2" vs 3" barrels, practical differences?
- Thread starter OhioGuy
- Start date
That looks like a very nice holster. Very similar to those I use.
Ok, thanks
Rudy Lozano of Black Hills Leather is DA MAN!
He made me this custom gun rig for my Cowboy Action Uberti .45 Colt (Long Colt for the pedantic).
He made both the belt and holster to my specifications.
I wanted a belt with no cartridge loops and a nice "X" stitching pattern and a holster that kept the gun high on the belt with a nice forward cant so I could wear it where John Wayne wore his gun.
He made the belt, holster and cartridge pouch.
I made the knife sheath and did all of the rawhide work myself.
I also carry my .41 magnum revolver in one of his holsters.
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HighValleyRanch
New member
I'd love to see this, please do a video!
1. If you are doing your job and watching the front sight as the shot breaks, the muzzle rise would cover your ability to see the can dance.
2. Hickok 45's big honking gong is only 80 yards and even Hickok cannot consistently hit that gong everytime with a snubbie. So you must be an amazing shot.
3. The 10 ring on a 50 yard slow fire bullseye target is 3" and that is much larger than a soda can. So at 100 yards, you are essentially shooting higher than master class hitting a soda can more than 5 out of ten times.
I am not going to waste my time or energy doing a video for you ... biased people like you wouldn't believe it anyway, you would claim it's some kind of hoax. You know it and I know it. As most people like you, you fail to make distinctions in what I said and try to twist it to fit your narrative ... I said I don't always hit them but manage to scare hell out of them and bounce them around ... hit the dirt anywhere within foot or two of a pop can on a dirt bank with a 357 and it will go flying. I shoot with both eyes open, so it doesn't matter what the front sight covers up with one eye or doesn't, I can still see where I hit. It isn't a matter of holding a rock-steady sight picture, it is a matter of timing your squeeze so the shot breaks just as the sights cross the target. Of course, if you are too biased to have ever tried it, you wouldn't know ... now would you. As for Hickok, he is always shooting guns he is not real familiar with ... if he were really trying, with a gun he has practiced it with for hundreds of rounds, I am sure he could nail that gong every time. OK, so with my snubbie and iron sights, I can come within a foot or two of a soda can and make it go flying ... I might actually hit the damned can one out of thirty or fifty. That is with a snubby and iron sights. With my Ruger MKIII Competition with a full compliment of Volquartsen upgrades (2lb, very crisp trigger) and my good red dot with the smallest diameter dot I could find, I can actually hit the can. With that gun at that distance I can shatter a shotgun clay and then go to work shattering the shards. It may take a couple shots to hit the shards, but I clean them up. It is great fun. And quite frankly I don't give a rip whether you believe me or not.
These kinds of things have a habit of devolving into a long-winded argument going absolutely nowhere, so this is the last response you are going to get from me on this, and I'm sure the moderators will appreciate that. So you get the last word ... or can continue ranting to your heart's content. And people on here can believe who they will.
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The old time (1950s on up) gun writers were pretty uniform about concealing revolvers. The bulk of the gun is in the grips and cylinder, and an inchof barrel was not the deciding factor.
Don't "dance" many cans. do you??
Done right the can jumps several feet, usually up, and to one side or the other, easily visible even with muzzle rise from recoil.
Hitting targets at long range with a snub nose isn't easy, but its not the impossible task some people think it is.
It takes knowing what you're doing and it takes practice. Most people don't know how and don't practice if they do.
Soda cans around my place run about 2.5" or so in diameter. I don't consider 3" to be "much larger" particularly for a handgun at 100yds.
There are people who, once they get "dialed in" can repeatedly ring the 200yd gong on the rifle range, with any pistol you hand them. I was one of them, once, before time caught up with me..spent about 30+ years doing that, for fun. Just because most people can't, doesn't mean no one can.
Don't "dance" many cans. do you??
Done right the can jumps several feet, usually up, and to one side or the other, easily visible even with muzzle rise from recoil.
Hitting targets at long range with a snub nose isn't easy, but its not the impossible task some people think it is.
It takes knowing what you're doing and it takes practice. Most people don't know how and don't practice if they do.
Soda cans around my place run about 2.5" or so in diameter. I don't consider 3" to be "much larger" particularly for a handgun at 100yds.
