is the 6" limited gun going to be "THE" gun to have

[ogiebb]

ok i dont want to start a whole war between 5" and 6" inch guns, but a lot of well known GM's are now switching to the "Longlide of the Force"...so is this the end of the 5" thing? i had a chance to handle a 6" fat free this weekend and that thing is sweet..i wish i could buy both and try them out but i cant

[zhunter]

I hope so, I just bought a used one this week

[Matt Cheely]

I have a suspicion that you'll see a lot of 6" guns in the next couple of years. Followed but the sale of said guns a bit later...

[Rocket35]

I have seen several with "issues". I don't see that it is a significant advantage- I shot one a month or so ago and didn't feel like it was "better" than my 5" gun. Plenty of time on the range shooting them side by side would be the only real way to say if it is better or not for each individual.

[Dan Sierpina]

I have a suspicion that you'll see a lot of 6" guns in the next couple of years. Followed but the sale of said guns a bit later...

Matt,

I think you may notice the trend of 6" guns going to shooters over 40. Just the age that arms are getting a bit shorter. Over the winter, I plan on building one too. Maybe by the time you get there, there will be a process that can make your eyes like they were when you were in your 20's. Able to focus close, far, and FAST!

[JThompson]

I have a suspicion that you'll see a lot of 6" guns in the next couple of years. Followed but the sale of said guns a bit later...

Matt,

I think you may notice the trend of 6" guns going to shooters over 40. Just the age that arms are getting a bit shorter. Over the winter, I plan on building one too. Maybe by the time you get there, there will be a process that can make your eyes like they were when you were in your 20's. Able to focus close, far, and FAST!

Tell me about it Dan... that's the main reason I chose to go with a dot gun. I can focus near or far, but not fast. If I look at something close for a time then look far I can't see squat. I'm going to see about some glasses to help with it. Age 42yrs... everyone in the family had them before they left high school so I i guess I got lucky.

JT

[G-ManBart]

I have a suspicion that you'll see a lot of 6" guns in the next couple of years. Followed but the sale of said guns a bit later...

Matt,

I think you may notice the trend of 6" guns going to shooters over 40. Just the age that arms are getting a bit shorter. Over the winter, I plan on building one too. Maybe by the time you get there, there will be a process that can make your eyes like they were when you were in your 20's. Able to focus close, far, and FAST!

Tell me about it Dan... that's the main reason I chose to go with a dot gun. I can focus near or far, but not fast. If I look at something close for a time then look far I can't see squat. I'm going to see about some glasses to help with it. Age 42yrs... everyone in the family had them before they left high school so I i guess I got lucky.

JT

Why would you guys want to focus near anyway?....what're ya trying to look at your sights or something?

[Dan Sierpina]

I have a suspicion that you'll see a lot of 6" guns in the next couple of years. Followed but the sale of said guns a bit later...

Matt,

I think you may notice the trend of 6" guns going to shooters over 40. Just the age that arms are getting a bit shorter. Over the winter, I plan on building one too. Maybe by the time you get there, there will be a process that can make your eyes like they were when you were in your 20's. Able to focus close, far, and FAST!

Tell me about it Dan... that's the main reason I chose to go with a dot gun. I can focus near or far, but not fast. If I look at something close for a time then look far I can't see squat. I'm going to see about some glasses to help with it. Age 42yrs... everyone in the family had them before they left high school so I i guess I got lucky.

JT

Why would you guys want to focus near anyway?....what're ya trying to look at your sights or something?

I will admit that sometimes that bump does get in the way.

[Merlin Orr]

4" is to 5" as 5" is to 6". Can you shoot your Commander as well as your Government Model?

Nope, you can't. If the weight is the same the sight radius increase is a substantial benefit. Also - the recoil impulse is different. Smoother and less pronounced with less apparent muzzle rise. Again - 4" is to 5" as 5" is to 6". Longer is better. If you don't believe me - ask your sweetie.

[sfinney]

Once you go long, short is just wrong.

[Alan Meek]

Merlin,

My sources tell me anything over 5" is a waste

Alan

Edited September 18, 2007 by Alan Meek

[Bob Hostetter]

I would think the main difference would be the longer sight radius. If the weight is the same as a 5" and the front to rear weight balance is the same, then they should feel about the same. I am probably going to build one to try but then I am turning 53 in a couple of days and can't see sh*t anymore..............

[j1b]

I talked with a guy who shoots a 6" and was at nationals.

His comment? This probably wasn't the best gun for this match. Too many easy targets and not enough hard ones that would give the longer sight radius an advantage.

I remember shooting 6" guns way back in the day and the slide action did cause a little more movement over what I preferred. I shot the gun for a month or so, then for some reason shot a 5" and was like "back home!!!!"

Now, the 6" guns these days are obviously lightened so some of that action may be more minimal than in years past. Still, the comment I heard was that the eye's were getting older and the longer sight radius helped. The action that I remember from way back when was still there to some degree, but in general ithe trade off was worth it.

I would suspect we'll see a few more 6" guns out there over the next year. I'd like to try one and see how it plays.

