Surely size does matter? 4.75", 5.5", 7.5"

[r0gue]

So which is best, or usually preferred, the 4.75", 5.5" or 7.5" SAA length?  I kind of like the look of the 4.75, but I don't want to regret my decision later.
Thanks,
r0gue

[Ozark Tracker]

Well, that's a loaded question.  The 4.5 is quicker handling. easier in and out of the holster. but on the down side not as much sight radius. not so important at short ranges?  Longer barrels are a little heavier packing around all day. takes a little longer getting them in and out of holdster,   could go on but I think if your're like most everybody you'll enjoy the one you like and think is the "gun for you".  I have guns that are 5.5 and some 7.5  I have just as good a time with both. I ain't out to set any records, just have fun.

Make yourself happy , feel all of them and choose the ones you like and then practice with them that will make all the difference.

[RRio]

The long range accuracy on my 7 1/2" is far superior to my 4 3/4" USFAs. My 5 1/2" Colt is a good go-between, but still does not have the long range accuracy of the 7 1/2' New Dakota.

RRio

[St. George]

Try handling all barrel lengths and see which one offers 'you' the most natural feeling of balance.

I've owned and shot Colt SAA's for so long that 'muscle memory' plays its part in the handling and shooting - but I think you'll find that a 7 1/2" barreled .45 feels best.

The different available C&WAS guns all have slightly different weights and points of balance - especially in the smaller calibers - so this one's a truly individual choice.

Good Luck.

Scouts Out!

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I prefer mine at 5 1/2". There are reasons for all different lengths but, for me, that is the best trade-off for balance, handling and accuracy. I'd say it's a matter of preference and there is no "best length". If you can, shoot all of them and decide for yourself from experience. Better still, just buy them all. 

[BlaiseNSaddles]

Well a longer barrel generally is more accurate, but at most CAS pistol distances it is less of a concern.  For me, I went from long 7.5" jobs to a Ruger with a 3.75" barrel.   The reason was that the less weight and mass hanging out front is something more I can handle to try duelist style with. 

Again, at most of the distances barrel length is less of a concern then the eyesight, steadiness and ability of the person behind the firearm.

[Doc Shapiro]

Ack, another myth being perpetrated!  A longer barrel isn't more accurate.  A longer barrel is easier to shoot accurately due to a longer sight radius (the distance between the front and rear sights).

My 4 5/8 inch Rugers shoot plenty accurately.  A 1 inch group at 25 yards, offhand, is pretty darn good.  From a Ransom Rest, I'd be willing to wager a one hole group not much bigger than the diameter of the bullet.

I suspect that the 2 most common lengths are 4 3/4 (4 5/8 in Rugers) and 5 1/2.  The shorter barrel is much quicker to get into and out of leather, and to move postively from target to target.

That said, this is a decision that you'll have to make on your own.  Handle a bunch of guns and see what you like.  It was easy for me, I love the way the 4 3/4 (or 4 5/8 for Rugers) barreled guns look with the ejector rod housing ending at the end of the barrel.  But that's me.

Doc

[RRio]

Ack, another myth being perpetrated!  A longer barrel isn't more accurate.

Respectfully disagree with ya on that one, Doc.



RRio

[Doc Shapiro]

How so Rio.  Please explain.  The bullet has enough time to stabilize coming out of a 4 3/4 inch barrel.  If it didn't, there's no way you'd see a 1 inch group at 25 yards (off hand).  You'd not see the 1/2 inch group at 50 yards that some companies guarentee with a 5 inch 1911!  You wouldn't see Bob Munden hit a balloon at 200 yards with a 2 inch snubbie!

So, please explain to me how it is that a 7 1/2 inch barreled gun is inherently more accurate than a 4 3/4 inch gun.  I'm anxious to learn.

[RRio]

I know how my guns shoot at 50+ yards. I can hit more consistantly with my 7 1/2"  at 50+ yards, than I can with my 4 3/4".
If what you say is true, then arms manufactors have been wasting a lot of barrel stock. All hand guns should have no more than a barrel of no more than 2".

You wouldn't see Bob Munden hit a balloon at 200 yards with a 2 inch snubbie!

Bad example.
Bob has been a showman all of his life doing that very thing. Not everybody can dedicate their life to shooting like Bob has. I 'd be willing to say that Bob knows that 2" snubbie better than some of us knows how to walk.

[jiminy criquet]

I believe its a matter of physics.  The longer the barrel the more chance a bullet has to stabilize by having the barrel impart it's spin more uniformly on the bullet.  Or something to that effect   Which is also why a rifle is more accurate than a pistol.

And the shooter also has more of a chance of making an accurate shot by having an improved (longer) sight radius.

So, a general rule of thumb is that....all things being equal, a firearm with a longer barrel is more accurate.

