Barrel Length

[Loyalist Dave]

The old timers sorted out how long a barrel needed to be and as powder got better the barrel got shorter. Looking at late guns and into the black powder cartridge rifles 30-32 inches became the normal length for full sized rifles. Carbines had short barrels but shot pistol size loads.

UM...., I'm uncertain about the validity of that assertion.....

Short barrels existed long long before the powder "got better". Long barrels existed where the powder was quite good, and persisted.

Short barrels are much easier for men who use them from horseback, especially in forest that are not old-growth such as those found in Germanic areas that spawned the very short Jaeger Rifle. At the same time those same Germanic rifle smiths already had longer barreled rifles for hunting on foot, and even longer barreled rifles for target shooting.

The American long rifle was a reapplication of certain rifle design principles already known in Germany. Longer sight plane and smaller caliber for men who dismount and hunt on foot for deer in North America..., gave highly efficient powder and ball combinations and excellent accuracy (compared to the short, huge caliber rifles of the common Germanic Jaeger and his rifle :wink: )

Carbines existed too, long before the powder was improved, and existed where the powder had no need for improvement. France had very short rifles and smoothbore carbines, and they had great black powder, as did the Germans, in the 18th century. The British with their poor powder had carbines for mounted troops and artillery as early as the mid 18th century, and during the F&I War.

As for pistol cartridges and carbines, that's a function of ammunition capacity for combat before needing a reload, coupled with recoil considerations (imho). While the Spencer (a cavalry carbine), Sharps (a cavalry carbine), and Burnside carbine (another cavalry arm) all shot cartridges with less powder than the rifles of their time.... the 1873 Springfield rifle shot the same cartridge whether full sized infantry or much smaller carbine. Though they did reduce the powder in the cartridge to lessen the carbine recoil for cavalry troops. :wink:

To answer the OP, with today's excellent black powder, and even "cleaner" burning substitute powders, the short barrel (36" or less) gives you ease of handling and transporting, while the longer barrels give you better sight radius so it makes it easier for your eye to make an accurate shot when the distances to the target get to around 100 yards, and less recoil. That's about all there is to it. The fact that you might have to use 95 grains in a .50 caliber, traditional, White Mountain Carbine to get the same velocity that somebody gets from a 42" barrel on a caplock .50 shooting 70 grains of powder, is a moot point where powder resupply is pretty easy compared to two centuries in the past.

LD

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Rifles - Have 32”, 35” and a 44” swamped being built

Smoothies - 44+” (early French pied measurements), 48”, 54” & 60” ...

... I likes ”˜em LONG!

But all are “barrel length correct” in the historical perspective, e.g., Fusil de Boucanier or Dutch Hudson Valley fowler

 

[Rifleman1776]

compared to the short, huge caliber rifles of the common Germanic Jaeger and his rifle

That is a common misunderstanding. Some Germanic Jaegers had bores almost sewer pipe size, indeed. But, there was a fair representation of smaller calibers, e.g. 40 to 50. A great article in a 1971 edition of American Rifleman documents this and, I believe, so does Schumway in his book. (I have a digital copy of that article and have sent it to many people over the years but since 'upgrading' to Win10 it doesn't want to work :cursing: , might have to play with it and post, if successful)

 

[coloradoclyde]

If we all ran around with short barrels.....There would be nothing historical about it...

 

[Dr5x]

The posts about barrel length reminded me me of my trip to Paris (france - that one) and their museum of Armes which opens your eyes to all the possibilities including the weird.
There was an Obvious arabian gun, Idoubt it was rifled with a barrel at least over 6 feet long. and nearby some four barrel flintlocks that were on a revolving arrangement where you would fire and then turn a quarter turn, fire again etc. There was no indication of of a stand or other supporting method but it would have taken a giant to support those four barrels. There were about 8 of these on display so it wasn't a one off situation.
The French are very good with their museums every gun appeared to be brand new. . It was enough to make this person who has been attracted to rifles, particularlyto make his hands itch.Absolutely amazing display)s_ , well lit with some attendant following you around shouting "No Flash" rather repeatedly.