There are people who, once they get "dialed in" can repeatedly ring the 200yd gong on the rifle range, with any pistol you hand them. I was one of them, once, before time caught up with me..spent about 30+ years doing that, for fun. Just because most people can't, doesn't mean no one can.
Ah the ole "someone said"
Except for the fact that simply concealing is different than concealing & carrying comfortable all day
Depending on where & how someone carries an inch can make or break comfort and practicality just as a holster does
I can conceal & carry all day one of my Coonan 357 magnums
But at something like 9 inches and 3 pounds it is in no way practical or comfortable
My 3" Colts & GP's are much easier to but still pushing limits
A 3" King Cobra will dig into my leg while sitting but the <2" Cobra does not
The grip of either doesn't affect me while sitting as both stay parallel against my abs
Just because "someone says" doesn't make a lick of difference to me as I go by my own experience
And as long as I've been carrying... I'll take comfort whenever able
HighValleyRanch
New member
An elderly gentleman in his 90's I knew used to wear one of his favorite t shirts that said...
"The older I get, the better I was"
No truer word have ever been spoke!
I can hardly see a soda can at 100 yards!
"The older I get, the better I was"
No truer word have ever been spoke!
I can hardly see a soda can at 100 yards!
An elderly gentleman in his 90's I knew used to wear one of his favorite t shirts that said...
"The older I get, the better I was"
No truer word have ever been spoke!
I can hardly see a soda can at 100 yards!
I can recognize effects displayed in this helpful thread.
First public acknowledgement of this widespread condition was in the epic movie; Talladega Nights. The Spider Monkey Syndrome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLe09qoyPP8
First public acknowledgement of this widespread condition was in the epic movie; Talladega Nights. The Spider Monkey Syndrome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLe09qoyPP8
Thank you so much 44 AMP. Hopefully your post avoided a protracted, argumentative diatribe peeing contest!The old time (1950s on up) gun writers were pretty uniform about concealing revolvers. The bulk of the gun is in the grips and cylinder, and an inchof barrel was not the deciding factor.
Don't "dance" many cans. do you??
Done right the can jumps several feet, usually up, and to one side or the other, easily visible even with muzzle rise from recoil.
Hitting targets at long range with a snub nose isn't easy, but its not the impossible task some people think it is.
It takes knowing what you're doing and it takes practice. Most people don't know how and don't practice if they do.
Soda cans around my place run about 2.5" or so in diameter. I don't consider 3" to be "much larger" particularly for a handgun at 100yds.
There are people who, once they get "dialed in" can repeatedly ring the 200yd gong on the rifle range, with any pistol you hand them. I was one of them, once, before time caught up with me..spent about 30+ years doing that, for fun. Just because most people can't, doesn't mean no one can.
As you said, hitting a man-size target at 100 yards with a snubbie is not easy and it takes practice ... lots of it, and I figure if I can make a pop can dance at that distance a man would be in deep doo-doo. You never know what kind of situation you might find yourself in, so this could be a practical skill. My favorite shooting is in a big gravel pit where I can shoot at pebbles at any distance out to 100 yards and beyond, both up-hill and down-hill. Up-hill / down-hill makes a surprising difference with a slow-moving pistol round with a trajectory like a fast rock. Most people never even consider this, much less practice for it, and most people never even practice accounting for that trajectory at different distances. They go "Why ... I will never shoot past 10 yards". But you just never know what situation you might find yourself in, especially in a country that is now close to a civil war.
I grew up hunting big jack rabbits with a 22 handgun. There was a 50 cent per head bounty on them back in the late 50's to early 60's in Northern Montana where our ranch was. 50 cents back then would buy a box of 22LR. Cold fronts in Canada would drive them down into Montana by the 10's of thousands and they would destroy hay stacks. We used to hunt them at night with a B52 landing light ... they would be blinded by the light and never leave its beam, running back and forth from one side of it to the other. I have taken quite a number of running jack rabbits out around 50 yards. Ever watch a jack rabbit run? It is more like big long hops than running. Not an easy target, but I learned to do it. Used to fill up 50-gallon oil drums with them. It was usually 10 below or colder so they would freeze. Then I would take 5 or 6 of those drums in to Pacific Hide and Fur and have a VERY nice pay day for a kid in those days.
