Can anyone either speak to the facts or point out a source where one can find clear info about the effects of barrel length on self-defense fire power? And I'm talking practicality, not technicality.
Everyone says a 2 inch snub can't get the most out of a high powered round - or even a standard round. I just read about a rifle whose barrel was so long it slowed down some specific bullet/pressure combination. As I recall, a 22 inch barrel gave a higher FPS than a 26 inch in this particular case. That basically gives us two extremes of a spectrum of efficiency.
Somewhere in between these extremes lie the practical matters of getting the job done. How much better, useful, power will a 5 inch .45 give me over a 3.5 or 4 inch? How much less will a 3 inch 9mm do than a 4 inch? Should I think about a 7 inch .38 instead of my 4 inch? Would the difference between a 4 inch and a 3.5 inch be enough to spend money for? Am I sacrificing too much if I get a compact instead of a mid-size?
Is there any difference even worth talking about? I don't know, but I'd like to.
JimL
Everyone says a 2 inch snub can't get the most out of a high powered round - or even a standard round. I just read about a rifle whose barrel was so long it slowed down some specific bullet/pressure combination. As I recall, a 22 inch barrel gave a higher FPS than a 26 inch in this particular case. That basically gives us two extremes of a spectrum of efficiency.
Somewhere in between these extremes lie the practical matters of getting the job done. How much better, useful, power will a 5 inch .45 give me over a 3.5 or 4 inch? How much less will a 3 inch 9mm do than a 4 inch? Should I think about a 7 inch .38 instead of my 4 inch? Would the difference between a 4 inch and a 3.5 inch be enough to spend money for? Am I sacrificing too much if I get a compact instead of a mid-size?
Is there any difference even worth talking about? I don't know, but I'd like to.
JimL