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How Short Is Your Shorty?


RKooi

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Obviously anyone who shoots open division has at least been exposed to the debate over which setup is superior; a standard 5" slide with comp or a commander or commander length topend. We have gone over this quite a bit here in the Enoverse and we continue to discuss the pros and cons of 9mm major vs. .38 Super and variants, short vs. long guiderod/spring setups etc. I am not here to rehash any of that. What I would like to know is this:

For those of you that shoot a short gun, one that you would term a 'shorty', how long is the topend? Take your topend off the frame and measure it from the rear of the slide at the bottom to the end of the comp. Also include the specs (cut govt. vs. commander, barrel and comp type.) I am just curious.

I'll go first:

8 5/8" overall length

cut back govt. slide

STI Trubor 4.5 barrel/comp

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the difference in length that you will see listed here is because of the different barrel, slide & comp combinations used by the various builders. i use a gov't slide which i shorten by .700" then add a schuemann AET threaded bull barrel with my 7 port comp. this gives you an overall length of the topend of about 9". other builders using a straight barrel and cone comp or the sti trubor will end up with a slightly shorter topend or quite a bit shorter based on the length of their comp.

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This is quite an interesting topic. I measured the top end on my open gun and it measures 9 inches. The specs on the top end are government slide cut 1/4 inch,

5 inch barrel, 4 chamber cone comp at 1 3/4 inch. I wouldn't really consider this a shorty because of the use of a 5 inch barrel but it measures out the same as some of the short guns.

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We build our standard comp guns on a government slide cut back .500" with a 2.5" comp and our short guns on a government slide cut back .800" with a 2.125 comp.

At at customer's request we have did a steel gun with a government slide cut back 1.0" and 1.75" comp.

Not at the shop yet this morning so I don't have the overall length available.

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I bought an SVI slide (govt lenght) in the white from a guy who dropped his project bec of financial problem. I dont neeed it at that time but I cannot pass on the price so I keep it on my cabinet until I read on this forum about cutting/shortening the slide. I also have a standard SVI frame, so maybe the gunsmiths who are posting replies on this thread might give me a range on how much will be the cost to convert this govt slide to shorty plus other cuts, including the barrel and comp + fitting.

thanks

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...maybe the gunsmiths who are posting replies on this thread might give me a range on how much will be the cost to convert this govt slide to shorty plus other cuts, including the barrel and comp + fitting.

If you do so...please do so in a Private Message or an email (to amateur). I don't want to see this thread turned into a bidding war...nor do I want to see it drifted.

Administrator

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Since it seems we have a lot of dancing around about the actual measurements (sounds like a bunch of guys don't it) I have the shortest one yet (no joke). The current 9mm mongoose measures 8.375". This is a true commander slide and 5 port comp of my own design.

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Well, I promise size doesn't matter to me. Performance is much more important. I simply have a more difficult time swinging the long ones around. :D

I want to participate in this thread to learn more about my gun, maybe y'all can help me?

I think mine is a shorty... measuring what Roger requested, mine is just over 8 5/8". I think I remember Derek saying that he'd use a gov't slide and cut it back 0.400"... does that sound right?

I don't know what comp and I don't know what barrel (other than Scheumann). How do you measure the barrel length?

What determines if it's a shorty or not?

Thanks guys.

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Sharyn, you can't imagine how relieved us guys are after reading your first couple of sentences. :lol: I think that should be your new sig line....

Your last question is what I was trying to get answered. Apparently some shorties are shorties in name only or because their creators deem them such. :)

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any gun using a barrel length shorter than a 5", i would consider a shorty. my shorty and brazos both have top ends that measure 9" and JL's is the shortest at 8.375". what does all this mean other than some short guns are shorter than others. if there is a length that a short gun must be to be called short, i am not aware of it. is this just a comparison or some kind of competition to be the shortest. i feel we have all come up with our own combinations of what we call our short gun and it's obvious that the people that own these different short guns must like them for some reason. i think it's great that we all build them a bit different. just think how boring it would be for all the shooters out there to only have one choice. :)

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Sharyn, you can't imagine how relieved us guys are after reading your first couple of sentences.  :lol: 

Roger, glad I could help. ;)

Now that you're feeling more secure,... can someone answer my questions? :P

Isn't Derek a member here?

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The Viper I used to own had a 6" barrel, and the Pit Vipers have 5" barrels, but the overal length of both is around 9", and the weight is around 40 oz. But, I'd still call them shorties, personally.

The "typical" non-shorty is a gun w/a 5 inch barrel and 2+" of comp out in front of that, yielding a gun 9.5-10.5" long, so so.... At least, by my meager calculations :)

So, Sharyn, I'd say that you officially have a "short gun" - its up to you if you want to call it a "shorty" or not ;)

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