Well worth the trip.

Dutch

 

[Loyalist Dave]

That is a common misunderstanding. Some Germanic Jaegers had bores almost sewer pipe size, indeed. But, there was a fair representation of smaller calibers, e.g. 40 to 50.

I'm sorry if what I wrote seemed to exclude anything in a smaller caliber in a Jaeger pattern, but the point is, it's a rifle-handling thing, not something based on the burn rate of the powder. :wink:

LD

 

[Tinker2]

What is the advantage of barrel length? I see barrels at 24" 28" 32" what is the advantage of one over the other.

My favorite hunting gun has a 42” barrel. Also “never encumbered my movements”
And it fits in the vehicals I have now. Fits in my safe easy, it will hold a gun up 67” overall easy.

I have narrowed my search to either 28" or 32" debating between 45 cal. and 50 cal.

You won’t be disappointed, one my other guns that I shoot a lot is a 20” barreled .36 caliber
My average size barrel is 28” I like them all.

Which barrel length to choose depends a lot on the shooter.

If they are the strong type the longer barrel guns will not be a problem.

If they are not the strong type or they are "desk jockey's" who seldom use their arm strength to lift or carry heavy things, the shorter barrel guns will be easier for them to shoot offhand.

I might fall in to the last group.

If I am shooting at a range from a bench a shorter gun is easier to load sitting down.
If I am at a rendezvous shoot then a longer is easier to load
Then again the gun I mostly take is a 21” barrel.



William Alexander
:idunno:

 

[Howie1968]

my barrels are around 21, 24, 3 28 inch barrels and a 32 in .54 with a roundball twist. I love carrying my shorter barreld guns both .54 a white mountain carbine and Lyman deerstalker. these are for hogs up close and personal 25 yards or less. my 32 inch green mountain .54 barrel with a 1-66 twist is my favorite roundball barrel I ,love the way it looks matched with my TC Hawken and it really shoots well.

 

[Rifleman1776]

That is a common misunderstanding. Some Germanic Jaegers had bores almost sewer pipe size, indeed. But, there was a fair representation of smaller calibers, e.g. 40 to 50.

I'm sorry if what I wrote seemed to exclude anything in a smaller caliber in a Jaeger pattern, but the point is, it's a rifle-handling thing, not something based on the burn rate of the powder. :wink:

LD

YOU apologize to little ole ME? :shocked2: Absolutely not necessary. I just threw that size comment out as an afterthought. Doesn't mean I will never disagree with you. Where would the fun be if that happened? :wink: :v

 

[Tinker2]

Something I should say for edification.

Do to knives, guns, spears, arrows, explosions, and assorted wild animals and women.
I can get a permit to shoot from my 4X4.
I can leave a loaded gun on my dashboard if I want.
A short barrel is the only way to go if you do that.
I don’t shoot that way but can.
One of the deciding factors why, is I like flint locks.
Setting one off in side your vehicles is not a good idea. :nono:




William Alexander

 

[hunts4deer]

For shot loads, very likely the longer barrel has an advantage of slightly tighter patterns.

I have a Hudson Valley Fouling piece with a 12 gauge 56 inch barrel. Only weighs 8 lbs 10 ounces, points well, and is not bad at all to carry through the woods. Got a doe with in two years ago. Great for squirrels too. Long barrels have a great look.

 

[Walker357]

All this talk about short barrels and small calibers is starting to give me a complex. Been sick, on lots of drugs, not really responsible for all I say. :grin:

 

[dakota.heffner]

Dumb question here, is a 32 inch barrel a standard muzzleloader or a long rifle ?

 

[Coot]

Dumb question here, is a 32 inch barrel a standard muzzleloader or a long rifle ?

I don't think such a thing as a "standard muzzleloader" exists. For hunting, use whatever length is legal in your area & is comfortable for you. For historical accuracy, it is back to the old "who, when & where" to determine what was common. A "long rifle" with a barrel under 40" is too short for my taste.

