Brewster

First I want to thank everyone who responded on my previous thread. Here's my next question for you SA experts.

New model Blackhawk in .357. Primarily 38 special rounds are going to be fired through it. Do barrel lengths matter as far as the 38 special round goes? Will the longer barrel hinder its performance? This is a just for fun range toy and possibly I'd like to use it in cowboy action competition. i have shot the Blackhawk in the shorter barrel and was dead nuts accurate with it. The longer barrel though seems more in style for this gun. Any thoughts?

hal

The longer barrel will allow two things, a little more chanch for a complete powder burn and slightly more velocity,the main advantage is the longer sight radius for a better picture for old eyes

phonejack

"Hal" has it covered!

rclark

Personal preference really.

The longer sight radius allows most people to shoot slightly better. Also you will have a bit more velocity with longer barrels even in the lowly .38. I prefer the longer barrels myself either 5 1/2" or 6 1/2". For looks and I shoot them better than the shorties.

Frank V

I too think it boils down to preference.
I pack a SA a lot in the hills, so I like a shorter bbl.
I think both long & short bbls are accurate, sometimes the shorter bbls are harder to wring accuracy out of, but they will shoot well.
I think it's just what suits you & your needs.
Frank

Buffalo11

All the guys are right on..I perfer the 4 1/2 because of better balance in my hand..ymmv

wPm

shootist

Longer barrel is more accurate, but the short is much faster to draw better balanced and just looks cooler, for cowboy action you what the Vaquero model it's more authentic to the old west.

Brewster

Okay excellent. Thanks my friends.

ExArmy11b

I have a 1976 4 5/8" .357 Blackhawk and it's a tackdriver. I also shoot mostly .38's through it.

A lot of people, for over 100 years favored the 4 5/8" Colts and later the Blackhawks, they say they have the best "balance" and also the cleaner look of the barrel being the same length as the ejector rod housing.

Honestly a skilled,competent shooter won't see much of a usable accuracy difference between a shorter SA and a longer 6.5"+ model. In fact, it's been proven from a Ransom Rest that short barreled revolvers are more mechanically accurate but by a very narrow margin.

I tend to shoot very well even out to 50 yards with my 4" fixed sight DA's like my Service Sixes. Yesterday I shot tighter groups in DA with a 4" Service Six than I did with my 6" S&W Model 10 that has a very slick action, so barrel length is no guarantee of better accuracy.

Like was said the main advantage is velocity and sight radius. But it's really about balance and cosmetics more than anything, IMO. Traditionalists will usually favor the longer barreled SA's.

Back in "the day" when single action revolvers and blackpowder ammo were in use, the longer barrel allowed the slow burning blackpowder to give the bullet more velocity. This is why the percussion revolvers like the military issued 1860 Army had 7.5" barrels and the US Army issued 7.5" Colt Model P's.

I personally think Single Actions with the longer barrels just look cooler, and I want one of the rare 7.5" .44 Magnum Vaqueros BAD!

IMO 6.5" -7.5" is about my limit for the length of an SA revolver in most cases. I think those Buntline repros are just absurd........... I was offered one of the 12" Super Blackhawk .44 Mags by a friend for a decent price but I thought the 12" barrel was just ridiculously long for anything I would want to use it for. My 9.5" Super Redhawk feels a mile long as it is,more like a revolving hand carbine and I use that as my scoped target revolver. At a point, the super long revolver barrels become a point of diminishing returns and IMO you might as well just get a short .357 or .44 lever carbine.

I also want 6.5" .45 ACP/LC and .357/9mm convertible Blackhawks, so I can shoot cheap 9mm and I also love .45 ACP but I'm a revolver nut, and don't have as much fun with my 1911 or P90 as I do with my wheelguns.

bwinters

I just like the look and balance of longer sa barrels and always get the longer length unless I have a need for a shorter barrel carry method etc.

Brewster

Okay so I hit a couple different grocery stores and the best price was 430.00 for the blued. They said it was new but the sucker had the drag scratch around the whole cylinder. I'm guessing a bunch of people had played with it. Does this sound right? I had the guy remove the cylinder for me for inspection and upon completion handed it back and it took him about 10 minutes to get it back in. He seemed like a knowledgeable brother but struggled with it. Is this normal?

Geoff

I shot tight groups with my long barrel 44 mag Super Blackhawk at 110 ft. Then traded it for a short barrel 44 mag Blackhawk and shot the same size tight groups at 110 ft.

shootist

I would go stainless steel if you can find one, don't have to worry about rust and finish wear like you do with blue and their both the same price ,Blue also wears off using a holster, don't worry about a cylinder line thats normal.

wingspar

Normal only if you don’t know that the cylinder comes out and goes back in on the loading gate side only. I struggled the first couple of times. Now, I could do it blindfolded in seconds.

Also, to get the base pin back into the cylinder, you need to press the base pin latch.

terry_p

Buds has them for $436. I personally prefer the shorter BBL's.