aandabooks Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 My club shoots a rimfire steel match. It is not sanctioned and our match director puts together different stages each month. I currently shoot with either my Browning Buckmark Hunter 5.5" or my Colt/Walther/Umarex 1911. Since I'm always thinking about another gun and I like the looks of the longer barreled guns, I've been looking for a Buckmark 7.25". They are not easy to find. Is this the right path for steel shooting or should I be looking for one of the Ruger Mark III Lites? I had a Ruger Mark III SS 5.5" that I let go of because I like the Browning better. The way our matches are usually setup we sometimes have wide transitions and I'm not real sure that the longer barrel heavier gun is the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandabooks Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 Nobody has an opinion about whether it is better to run a long barrel or a short light gun? Maybe I'm already in the sweet spot but don't know it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdphotoguy Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 (edited) I'm running a 4.5" barrel. I'd have to think a 7"+ barrel would be a disadvantage as the extra weight would slow down your transitions. Edited October 21, 2014 by jdphotoguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 What distances are you shooting? Remember, the longer the barrel the heavier it is, the heavier it is the harder it is to start it and stop it in transitions between the targets. As you know, rimfire is all about transitions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dwight Stearns Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 I assume you are shooting iron sights as barrel length when shooting with optics isn't as important. Iron sight division is a balance of weight vs sight radius. I prefer a 6 to 6.5" barrel in my buckmark as long as I can keep the weight down. Since Tacsol doesn't make that barrel length, I took a 4" barrel and turned it down, threaded it and attached an aluminum sleeve. It now has a 6.5" barrel sight radius, 4" rifled bore and is 1.5 oz. lighter than the original 4" bull barrel. Works great for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ede Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I like 5" more or less on my guns. Adding length and/or weight seems to slow me down on the transitions. For a comped gun I like 4" barrel plus the comp length. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxshooter Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Have you considered a Buckmark with a TacSol barrel. They make a 7.5 inch barrel that is very light weight. You get the best as far as long sight radius without front end heavy gun. I have a TacSol barrel on a Buckmark that is very accurate. I think the Buckmark is a better choice than the Ruger if you shoot a 1911 or 2011 design gun since they have the same grip angle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 (edited) This is my Steel Challenge gun with a TacSol barrel .... lightweight, accuracy and transitions super fast .... I took the front sight off since I'm shooting open ... Edited October 22, 2014 by Nimitz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 You could get a 7" barrel model 41 !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornetx40 Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Tacsol doesn't make the 7.5" any more. I had a bunch of the 5.5" with a comp of my own design. I tried a 4.5" also....I didn't see a difference in times but there is little difference in the weight of the 4.5" to the 5.5" tacsol barrels. I use a comp to steady the gun as I am leaving the target you can often see your hit. Use a comp that is easy to clean and actually works. There a lot of comps that do nothing but make the shooter feel better.... A light barrel is definitely better than a steel bull barrel. The model 41, although a great gun, is not the right choice for steel ...way to heavy even with a short barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aandabooks Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 Got my hands on a 7.25" barrel Buckmark today. Way too front heavy for swinging around fast. I did buy the base model 5.5" with the molded rubber grips from my LGS. I'll be ordering a Tac Sol barrel in either 4" or 5.5" and a compensator. The barrels say they are compensated but it must be internally as the pictures on Brownells don't show it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxshooter Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 TacSol barrels are not compensated. If you want a comp you need to order a threaded TS barrel and screw the comp on. The Model 41 is an excellent SC gun. . I have two 41s with Clark 5.5 " STC barrels that are excellent steel guns. They are extremely reliable also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itchy Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 When I started shooting rimfire Steel Challenge, I set up two Buckmarks with the TacSol 7.25 inch barrel. The are alumninum with a steel sleeve, so they are actually lighter than the shorter steel factory barrel. Unfortunately, they are no longer made. I now shoot one of their 2211 conversions. I switched to the 1911 platform for the trigger, as the Buckmark trigger is a longer pull. Truth be told, I shoot both the Buckmark and 2211 about the same. I didn't see much difference in accuracy between the 7.25 inch and 5 inch barrels. Seiichi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I've never really bought into the heavier gun is slower in transition thing. I've shot countless matches with Steve Anderson, him using his all steel USPSA Open gun (Caspian 5in, comp, not light). I never would say that his gun slowed his transitions. For me and rimfire, I most often shoot either a Colt Match Target (think 6in barrel with a big lug under it) or an Advantage Arms (G17 size) slide on one of my Glock frames. Those are certainly different. But, if one is faster than the other, I have never noticed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimitz Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Yep .... My transitions with my STI Steelmaster are virtually identical to that with my Buckmark rimfire gun. The difference in my string times is draw vs no draw and I'm working that down as as well ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photoracer Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Long barrel for Iron sight division and no more that 6" for Open is usually the best but you need to see what works for you. In centerfire many times my iron sight guns have shorter barrels than my open guns, but not by my choice anyway. That is just how they come. In Rimfire I use 5.5" for Open and 7.25" for Irons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photoracer Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 I've never really bought into the heavier gun is slower in transition thing. I've shot countless matches with Steve Anderson, him using his all steel USPSA Open gun (Caspian 5in, comp, not light). I never would say that his gun slowed his transitions. For me and rimfire, I most often shoot either a Colt Match Target (think 6in barrel with a big lug under it) or an Advantage Arms (G17 size) slide on one of my Glock frames. Those are certainly different. But, if one is faster than the other, I have never noticed. I used to shoot a lot of rimfire with Robbie Orent and his Rimfire Open gun weighed double what mine did and he kicked my a** considering he shot at a world class level. Admittedly he has shot with my guns but he always refused to put it on the clock. I don't think he wanted to put some doubt in his mind that he could shoot with something better than the gun that Scott Volquartsen built for him. Personally I am faster with a lighter gun and I am used to the difference in the faster acceleration and braking you can do with a lighter gun. BJ could address that since he used to use that Scandium framed S&W 1911 for his rimfire pistol. He likes a little more weight towards the front so often has a steel comp on an otherwise lightweight gun. I tried that figuring it might reduce the muzzle flip but I could not tell the difference myself. So I went back to an alloy comp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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