the difference in measurements. Those tenths of an inch make a big difference in how the gun fits!
A S&W model 442, with the standard ‘boot’ grips, measures a diminutive 2.85 inches. A Ruger SP101, equipped with hand-filling Pachmayr Compac grips which are much larger than those that came on the gun, comes in at 3.12 inches. The S&W is a bit small to make for easy shooting, and from the factory the Ruger isn’t a lot bigger. I had to add the Pachmayr grips so that I could shoot it more efficiently, and they make a world of difference in how the gun handles.
Measuring trigger reach with loop of string.
Barrel lengths
The best barrel length is determined by the intended use of the revolver. That’s probably self evident, but there is also a personal preference factor to consider.
For instance, many people believe that a good concealed carry (defensive) revolver must have a short barrel – say, two inches or so. A four-inch gun is often said to be too big to carry concealed, though many do. What about something in between, like the three-inch barrel? I like them, and some folks declare that it’s the shortest barrel they’re willing to carry, but a lot of people think they’re still to big to pack around.
I don’t know anyone who would think about carrying a six-inch revolver for self defense, but at one time it was the most common barrel length for uniformed police officers. Today the six-inch is considered a target or hunting piece. And so it goes. We can make some generalizations, but ultimately you’ll have to decide what’s best for you without regard to what someone else says or writes.
In general the shorter the barrel the easier it is to carry and conceal. That convenience comes at a cost, however. Shorter barrels have a shorter sight radius, which makes accurate shooting more difficult. It’s not a mechanical issue, because short barrels are not intrinsically any less accurate than long ones.
It’s the shooter interface again: the shorter sight radius that comes with the shorter barrel makes precision alignment more difficult. This affects bullet deviation at the target, making the guns shoot less precisely.
Short barrels will develop less bullet velocity than longer barrels, which may affect ammunition performance. Gunpowder, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t explode – it burns very quickly, but at a controlled rate. It takes time to burn the complete charge in a cartridge, but other things are happening while the powder is burning.
The initial flash of the primer when struck by the firing pin not only ignites the gunpowder, it also raises the pressure inside the cartridge sufficiently to start the bullet moving. When the powder ignites the bullet has already started to work itself forward; the very high gas pressure from the powder’s ignition is what rapidly accelerates the bullet to its design velocity.
The power continues to burn as the bullet travels down the barrel, the gas pressure in the barrel continuing to accelerate the slug. With a long enough barrel, all of the gas from the powder is trapped and used to push the bullet. If the barrel ends before the powder has stopped burning, the increasing gas pressure simply gets vented to the outside air; it does no more work pushing the bullet. The longer barrel will develop higher velocity than the short barrel simply because it’s able to use the expanding gases to their greatest potential.
The shorter barrel will develop less velocity because some of the gas pressure is wasted, as the powder burns with nothing in the barrel. How much less velocity depends on just how long the barrel happens to be, as well as what kind of powder is used and how heavy the bullet is. In very short barrels some of the powder is ejected out the muzzle while it’s still burning, leading to a large muzzle flash and blast wave. This is also why short barrels are generally less pleasant to shoot.
A twelve-inch Dan Wesson revolver? With my short stature, I’m concerned the muzzle might drag on the ground!
Long barrels, though more efficient in terms of ballistic performance and easier to shoot well, are heavier and less pleasant to carry around. If the gun is to be carried concealed, a longer barrel may not even be able to be hidden effectively. They’re also harder to get into action, the long barrel needing more effort to clear a holster and align on target.
I personally relegate the two-and three-inch barrels to concealed carry, while using the four-inch and six-inch models for competition and field use. That’s not to say that I’ve never carried a four-inch gun as a concealed defensive piece; I have, many times. It’s just not my first choice for that task. A six-incher? No, not for me.
How about something even longer? I have a rare twelve-inch tube to fit one of my Dan Wesson revolvers, for which I’ve not found a use. Occasionally I muse about getting a ‘Dirty Harry’ style shoulder holster and carrying it around, but with my short stature, I’m concerned the muzzle might drag on the ground!
Underlugs
At the turn of the 20th century revolver barrels were pretty much cylindrical, or at least a tapered cylinder. Smith & Wesson revolvers had a small protuberance which housed their forward locking mechanism, but Colts were smooth.
Over the years revolver manufacturers added material to enclose the ejector rod, protecting it from damage. That extra material on the underside of the barrel was called a ‘lug’ or ‘under-lug.’ On a short barrel the lug would run flush with the muzzle, as such barrels were usually sized to the length of ejector rod (plus its locking lug). On a longer barrel the lugs would end where the ejector rod did, leaving the rest of the barrel with a round cross-section.
In 1955, Colt introduced a gun that would change the way revolvers looked: the Python. They took their 357 model and added a distinctive barrel. Their new creation sported a vented rib on the top and a full-length lug on the bottom – regardless of the barrel length. It was a hit, and fashion shifted toward fully lugged barrels in all lengths.
That’s not to say that partially lugged barrels were suddenly extinct, however. Today you find both full and partially lugged barrels in a variety of lengths.
Colt heavy underlug barrel puts more weight at muzzle, helps dampen recoil compared to Ruger’s partially-lugged barrel.
A full underlug, especially on a longer barrel, adds a lot of weight at the front of the gun. That’s because the underlugs are part of the barrel itself – made of the same material, usually steel. Having a solid piece of steel at the end of the barrel changes the balance dramatically, and most people find that the extra weight reduces recoil and muzzle flip.
There is such a thing as ‘too much’, however – my aforementioned Dan Wesson barrel is a fully lugged example, and is quite heavy. I can’t actually keep the gun on target one handed, and even with two hands it’s not easy holding all that weight at the end of my arms!
My Dan Wesson notwithstanding, I’m partial to full underlugs for their help in keeping the gun on target between shots. Some people don’t like the muzzle-heavy feeling than an underlug provides, which is why partials are still offered on some guns.
One of the reasons many people like a three-inch revolver is because they usually have fully lugged barrels. That extra bit of weight at the muzzle helps control the shorter barrel. The three-inch combines some of the easy carrying of a true snubnose along with a little of the recoil control of a four-inch. They make a good compromise between carryability and shootability.
While
