I've always been curious on what criteria were used to determine the barrel length of snub nose revolvers.
It doesn't seem to me that +/- a half inch or so would make an extreme difference in carry convenience, so is there something else? (physics maybe?, retention to some extent, effected by caliber?).
On the Ruger Speed-Six, it just looked better than their true three-inch version that followed. Half an inch of bbl. matters in velocity. Probably not a quarter-inch.
This is the absolutely shortest barrel length that will still allow a full length ejector rod to be used on an N-frame
Well that's the simple answer I was looking for and thanks for punctuating it with the images. For some reason, I've found 3" barrels to be useful and manageable, but there's no science or reason behind my choice.
Equally important is the contour which can provide extra weight up at the muzzle. My 3" 625 is the full lug configuration, which some might question on a short 3" barrel. However, it uses the short ejector rod which leaves a little room for a short full lug. This actually does make the short barrel muzzle heavy and therefore provide a different recoil impulse compared to all the other barrel configurations. So I have a slightly muzzle heavy short barrel large frame revolver that clears leather quickly and points very well. There's a bit of extra weight but I appreciate it once the shooting starts.
Why 2 5/8" ?
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