J

[sfinney]

4 years ago I bought a 6" gun built in the "old" Benny style - bull barrel, tri-topped, recoil tunnel cut back to 5" under the barrel..... shot it for about 2 years and loved it..... I then bought a 5" second gun, that according to the timer, I had faster splits and transitions with.... so the tinkerer in me ended up cutting the 6" gun back to 5". Took me a few months to realize that the mistake I made was that I was faster (slightly) on the timer with the 5" guns, at full speed, in some drills.... but much less accurate, especially past 15 yards.

Keep in mind that I got the 6" when I was 38, cut the slide back to 5" when I was almost 40, then "suddenly" needed glasses by 40+. The glasses helped, but now in my lower 40's, I find the 6" sight picture much more forgiving. And just as fast at "real world" match speeds.

My new Fat Free is supposed to be ready later this month..... BTW.

[ogiebb]

i wonder if TJ will be shooting a 6" again in next years nationals..hmm

[Dan Sierpina]

i wonder if TJ will be shooting a 6" again in next years nationals..hmm

Perhaps, but not one he only got a week prior to the match.

[sfinney]

i wonder if TJ will be shooting a 6" again in next years nationals..hmm

Me thinks the problem with TJ's gun, from what everyone is saying, has little to do with it being a 6".

[Merlin Orr]

A competition gun is a purpose built tool. Personally, I like having a longer tool. I think the guy's with longer tools are (as a general rule) happy to have them and find they can use them to their advantage when they need them. If someone else is happy with a short tool...I guess that's OK too.

[mjbine]

A competition gun is a purpose built tool. Personally, I like having a longer tool. I think the guy's with longer tools are (as a general rule) happy to have them and find they can use them to their advantage when they need them. If someone else is happy with a short tool...I guess that's OK too.

When is this thread going to be tagged with ADULT content?

Edited September 18, 2007 by mjbine

[Alan Meek]

A competition gun is a purpose built tool. Personally, I like having a longer tool. I think the guy's with longer tools are (as a general rule) happy to have them and find they can use them to their advantage when they need them. If someone else is happy with a short tool...I guess that's OK too.

When is this thread going to be tagged with ADULT content?

I have not seen any adult content yet, have you Merlin?

Alan

[tightloop]

A competition gun is a purpose built tool. Personally, I like having a longer tool. I think the guy's with longer tools are (as a general rule) happy to have them and find they can use them to their advantage when they need them. If someone else is happy with a short tool...I guess that's OK too.

STOP IT....STOP IT....I just spewed coke out my nose all over the monitor...

[zhunter]

I have not seen any adult content yet, have you Merlin?

Alan

LMAO

and BTW, funny signature you have there Alan

[HSMITH]

My 6" 'tool' (Merlin LOL) is lighter than any 5" S_I I have ever seen or handled. It is faster to transition than the 5" gun it replaced, it is far easier to make tight shots with, it cycles VERY fast, and it balances better than any other S_I I have handled. The front sight looks to rise a bit higher than a 5" gun, but I can see it clearly through the whole cycle and I couldn't do that with a 5" gun. After shooting a light 6" gun I would not willingly go back to a 5" gun, my 6" is far better in some aspects and clearly equal in all others.

[moverfive]

As for the speed of the six inch versus the five inch - with the lightened slide I have, I am able to shoot the six inch with 0.11 - 0.13 second splits and maintain the same pattern on a 10-yard target. Those times are no different than what I do with a five inch.

However, the difference that I am seeing (literally) is that the front sight of the six inch tracks SOOOO much better than my five inch. So while the five inch might actually have a quicker cycle, because of the greater amount of movement of the front sight, the splits are the same as the six inch's. And because of the better sight movement, I seem to be able to flow through targets very similar to when I am shooting my open gun.

To some degree, the real difference between the six inch and the five inch may come down to what you are more used to/what fits your particular shooting style. Since I am primarily an open shooter, the way my six inch gun shoots is closer to what I used to shooting.

.......and to clarify - I have only started running with the gun and I use 165gr JHP's. While I seem to have found a 180gr load that seems to work fairly well, from what I have seen, I would not take anything other than a 165gr to a real match.

So I can see where those that shot a heavier slide and/or a heavier bullet would definitely think the gun feels a little sluggish as compared to a five inch version.

[uscbigdawg]

Playing with a STI Grizzly (10mm) and a Fat Free, the biggest plus is that the sights just seem more clear and easier to pick up. Too the recoil impulse was more smooth than snappy. I tend to prefer the latter, but it was still really sweet.

In the end, it comes down to preference. After I sold my CGW 5" gun (and regretted it) and it came time to get another, I went with a Brazos BCG Pro Series. Bob was great as we played with various configurations since what I liked (the previous gun) was a standard barrel and full profile frame/slide. However, I had shot exclusively limited to that point and so worked my way to running that kind of gun. So, when I decided on the new gun, I had been shooting open for a number of years, needed to "re-learn" to shoot limited. Hence, I went with a slightly heavier gun (bull barrel). It'll be re-barreled to a standard barrel when I get used to shooting without a scope again.

Bottom line. Try 'em both.

Rich