1911 Barrel Length for hunting?

B

Bowhunter57

New member
I'm considering the purchase of a 1911 style pistol, in 10mm, for hunting coyotes inside 50 yards. The debate in my mind is whether it's worth the extra money for an extra inch of barrel length, from a 5" barrel to a 6" barrel. Honestly, for my hunting purposes I don't see the difference in ballistics....only a longer sighting plane.

Next question: Iver Johnson Eagle XL or RIA Ultra FS?

Thank you, Bowhunter57
 
Put a scope or Holo sight on it. I think that would be a better use of your money

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk
 
I'm considering the purchase of a 1911 style pistol, in 10mm, for hunting coyotes inside 50 yards. The debate in my mind is whether it's worth the extra money for an extra inch of barrel length, from a 5" barrel to a 6" barrel. Honestly, for my hunting purposes I don't see the difference in ballistics....only a longer sighting plane.
Click to expand...


Thank you, Bowhunter57

Unless you think you need the extra site radius, no.
 
I will also agree that for coyotes, 10mm should be fine from a 5 or 6 barrel to 50 yards. Sight radius may help some... But that is a decision only you can make. I haven't tested the theory in the same type of pistol, but I have a 6" revolver that I really don't shoot much better than a government sized 1911. At 50 yards the difference in group sizes are negligible... As in it would not make a difference on a coyote.
 
The only difference between 5 and 6 inches is a wee, tiny, small bit of velocity. An inch isn't enough sight radius to matter.
 
FWIW Bowhunter, A few days ago, I came across a 6" 10MM 1911 type pistol I'd never seen before. It was a Kimber Stainless Target LS/long slide. Price was $999.00. It would appear there is not much difference in price between the 6", and the 5" stainless Target models. I've had a number of 10MM pistols and revolvers, and done a bit of chronographing, but never had a 6" 10MM semi-auto to test. I can say that velocities vary from gun to gun even with same length barrels. I would expect to pick up some velocity with the longer barrel, but I've learned never to predict what the difference will be. With some guns in 9MM for instance, 1" greater barrel length has made a velocity difference, sometimes a little, sometimes as much as ~100 FPS. Were I a hunter, I would prefer the longer barrel, especially when using a higher pressure cartridge like the 10MM....ymmv

BTW, in chronographing .45 ACP we found little, if any, velocity advantage in going to a longer barrel, even out to carbine length. In fact, some .45 ACP ammo produced less velocity in a 16" carbine that in a 5" pistol barrel....
 
I'd personally go with the 5 inch barrel. Easier to carry, more holster compatibility, not much less in velocity, ect.
 
I appreciate all of the information, suggestions and experiences that you guys are passing along!

I'm leaning toward a 5" barrel, due to a better holster selection, less cost and not enough of a ballistic loss to make a difference considering the distances I'll be hunting.

Ohio has a 5" minimum for deer hunting which will allow this pistol to double for the Deer Gun Season. :cool: In this state, for hunting coyotes, it's 24/7 and 365 as there are no caliber restrictions, magazine capacity restrictions, no bag limits.

Bowhunter57
 
I'll take every bit of sight radius AND velocity I can get, but agree that for a holstered gun in the field, I'd probably go with the weight and portability of a 5" gun, too.

I shot both 5" and 6" guns in competition for many years, and do like the longer gun while actually shooting, but I think of hunting as 99% hiking?
 
"but I think of hunting as 99% hiking?"

Yep, years ago when hunting a lot of public land and coming home with nothing but sore feet, The Wife gave me a hard time over it. After that, I just started telling her I was going "gun hiking".
 
"but I think of hunting as 99% hiking?"

Yep, years ago when hunting a lot of public land and coming home with nothing but sore feet, The Wife gave me a hard time over it. After that, I just started telling her I was going "gun hiking".
Click to expand...

And a great way to spend a day.

tipoc
 
Greybeard said:
"but I think of hunting as 99% hiking?"

Yep, years ago when hunting a lot of public land and coming home with nothing but sore feet, The Wife gave me a hard time over it. After that, I just started telling her I was going "gun hiking".
Click to expand...
Myself, my brother , and several friends did this every year...never bringing home any venison , heck we never fired a shot , never saw a deer one .... Our wives started calling it our "annual camping trip " .

Once , on the public land, we met some other successful hunters with a buck in the back of their pick up truck.... my brother walked up to the truck, looked at the buck and exclaimed loudly ....
" OH...So that's what they look like ! " Sad but true...we finally had to form a hunting club and lease some land to hunt on..... and that made the venison we harvested rather expensive...but we had fun !
Gary
 
The actual load and bullet you use, the ammo, will likely make more difference than the extra inch of barrel in terms of velocity. A good bullet can make up for a slight loss in velocity.

As you'll likely be using a scope of dot sight and not the iron sights, the small increase in sight radius will make no difference either.

tipoc
 
Not sure what guns you are looking at, but there's no real reason (other than cost) that you can't have both a 5" & a 6" barrel on a 1911 style gun.

Just get one with the standard 5" barrel & slide, then put a 6" barrel in it. True you are stuck with the standard 5" gun's sight radius, but that's hardly a drawback, if you can see and shoot well.

Any open bottom holster for the standard 5" gun will let a 6" barrel poke out the bottom a bit, but works fine for carrying afield. Some might say that is "too awkward", so, ok, for them, it is.

On the other hand, hunting is not the kind of situation where CCW fashion rules matter much, if any. Nor does speed of draw matter much, when hunting.

Its a matter or personal priority. A 10mm round is more than enough for coyote at any range you can hit them. A 6" barrel has advantages over the 5" when shooting, and the 5" has advantages over the 6" when carrying.

Some folks favor a gun that carries better, since they will be carrying it a lot more than shooting it. Others (myself included) put up with more hassle to carry something that gives us the greatest advantage to the actual shot.

Your gun, your call.

Good Luck!
 
tipoc said:
As you'll likely be using a scope of dot sight and not the iron sights, the small increase in sight radius will make no difference either.
Click to expand...
I've decided to use open sights. I'd prefer a red dot, but I just talked to a guy that as a Glock 40 in 10mm and he has gone through 4 red dot sights. He says the slide action will trash the optic. His reloads of 180 gr. bullets at 1400 fps have killed a Burris Fastfire 2, Burris Fastfire 3, Trijicon RMR and Leupold Delta Point red dot sights.

44 AMP said:
Some folks favor a gun that carries better, since they will be carrying it a lot more than shooting it. Others (myself included) put up with more hassle to carry something that gives us the greatest advantage to the actual shot.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with you, sir. I'd rather carry a heavy barreled rifle with a scope and bi-pod that weighs 11# vs. a feather weight rifle. I'm interested in the accuracy of the weapon, no matter the carry weight....it's all about the shot.
I hear too many cupcakes crying about how heavy a weapon is to carry. Ugh! Suck it up , if you're going to run with the big dogs...or stay on the porch.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top