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Barrel length versus velocity


paul788

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How many feet per second of velocity can I expect going from a 4" to a 6" barrel? I'm thinking of switching to a 6" and wonder how much (or little) gain to expect. I seem to remember 40 fps per inch but haven't found a source that verifies it.

Thanks

Paul

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Seems more like 35 f/s, BUT there are so many other issues you can't really say for sure. You must chrono each gun separately. About the only way you can be relatively sure of it is if you are actually cutting a barrel down.

Revolvers are especially notorious for velocity differences between guns irregardless of barrel length.

I have a NEW Barsto .45acp 5" barrel and it gets 30-40 f/s LESS than a 20 yr old, much shot .45acp Clark barrel.

I took a buddies 5" 625 to the 2007 Nationals and it ran about 30 f/s more then my PC625 5".

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About 50 feet per second per inch is a good rule of thumb. Each gun is an individual though. I have a 4" that has higher velocity than some of my 6" ones. I think half of the variation is the bore of the barrel, half is the cylinder gap, and half is other stuff.

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I have found that with my revolver (a ruger alaskan [2 1/2"barrel]) that I lose approximately 40 fps compared to the reloading manual loads I have used. The barrel length of the barrel used for the reloading manual published loads I have is a 7.25 inch, so you can imagine that my loads have to be "hot" to make major in USPSA.

The cylinder gap of the revolver added to the length of the barrel will effect the fps that you obtain, as was advised earlier.

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