Minimum barrel length?

[SIGSHR]

In years gone by Bullseye shooters always used/preferred 6" barrels. Again, what ranges, and what style of shooting.

 

[5whiskey]

I'll play...

I can shoot fairly decent at 25 yards with a Sig P290. It has a 3" barrel and 4" sight radius. Now I'm not hitting clay pigeons off hand every shot with it like a full-size 1911... but I will hit some clay pigeons and tear up the 9 ring of a B27 at that distance. I would say that I can take 50 yard shots on larger targets (10" gong or so) easily enough, though I haven't tested the theory. May not hit every one, but I wouldn't miss many either. Some of my other pocket rockets aren't as good. I have a Kahr CW9 that I should be able to shoot better than that little Sig, but I can't. It actually has a 3.5" barrel and a longer sight radius... not to mention a full grip. I just can't shoot it as well though. I can shoot quite well with anything Glock 19 size and up though. So I would say my experience tells me that a 3" barrel can be quite accurate if you do your part.

 

[TailGator]

I voted "doesn't matter" for a combination of reasons. I expect less accuracy from a smaller gun, so the definition of "reasonable" accuracy is labile to me. I can keep my P238s, guns with barrel length less than three inches, on the head of a half-sized silhouette at that distance, which I consider reasonable accuracy. Plus, there are so many other factors going into functional accuracy that I don't think a sole focus on barrel length is wise.

 

[Cheapshooter]

4" for me. Anything less than that is kind of useless for anything more than about 15 feet away.

Kind of subjective depending on the shooter's ability. The standard distance accepted in many CCW license tests is 7 yards, almost 50% further than your minimum for less than a 4" barrel. I don't have any trouble hitting center mass on a B27 silhouette target from that distance with my short barreled guns like an LCP, LCR, CM9, Charter DAO Bulldog, or Judge PD Poly. In fact, because of the set distance of the first target holders at the range I often shoot at, my practice distance is twice the 15' mentioned. I see no difference in my accuracy at 7 yards, or 10 yards. Even at 25 yards most hits are somewhere in the area of the target that would be very painful, if not immediately incapacitating.

 

[claydoctor]

Depends on the shooter. Bob Munden used to do amazing things with a snubnose at 200 yards but then again, he had the advantage of videotape

 

[tallball]

It's the wrong question.

It's actually a question of sight radius, how well does the grip fit your hands, how easy is the trigger, how well does that load work with that gun, and how much does that caliber recoil for you.

If you put a whatever caliber with whatever sights and grip with a 2" barrel in a padded vice and work on different cartridge loads, eventually you will be getting small groups at 100 yards.

The rest is all about the ability of the shooter.

 

[keithdog]

I'm going to choose the shortest length on the list of options and go with 3 inches, simply because I am going to assume you mean for self defense. If however, you are talking about general target shooting, I'd stick with 5 inch as the longer barrel gun is generally more enjoyable to shoot with less recoil.

 

[mavracer]

This is a screwed up question what is reasonable accuracy for a 3" barrel isn't the same as what is reasonable for a 5".

 

[Skans]

It all depends on what distance you are talking about. When I think reasonable accuracy from a handgun, I'm looking for A-Zone on an IPSC target at 25-30 feet, slow fire. That's about a 4" barrel for me.

 

[rodfac]

It all depends on what distance you are talking about.

Yep, I regularly carry a Smith M60 with a 3" bbl. and adj. sights. Zeroed for 25 yds, I've killed a cpl. woodchucks in our garden. SA with a two-handed hold, I can keep a cylinderful, slow fire, on a tennis ball at that distance. It's a matter of practice, and severe concentration on sight alignment.

In practice sessions, I run through my usual 5-7-10-15 yard drills. My home/farm range is set up for 100 yds from our back porch, and I've set railroad tie plates on end at 20 yard intervals. The plates are roughly 8x15 inches and make great pistol targets. I walk back from my defensive distances, shooting at the plates. Misses start coming at the 50+ range. It's fun, and instructive on just how good you are at trigger and sight work. Rod

 

[pete2]

The 5" bbl will be easier to shoot accurately, longer sight radius helps. A 6 or 7", even better but it depends on what you want and what you are shooting at. A bullseye at 50 or 100 yards, an IDPA target at 7 yards. Typically a longer bbl isn't more accurate than a short bbl but a gun with a longer bbl is easier to shoot accurately.
My 2 cents..............................................................................

 

[Mal H]

Since it appears kannonk doesn't wish to respond to any of the numerous questions asked or to clarify what he was going for, it's time for this one to end.

Closed.