Bore vs stroke?

LMWIS

LMWIS

Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2012
Messages
440
Reaction score
705
City & State/Province
Northern Ontario, Canada
I was reading with some interest another post, and I had a question. (Ouch!! .44 mag's hurt, by John Wilson.). What is the utility of a short barrelled large calibre weapon?

The discussions covered the usual disadvantages of such a weapon, and I would think a longer barrel would provide enough advantage in shootability to offset the added weight for a trail gun.

Don't get me wrong. I have a few snubs myself, but nothing with that kind of authority. In fact if I could afford it, I have an admiration for the Ruger Alaskan after seeing it on the big screen.

The lines of his .44 PC could easily qualify the weapon as artwork, but now that you got it...,

......what do you do with it?
 
The only big bore I own is this behemoth. But I'm not gonna lie, if someone wanted to trade their snub 44 for it, I'd be more than happy to oblige.

I like to pack mine when walking in the woods so something with a smaller barrel would be a little easier. I'd like to think that even a 2.5"-4" 44 would take care of most critters I'd run into around here.

5928AFCB-40FB-4087-9117-C9F724EF571A.jpg
 
I own a 629 with a 3" barrel, as well as a 24. Both are well balanced, but more toward my shooting hand. The 629 would be especially good, with its round butt, in a Tom Threepersons holster for carrying on the trail.

Yes there's more muzzle flip than with a longer barrel, but I do like the shorter barrel. Muzzle flash is higher, but unless you're shooting at dusk, it's not a problem to me. I don't intend to conduct long range sessions with a "snubby"; just enough to be proficient.

The same goes for the .357 Magnum. I like the short barrel for convenience, and my Model 27, with a 3.5" barrel is very handy.

In the end, it's about what the shooter can comfortably carry and control.
 
If I load it close to full power...........

My 686 isn't as heavy as an 'n' frame and there is a full barrel lug to add weight to the barrel. I have a 6" barrel and holding it high reduces flip. When I get close to full power, I hurts. I don't shoot too many of these because it doesn't just slap and smart, it racks up your thumb joint and wrist. I don't wanna feel a full .44.
 
If I load it close to full power...........

My 686 isn't as heavy as an 'n' frame and there is a full barrel lug to add weight to the barrel. I have a 6" barrel and holding it high reduces flip. When I get close to full power, I hurts. I don't shoot too many of these because it doesn't just slap and smart, it racks up your thumb joint and wrist. I don't wanna feel a full .44, except maybe once.:D
 
Last edited:
I carry a 4 inch S&W mod 29 in a cross draw rig or strong side rig a fair amount of the time, and it is flat out handy to bring into play. I generally use moderate .44 spec loads in her.

One of my "dream guns" is to get S&W's performance shop to make up a .460 mag with a total barrel of 5" measured at the muzzle,* to the end of either comp*, a factory installed lanyard ring, good night sights & no internal lock..........as this pistols sole intended use is to be a back up gun in bear country either in Alaska or the lower 48's. * This is the longest barrel that I can easily bring into pay as a self defense gun against big bears...browns, grizzlies or black bears. I'm guessing that most of the .460 shooters here would say that 5" is a borderline snub nosed .460 hunting pistol.
 
Last edited:
My shortest was a 4" Anaconda which I thought was more comfortable to carry than the 5" 629 classic that it replaced.It was a little beefier in the frame than the smith which helped tame recoil.I currently have a 6 1/2" pre 29 just because [emoji1],but I'd prefer a 4" for a field gun.
 
da gimp said:
I carry a 4 inch S&W mod 29 in a cross draw rig or strong side rig a fair amount of the time, and it is flat out handy to bring into play. I generally use moderate .44 spec loads in her.

One of my "dream guns" is to get S&W's performance shop to make up a .460 mag with a total barrel of 5" measured at the muzzle,* to the end of either comp*, a factory installed lanyard ring, good night sights & no internal lock..........as this pistols sole intended use is to be a back up gun in bear country either in Alaska or the lower 48's. * This is the longest barrel that I can easily bring into pay as a self defense gun against big bears...browns, grizzlies or black bears. I'm guessing that most of the .460 shooters here would say that 5" is a borderline snub nosed .460 hunting pistol.
Click to expand...

