How much accuracy from a 4 inch barrel?

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.22 Enthused

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I have one of the Rossi 518 DA .22 revolvers. I consider myself to be a pretty good marksman (ribbons from the navy etc.). After shooting even as close as 36 feet, I'll check the target and there's always one shot out of six that practically missed the paper entirely. My thought is always "You cannot be serious, I know I didn't miss by that much". I also have a Heritage Rough Rider single action .22 revolver and with it's 6.75 inch barrel, I'm good even at 50 feet.
 
sounds like you have one bad chamber it may not line up right (timing issue) or the throat could be too large/small.
 
Hey Mike! Wait a second, you might have the right answer! The next time I have it out, I'll inspect each chamber in the cylinder for any difference compared to the other five. I purchased it brand new in 1997, and after taking good care of it all these years, and with it being stainless steel, I'm hoping it's only a problem of keeping it accurate to only 25 feet for a 4 inch barrel.
 
It might be worth your while to number the chambers and mark your targets. Such efforts take time, but may save you time in the famous "long run."
 
A four inch barrel is not inherently less accurate than a six inch barrel.
Put them both in a ransom rest, and there will be little significant difference at 50 YARDS.

The sight radius is the factor, but there are others as well. More shake in the longer barrel might mean more snatching of the trigger. Longer barrel time might be throwing a shot off, so longer is not ALWAYS more accurate.

I'm hoping it's only a problem of keeping it accurate to only 25 feet for a 4 inch barrel.
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At 15 yards or less, it is not going to be the barrel length!:eek:
Like someone else suggested, might be one chamber off. Mark your chambers, load randomly, and when the shot is thrown, check and see if it is always the same. Load six in the same chamber and see if that makes any difference.
 
THANKS FELLAS! This is my first day here as a member and already it's paying off. I'm going to mark the chambers and target as recommended! I was looking at a Youtube video from Midway USA on revolver timing. In it, Larry Potterfield said the timing can be caused by "wear". I have to tell you since 1997 I would say EASILY 1000+ rounds have passed through each year. Thanks again!
 
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When I read your question that was the first thing that popped into my head and I will say it is from reading the boards for a few years. Amazes me the amount of knowledge I have picked up here. Only a bit of bad advice mixed in.
 
My thoughts are the same . . the next time you shoot, number your chambers and keep track of the results. I have an old H & R that I picked up used just to plink with a while ago. The pistol has a six inch barrel.

I'm not a great shot by any means (it sounds like you are pretty accomplished at it) but I began to notice that I always had one round that went way off. It's a 9 shot cylinder and has a swing out cylinder with a hand ejector. Each time I shot it, I'd fill all 9 as I was just range shooting. Each time I went to eject the spent cartridges, I also had one that always hung up. I finally wend "duh?" and kept track of each chamber - sure enough, the same one was always the one that hung up and also took a fly to the side. I really don't know just what the problem is with that chamber but now I keep track of it and after cleaning, I mark it with a felt pen on the ejector and just don't use it. I bought it cheap and just use it once in a while to plink or kill an empty pop can so for me, it's no big deal.

Keep us posted please as I have a feeling that it is going to be the same chamber that throws it off each time.
 
Here's my drill when I suspect one or more chambers may be off.

Take 30 rounds and 6 targets.
Number the targets and number the cylinders
Load the gun with 6 rounds, line up chamber #1 to be the first fired.

Shoot target 1 from chamber 1, target 2 from chamber 2, etc.

After 30 rounds, you will have 6 5-shot groups.

If 5 of the groups are near point of aim and one is off, but still tight you may have a timing problem, but more likely a mystery. If the odd group is larger than the others, you probably have a bad chamber throat.

Those diagnoses are my guesses. I am not a gunsmith.

Good Luck

Lost Sheep
 
Problem Solved! I sold the Rossi 518 to a local gunstore for $115. It cost $230 when it was new, so I figured half price was fair. Now I can enjoy the accuracy of my Heritage Rough Rider SA!
 
If you want to see accuracy from an off the shelf 22 try a Browning Buck Mark. I have a Ruger Single Six that I bought new in 1975 ( My first gun). I must have put 1000 rounds a week through that thing for several years. It still shoots like it did then.
 
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