 

[Col. Batguano]

I like longer barrels because they are quieter, as well as "hanging" on a target better.. I shoot a 48" barreled 38 most of the time, and with 20 gr. loads, the MV is right around 1050 fps., which is fast enough to punch a hole through paper, my primary use for it. Occasionally it will "tink" a gong too. Noise is at a level that I really don't need hearing protection (though I do use it).

 

[Twisted_1in66]

I like the longer barrels myself. Long barrels with a slow twist are very accurate with round balls. One of my longrifles has a 1:66 twist (1 in 66 - hence my screenname) and the other one has 1:56 which is a little faster. Shorter barrels with faster twists such as 1:28 and 1:48 handle conicals better than the longer barrelled, slower twist rifles. It sometimes takes a while to build up an accurate round-ball load with 1:48 twist, but it can be done. I like to use round balls, so my favorite rifle has a 44½" barrel with 1:56 twist.

Twisted_1in66
Dan

 

[Twisted_1in66]

Dumb question here, is a 32 inch barrel a standard muzzleloader or a long rifle ?

There's more to a longrifle than just the barrel length. The shape, the hardware used, and the design of the stock all come into play. Longrifles were not nearly as stout as a musket or a Jaeger rifle. Transitional rifles "might have been that length. Jaeger rifles often had 30" to 32" barrels. A longrifle with that barrel would be much more slim and graceful in appearance than the stout Jaeger rifles. Historically, I don't know for a fact that there are any longrifles with length barrel. Perhaps one of the gun builders here can give us some more info.

I can say that 38" is absolutely considered a longrifle. Some of the earliest longrifles came with shorter barrels. Isaac Haines built a number of 38: barrelled longrifles in 1770 in Lancaster, PA. Bear in mind that a lot of the Moravian gunsmiths who were building longrifles in America had been building Jaeger rifles in Germany and also in the US when they first arrived. The stouter Jaeger rifles were shorter and typically .62 caliber or even more. It took a while for those gunsmiths who had make Jaeger rifles to develop the American Longrifle.

Twisted_1in66
Dan

 

[Pete G]

When did a barrel become an accessory?

You ain't going to do much shootin without one.

 

[tenngun]

All my shoulder guns now have 42” barrels. I’ve owned them down to 18”.
IMHO only barrels less then 40” look short and unbalanced, while beyond 48” looks also unbalanced.
History puts barrel lengths all over the map. Although certain size is expected on certain guns, and the wrong size can look out of place, a short gun just isn’t as sexy.

 

[ugly old guy]

All my shoulder guns now have 42” barrels. I’ve owned them down to 18”.
IMHO only barrels less then 40” look short and unbalanced, while beyond 48” looks also unbalanced.
History puts barrel lengths all over the map. Although certain size is expected on certain guns, and the wrong size can look out of place, a short gun just isn’t as sexy.

Longest barrel(S) I ever had was 36 inches, on a circa 1907 Meriden (one of the Sears brands of guns) 12 gauge side by side.
Being only 5 foot 8 at the time, it was a bit much for me to swing, and felt unbalanced to me. (I think I'm up to 5 foot 7 now). One barrel had a bulge roughly 10 inches from the muzzle, so I cut the barrels back to 22 inches, and had the local gun smith drill and tap the center rib for rifle sights.
(With 2.75 inch "magnum" slugs it put both barrels in same hole at 50 yards. Cross-fired an inch at 75 yards, and 2 inches at 100. It was "Close enough" for deer.)
For a ML, the longest was a CVA .45 caliber "Kentucky" rifle, at 33.5 inches. All my other ML shoulder guns have been 28 inches.
A shorter barrel may not be as "sexy" but they sure are a lot more maneuverable out in the woods.
Being as I are a short and deformed S.O.B., I don't think I'd want to go over 33 - 34 inches barrel length.
Maybe if my left arm was long enough to get my hand more than a inch or two past the trigger guard, and had full movement of the left wrist, I'd feel differently.