Pretty close to what you are asking for with a 460v??? Mine has a 5" bbl and I had a set of Meprolight night sights installed. No lanyard ring and it does have the lock though...
 
Last edited:
I was a 6" N frame guy until I made a 4" 45 Colt/ACP which has become my favorite open belt carry gun when outdoors and hunting. But, I fail to see any advantage of anything shorter in N frames. N frames are large enough that any further reduction in barrel length does little to make such a large sized revolver easier to carry, draw, shoot or conceal. Plus, much below 4" and you start loosing length on the ejector rod which to me is undesirable. All the "bear gun" guys would really hate it when they had to pluck out a couple empties to reload should their nightmare come true and they needed to reload.

If I really wanted a shorter big bore I could cut my model 69 44 mag down to about 2.5" and retain the shroud and the full length of the ejector rod without a whole lot of trouble. But, I would lose muzzle velocity, sighting radius, balance and recoil recovery all for only about 1 1/2 oz of weight reduction. That, plus, already having 2 3" guns in 44 special means I won't.
 
Last edited:
It all boils down to the shooter and how well the grips fit.

I like recoil. Not everyone does.

My two hard kicking 44's are a 629-2 3" and a 629-2 Mountain Revolver.

I shoot a home cast 265g GCSWC over 22g W296 - it's stout.

The grips I prefer are Hogue, wood, smooth, finger.

Nothing so useful as a full on heavy hitter that's easy to pack, accurate and hard hitting.

Useful for those times in the woods where a rifle might be cumbersome, like trips to the loo, when you're in big critter country. Trail walks, etc.
 
I've got a Ruger Alaskan in .454 Casull that I carry on a pretty regular basis in the mountains. I probably carry my 10mm Glock more, but the short barreled revolver is very easy to pack around all day. Recoil is stout, to be sure, but it doesn't sting me near as much as any of the .44mag Smiths that I've ever shot.

Just this month, I bought the 3.5" .460 -- but given that its almost 4 pounds, I don't see it turning into much of a carry gun for me. Especially not when .454's out of that short barreled Alaskan would be more than plenty for anything I might run into in North America.
 
To each their own, I have a Ruger LCP9 and a S&W 19 with a 4", a 686 6", and a couple of dozen 8 3/8" Smiths and Dan Wesson's out to 10" and like an idiot sold a DW 15" .357 years ago.
 
Big, wide, slow chamberings lose less with short barrels than smaller caliber, higher velocity ones.

I think that snubs in the .41-.45 range have a lot more utility than the .357 or .22 Magnum snubs. The loudest, nastiest gun I ever shot was a NAA in .22 Magnum and I'm not the only one to say that! I don't think it gained squat over .22LR, maybe a couple hundred FPS.

Any steel framed N frame is going to be big and heavy. You want a manly pocket gun, get a two shot derringer in .44 Magnum and load up some 300gr bear zappers. Have fun!

Just match your projectiles to the velocity e.g. JHPs must expand but not explode and underpenetrate.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

F
Young Brothers Massacre, A tactical expert opinion.
2
Replies
54
Views
5K
darrickducky
D
ddeanjohnson
  • Locked
WITHDRAWN -- Collection reduction: 40 guns (15 S&W + Colts, etc.)
Replies
26
Views
13K
ddeanjohnson
ddeanjohnson
A
12 gauge reduced recoil vs 20 gauge
2
Replies
55
Views
14K
Jack Flash
Jack Flash
Jeroenw114
45ACP pistols. The unknown, the rare and the prototypes.
2 3
Replies
61
Views
17K
gew98
G
ddeanjohnson
  • Locked
WITHDRAWN
Replies
22
Views
13K
Truckman
Truckman

Latest posts

Back
Top