[Ozark Tracker]

I think everybodys got the same idea but different words for it.   If you took two barrels, drilled and rifled 100% true. shot at 10 yards clamped in a vise. both should hit same place under  perfect conditions. but at 100 yards something has happened. the shorter barrel should hit lower, is it less accurate?  no the speed has bleed off and it will drop a little sooner.  accuracy of both barrels  is the same.

  the variables affecting the barrel and bullet are the key items. energy and speed of the bullet leaving the barrel ,  longer site radius, easier to shoot, More accurate, I think, but not more accurate because of the extra barrel length. maybe the extra siting radius.

[jiminy criquet]

Noooo.....I respectfully disagree.  Again, simple physics tells us that not only will the shorter barrel deliver less velocity, but because it has less time to refine and impart it's spin on the bullet, it will deliver less accuracy also.

Think of a child's toy top.  Less spin means more wobble, and the top has a tendency to wander.  More spin on the top means less wobble, and the top stays more in one location as it spins.  Same thing as a bullet.

[Doc Shapiro]

Rio, I would suggest that that is due to the longer sight radius and not anything else gained by a longer barrel.

Only way to test this one is to take a gun with a 4 3/4 inch barrel, put it in a rest, and print it at 25 yards.  Take the barrel off and put on a 7 1/2 inch barrel and do the same.

That's the only way we'll know for sure.

But I can tell you that my 4 5/8 inch Rugers print exceptionally well.  And I can show you the target to prove it.

Doc

[Boon]

Queston Pards ? ifn you shoot a 150 grain in a long barrel and use a 110 grain bullet in a short barrel...which would be faster and flatter projeticfle at the same range I think the 110 grain would have more fps than the 150 even in the shorter barrel and the range would be the same. Choose the best load for you particular gun no matter what size.

[Ed Clintwood]

Being a new guy I hate to jump in on the "old guys" but- a lot of you are right in some respects.  As for bullet spin a 4 3/4" barrel should get the job done, the 7 1/2" has the longer sight radius and a rifle still longer sight radius hence the rifle is more accurate for most shooters, as is a 7 1/2" over the 4 3/4" for MOST shooters.
  A 110 gr bullet may start out faster than a 180 but it sheds velocity a lot faster at at long range has more of a rainbow trajectory.  You don't see anybody shooting a 110gr bullet at a 1000 yard match so I guess to sum up I will repeat what Clint Eastwood said in one of his movies "A man has to know his limitations".
  I've had police officers that couldn't hit a man sized target at 10 yards while I've also watched a good pistol shot hit a 2 litre pop bottle at 100 yards.  The guns that we all shoot for the most part, shoot better than we ever will be able to - there are a few exceptions to that rule but for sure I'm not one of them.  The only gun I know I can shoot better than is my American Derringer in .44 mag and it keyholes at less than 7 yards with any round I put through it.
  I think if you look at IPSC (and I hate the way it has gone) you see a lot of the really good shooters using 5" bbl somethings (they aren't guns to me) with optical sights and I think it's the optics that give them the real edge.
  Boy I hope SASS, CAS etc NEVER gets to the stage that IPSC has gone to.  Just my 2 cents and now I'll climb off my soapbox.

[Dakota Widowmaker]

I have shot 4 3/4" 45lc and upto 7" 357 (CAS loads) and the 7" is more accurate due to a number of issues.

1) as other have pounded sand with, longer sight radius.
2) heavier, therefore less felt recoil, therefore easier for followup shots
3) faster bullet with less powder needed

All of these make for easier shooting while drawn, but, the extra weight of the longer barrels and being heavier in your hand, you see real fast why outlaws prefered shorter barrels. (also, so they could draw faster)

The 8" barrels on my Rem 58s are not a problem, if that means anything.

[Prof. Bullspit]

For CAS I prefer a short barrel. My favorite would be the 3 1/2. It handles the fastest and I can shoot it well enough to clean matches. I also have a pair of 4.75 barrels and they are my next favorite. I can tell a difference between them and the 3 1/2 inch barrels but I can get used to them.

I also have the 5 1/2 but for CAS they feel clumbsy and awkward. I also don't shoot them as well as the shorter guns but the difference isn't accuracy, it is ergonomics for me.

That said, I know everyone is different. You have to try several to know what works for you. When I started I had the 5 1/2 inchers and the 3 1/2 inchers. I thought I would like the longer barrels better but I didn't.

I'll stay out of the accuracy discussion except to say that most guns have more intrinsic accuracy than we as shooters can really use, use a Ransom rest to test that. However, in the real world it's not all about pure accuracy, it is about what gun fits you and what site radius you need as much as it is about the intrisic accuracy of the actual gun.

[r0gue]

You know, on the accuracy side of the conversation..  I had a 8 3/8" S&W model 27-2.  Just pointing without using sights, that thing just seemed to find the target.  I really thing ergonomics might have been the biggest factor.  It had a hare trigger too.   

[Hemlock Mike]

I'm in this for the fun.  My new buntline puts me 5" closer to the targets 

It also looks good with that much barrel hanging out !!!  A real man's gun !!!!

Mike