whats more accurate???

[BigBill]

What's more accurate the screw in barrels or the pinned barrels?

I find that the pinned in barrels are a tad more accurate over the screwed in barrels in rifles. This is do to the flange lockup putting a twist between the threads and the flange not being a perfect 90 degrees from each other. While the accuracy is close but the difference between them in accuracy is noticeable in rifles. I was wondering if the revolvers have the same difference too?

[murphydog]

My understanding is the barrel pin in an S & W revolver does not affect the alignment or tightness of the barrel to the frame. There are many other variables that would have more influence on accuracy, starting with the shooter, the trigger pull and the ammo.

[jtcarm]

I'm sure no one has any empirical evidence to prove one way or the other, but I don't see how there could possibly be any difference. The three most accurate revolvers I've ever owned are a 3-screw Blackhawk, Redhawk, and a Dan Wesson 44 VH. The Rugers are not pinned. The Dan Wesson has the 2-piece barrel, which does give better accuracy. I wish S&W would bring back the 620 and 66-7.

I realize none on my most accurate list is an S&W, but those are essentially SA-only guns, in fact, I've never shot either of the .44s in DA mode, nor do I want to. They're all long-range/hunting revolvers. Nowadays I enjoy DA shooting more.

I've seen a number of posts claiming pinned barrels are superior for one reason or the other. If you like them, fine, there's no need to justify your preference.

[shawn mccarver]

I am not sure I understand the question, but just so we are starting from the same basic facts, ALL S&W barrels are screwed into the frame in exactly the same manner, same threads, same fitting procedure, etc. Older S&W revolvers also had a cross pin, the installation of which was completely superfluous. That extra operation was not needed, and it added cost to the price, so it was discontinued.

Many people mistakenly believe that the pinned barrels are held in by the pin, and that upon removal of the pin, you can just spin the barrel on and off at will. That is NOT correct. Pinned barrels are torqued in the same way as non-pinned barrels, and removal of the pin will not allow the barrel to be removed easily. You would still need a frame wrench, vice, etc., and reinstallation of such a barrel is still a big pain as far as getting it torqued correctly at the same moment as the front sight is straight up and down while having the correct barrel/cylinder gap.

Having extensive experience with both types, there is no difference in accuracy between either type as near as I can tell, but I have only been shooting a little over 40 years.

[Old cop]

I've owned both and cannot tell the difference, but it's probably b/c I just don't shoot well enough to tell.

[fyimo]

Like others have said I don't think the pin helped the accuracy and is more popular because it is believed that when the P&R pistols were made there was less cost cutting going on at S&W and that they had more pride in their workmanship.