barrel length stats

[unfettered]

Can anyone here can point me to stats about .44 magnum velocities given various barrel lengths?

Specifically I'm wondering about whether there is substantial difference in velocity between a 10' barrel revolver and a 20' approx lever action rifle.

[ironhead]

Sorry, but i dont know of any tables showing the diffence. You might try a search engine attempt? IF that fails you might try to contact one of the ammo manufactures and see if they can point you in the right direction. Barrel length should have very little effect on muzzel velocity IMHO,,could be wrong though, I have always been told it pretty much affected accuracy of the shooter.

[Bowhunters]

Yeah same here on knowing of any tables.

However from what I do know of pistol calibers the powder is burnt within the first 6"-8" of barrel length so a longer barrel than that doesn't help velocity.

On pistols that shoot rifle cartridges is where you can see a dramatic difference in velocities from longer barrels over shorter because it takes longer for the larger quantity of powder to burn off so a longer barrel aids velocity in those cases.

One thing a long barrel pistol will do for you is an increase in accuracy as the bullet has more time to spin up from longer contact time with the rifling and longer distance between the rear and front sights helps accuracy for the shooter using iron sights but i'd still use a pistol scope if possible for hunting.

[NYBuckhunter]

Yes, it makes a difference. I will PM you with a link to a chart showing the difference with the same loads shot out of a 4 in revolver and an 18 in rifle. They are faster out of the rifle, which stands to reason because they are under pressure for longer and therefore contain more energy upon exiting the barrel.

[ironhead]

Makes sense,,,,DOH!

[unfettered]

Thanks, folks.

NYBuckhunter sends me this:

LINK REMOVED BY MODERATOR

The closest I'd been able to find was this super mag data:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_magnum

But that doesn't really apply.

It seems one is looking at a velocity difference between 4-inch and 18-inch barrels of only 300 FPS or thereabouts. Significant, but not hugely? I guess it’s because the .44 cartridge was not meant for rifles to start with--fast powder and all.

So what I'm concluding is that there's little reason for a .44 rifle when an 8-inch barrel revolver is available.

[ironhead]

Au contraire bud. There can be some major diffences if you are looking to make the choice between rifle and handgun in the same caliber. I am not a handloader and dont have the stats,,but,,,you can load rifle rounds much hotter than pistol due to the structural integrity of the rifle.

[unfettered]

Au contraire bud. There can be some major diffences if you are looking to make the choice between rifle and handgun in the same caliber. I am not a handloader and dont have the stats,,but,,,you can load rifle rounds much hotter than pistol due to the structural integrity of the rifle.

Ah. Good point. But if one is not custom loading one's own ammo?

uh oh. "LINK REMOVED BY MODERATOR." Looks like I should have read the restrictions better. Sorry.

[NYBuckhunter]

Its ok, we can let ya slide this one time lol.