter of knowing your gun and load.

.

 

[Tim-Gabz]

I used to clean up silouettes with a 9" 1917 Luger. 9mm Star I was ok. Glock 21 the gun was much better than me, a propoint gave greater slow shooting accuracy that was phenominal on bench rest with custom ammo.

Glock 19 I did well with on a running shoot but the Glock 17L was magical on these shoots. Unfortunately the 17L was not very concealable.

2" 38S&W I battled to hit targets and cone of fire was an apt term.

I would say that the barrel length comes into it's own firing under duress. Lots of practice is essential.

 

[SIFU1A]

i have personally seen a women shooting a 4" bbl mod 29 S&W .44 mag off hand with iron sites hitting 18" plates at 300 yards about 3 outta 6 shots, not bad shooting for a girl lol.


a short bbl pistol is a lot more accurate than a lotta folks give it credit for being.

 

[T-BAG]

i have personally seen a women shooting a 4" bbl mod 29 S&W .44 mag off hand with iron sites hitting 18" plates at 300 yards about 3 outta 6 shots, not bad shooting for a girl lol.

Iron sites !! I don't think I could see an 18 inch plate at 300 yards...Honestly that would be a good shot with a scope...LOL

 

[mwerner]

300 yards? I considered it pretty good shooting to knock over those 300 yard silhouettes with my M-14 in basic training. I was young and strong and had good eyes then too....

 

[SIFU1A]

with practice its not much of a trick to hit the 18" plates at 300 yards with a iron sighted rifle(say an AR15 or AK47) off a rest, its easy with my remington 700 7mag with a 4-12X scope lol, BUT a pistol off hand is something else let me tell ya, i couldnt believe it, she just shrugged it off, said her dad was a gunsmith and she had been shooting since she was little.

i was impressed.

i really enjoy long range shooting, it really gives me a sense of accomplishment to do it as well as i do (which aint very good lol) especially with iron sights, usually ya just get a "feel" as to were to hold in relation to the target as the front sight completely covers the target, hard to explain but not that bad in practice, too bad is getting harder and harder to find a range or place to shoot much over 100 yards.

 

[David E]

I once took a rifle shooter to the range. There was a hubcap on the 100 yd berm. I had my 4" .357 with me at the time and told him I was going to shoot at it. He scoffed.

5 out of 6 shots later, his mouth was hanging wide open.

Then I offered him the next six. He used a rest and steadied himself, fired the six shots single action. He hit it 2 or 3 times, with the misses just next to it.

He was stunned.

Most people seem to think a handgun is only good for 25 yds at best, believing there is a force-field at 26 yds that throws straight flying bullets off course....

As has been said, handguns are better at distance than many people think !!

.

 

[Cutshaw]

Thanks for everyone that contributed to this thread. I was under the impression that increased length for more rifling (thus a longer sustained spin) kept the projectile going "true" longer. Always open to learning something new!

Dang! I can't blame that 26 yard force field any longer!

 

[Midget]

i don't know you guys....


i did some more informal testing today-- ruger gp100 6" vs. smith/wesson 360pd 1 7/8" using the same, reloaded, 38SPL 158gr lead semi-wadcutters and....

i made 6 holes within a 2"x2" shotgroup at ~20 meters benchrested with the gp100.

i made 3 holes on the target at ~20 meters benchrested with the 360pd. i didn't bother measuring those shot groups. 2 of the rounds missed the target altogether. in addition to this, if i had to group those shotgroups together, i'd say they were all consistantly 8-10" above my point of aim.

i'm really not that bad a shot.




i still believe you all on the barrel length not playing a part in the weapon's capabilities. it probably has more to do with the material (aluminum/scandium/titanium) and weight (11.8 ounces!) of the weapon.

still, i'm glad i did this sort of testing to figure out what my weapon capabilities are. since my 360pd is my primary carry item, i guess i'll have to hold my fire until my "oh-shit" situation gets really close!

 

[MORIMOTOM]

i don't know you guys....


i did some more informal testing today-- ruger gp100 6" vs. smith/wesson 360pd 1 7/8" using the same, reloaded, 38SPL 158gr lead semi-wadcutters and....

i made 6 holes within a 2"x2" shotgroup at ~20 meters benchrested with the gp100.

i made 3 holes on the target at ~20 meters benchrested with the 360pd. i didn't bother measuring those shot groups. 2 of the rounds missed the target altogether. in addition to this, if i had to group those shotgroups together, i'd say they were all consistantly 8-10" above my point of aim.

with the ruger you have over a 4" greater sight radius.

 

[SIFU1A]

i don't know you guys....


i did some more informal testing today-- ruger gp100 6" vs. smith/wesson 360pd 1 7/8" using the same, reloaded, 38SPL 158gr lead semi-wadcutters and....

i made 6 holes within a 2"x2" shotgroup at ~20 meters benchrested with the gp100.

i made 3 holes on the target at ~20 meters benchrested with the 360pd. i didn't bother measuring those shot groups. 2 of the rounds missed the target altogether. in addition to this, if i had to group those shotgroups together, i'd say they were all consistantly 8-10" above my point of aim.

i'm really not that bad a shot.




i still believe you all on the barrel length not playing a part in the weapon's capabilities. it probably has more to do with the material (aluminum/scandium/titanium) and weight (11.8 ounces!) of the weapon.

still, i'm glad i did this sort of testing to figure out what my weapon capabilities are. since my 360pd is my primary carry item, i guess i'll have to hold my fire until my "oh-shit" situation gets really close!

ya just need to practice some more with the snubby ya will get better i promise.

its a lot harder to shoot a 2" bbl revolver than a 6" bbl one, imho a lot of the small subcompact 9MM or .40 autos (ie the glock 26/27/33, or the kahr P9/PM9) are easier to shoot well vs a snub revolver.

one thing that really helped me with my "j" frame and my colt detective special was some hogue wood monogrips (i prefer the wood to rubber for concealed carry the rubber "grabs" your clothes) they really really helped me a lot, especially on the colt, it had just std funky colt grips.

a lot of the newer "j"s also dont have very good triggers, ya might look into a trigger job also.

i would wager with some good grips, a good trigger and some practice ya will suprise yourself.