Biloxi23 Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 That kind of math makes my head hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chevyoneton Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 (edited) Ive been reading Elmer Keiths Sixguns again lately after 20+ years since reading it the last time. In it the old sage wrote something 50+ years ago I have never seen or heard anywhere else. He said shorter handgun barrels allow the front and rear sights to be closer in the focal plane and therefore both are in sharper focus to our eye. And the opposite is true for longer barrels. We always take for granted that we focus on the front sight and the rear sight and target kind of fall where they may but Elmer seems to say that shorter barrels might actually allow for more precise work as both sights are clearer. I dont see for crap anyway but do know the first time I took my recently purchased 8 3/8 S&W Model 27-2 out to the range I was impressed how accurately I was able to shoot it. I have 3 3/8, 4, 5, 6, & 8 3/8 S&W Model 27s & 28s so I guess the scientific thing to do it take them out and shoot them under semi-controlled conditions and see if any relevant trend in barrel length vs. accuracy can be found. I know that I shoot my XDm 5.25 better than the XDm 3.8 I started USPSA with, but not by a whole lot across a usual course of fire. The 5.25 may make some difference on the longer, tighter shots and smaller plates though. At least I would like to think so to justify the cost of another gun! Edited November 2, 2012 by chevyoneton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not-So-Mad Matt Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 He said shorter handgun barrels allow the front and rear sights to be closer in the focal plane and therefore both are in sharper focus to our eye. That's the concept behind the new Caracal sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaster113 Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 A GOOD 6" will transition/point like a 5" and is just easier to shoot. tight, or longer targets are a non issue with a 6". IMHO agree, the gun has to be lightened considerably for it to be effective. love mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaster113 Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 after receiving my 6", and watching the sights closely when a shot breaks I immediately noticed that what would be a miss with my 5" would be a hit the 6". I'm still trying to reprogram myself to accept a marginal sight picture and realize that I will most likely get a hit, whereas that same sight picture when the shot breaks with the 5" would be a miss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PistoleroJesse Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 (edited) How much longer does a bullet moving at say... 1000 FPS (for a fairly average non-Open gun figure) dwell in a 6" barrel vs a 5"? I wonder if that "extra time to screw up the shot" is notable, or just a matter of milliseconds? Mathematically, I guess it works out to .00008333? But I was never good at "word" problems... That's a pretty good guess... but isn't the bullet still accelerating in that 1"? I mean if you were to really nitpick the 'correct' answer Forget it, some guy already did it above... Edited November 4, 2012 by PistoleroJesse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogmaDog Posted December 7, 2012 Share Posted December 7, 2012 Imagine a pistol with two front sights on it, one half way down the barrel, and one at the muzzle. If the sights are perfectly aligned, you won't see the front front sight at all...just the closer one. However, if your muzzle is turned some angle, then you'll see both of the front sights, and the sight at the muzzle will look to be further away from the center of the rear notch than the sight at the middle of the barrel--the deviation from perfect alignment will be more apparent the further the separation between the front and rear sights. So longer sight radius makes errors in sight alignment more readily apparent. Also, I find a narrow front sight with a lot of light on either side to be easier to aim precisely than with less light. DD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardChrome Posted August 30, 2014 Share Posted August 30, 2014 Well usually it means you have a longer barrel with that comes more accuracy. But the greater distance between your sights allows for more precise adjustments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottTheRealist Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 Nowhere in this thread is powder burn time or fulcrum mentioned. A longer barrel gives more time for the powder to burn, shorter barrels have to deal with more explosive force affecting the muzzle, right? A longer gun increases the leverage against your wrists at the time the bullet/gases leave the barrel. The extra weight helps to mitigate that recoil though... right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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