Hickok might awe some with his accurate shooting, and many may think he is some kind of savant. But fact is, he is no more accurate than many of us. He can shoot multiple targets accurately much faster than I can though, and I need to work on that. I watch all of his videos because he is the most thorough, honest and practical reviewer I know of. And I have seen him ring his gong with some very short-barreled handguns. It may take him a few shots to get "dialed in", but once there it is clang, clang, clang.
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I don't have any issues with people practicing at 10yds, or 7 (where many people do) but I don't think they should limit themselves to just that.
10yards may seem like a fairly long distance, but think of it in different terms. Lots of places, 10 yards isn't even all the way across the street!
How far away (in normal traffic) is that car in front, or behind you?? How long is that hotel corridor? How far is it across the food court at the mall?
Even the old duels were done at about double 10yards distance with pistols (ten paces, turn and fire...) much closer when the weapons were swords though..
If in the same frame size I don't find a 3" gun, or even 4" gun to be any disadvantage. It is the frame size, and grip size, that matters more than barrel length. I do find a 3" barrel easier to shoot than 2". And there is the advantage of the longer ejector rod with a 3" gun.
I don't pretend to be a crack shot with any kind of gun. I generally shoot better with my three-inch barreled revolvers than my two-inch barreled revolvers at moderate ranges of up to 25 yards. Part of that, for me, is a better sight radius and part of it is probably because the three-inch guns balance better for me and the extra weight on the barrel helps steady the gun.
If using .38 special hollow points for defense, I think the extra velocity from a three-inch barreled gun means the difference between a "crap shoot" at expansion to a "probably" on expansion. The difference is narrower in shooting .357 magnum hollow points but is still there. Obviously, the type of round used and the specific gun can make a big difference.
When I carry a revolver these days, it's almost always one with a two or three inch barrel, OWB, under a covering garment. So, I can't tell much of a difference in concealment. If I pocket carry, it's always a two inch barreled revolver.
If using .38 special hollow points for defense, I think the extra velocity from a three-inch barreled gun means the difference between a "crap shoot" at expansion to a "probably" on expansion. The difference is narrower in shooting .357 magnum hollow points but is still there. Obviously, the type of round used and the specific gun can make a big difference.
When I carry a revolver these days, it's almost always one with a two or three inch barrel, OWB, under a covering garment. So, I can't tell much of a difference in concealment. If I pocket carry, it's always a two inch barreled revolver.
aarondhgraham
New member
I own a 1 7/8" snubbie and a 3" Model 36,,,
I own a 1-7/8" Model 36 and a 3" Model 36,,,
When I let a newbie shoot the snubbie,,,
They do well to hit anywhere on a man sized target.
When I hand the same newbie the 3" gun,,,
They can keep most of the rounds somewhere in the chest area.
This is at 7 yards usually.
I do believe that extra inch does make quite a bit of difference in initial accuracy.
The only way I can get good hits with the snubbie is to not aim but simply point & shoot,,,
But that took many hundreds of practice rounds of .22 LR out of my Model 34 snubbie.
Taurus just came out with the Model 942 in 2" and 3" versions,,,
If I can find one by Christmas I'm buying a 3-incher for my sister to carry.
She won't shoot anything bigger than a .22 LR,,,
I believe that the 3" barrel will give her a better chance of hitting a goblin.
Aarond
.
I own a 1-7/8" Model 36 and a 3" Model 36,,,
When I let a newbie shoot the snubbie,,,
They do well to hit anywhere on a man sized target.
When I hand the same newbie the 3" gun,,,
They can keep most of the rounds somewhere in the chest area.
This is at 7 yards usually.
I do believe that extra inch does make quite a bit of difference in initial accuracy.
The only way I can get good hits with the snubbie is to not aim but simply point & shoot,,,
But that took many hundreds of practice rounds of .22 LR out of my Model 34 snubbie.
Taurus just came out with the Model 942 in 2" and 3" versions,,,
If I can find one by Christmas I'm buying a 3-incher for my sister to carry.
She won't shoot anything bigger than a .22 LR,,,
I believe that the 3" barrel will give her a better chance of hitting a goblin.
Aarond
.