5 1/2" .44's

[rio grande]

I'm really liking those "Sheriff" model Remmies and Colts that Cabelas is advertising.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat602007-cat20817&id=0028401215506a&navCount=14&podId=0028401&parentId=cat20817&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=9IS&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20817&hasJS=true
But there must have been a reason the old timers used 7 or 8" barrels.
Do you lose much velocity with black powder w/ 5 1/2" barrels? How about w/ pyrodex or similar?
Anybody done chronograph comparisons?
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat602007-cat20817_TGP&id=0072051217168a&navCount=20&podId=0072051&parentId=cat20817&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=9IS&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat20817&hasJS=true

[mcwoodduck]

As far as I can tell the 7 and 8" barrels were made because the front loading hand guns were that same over all length.
They were that long so they could be used as a club when empty.
I do not think you will see a vast diff in velocity from the 8 and the 5.5" barrels.

[StrawHat]

I believe the majority of the revolvers were sold with the 7 1/2 or 8" barrel because that is what the Army wanted when they ordered them.  Colts would sell other barrel lengths (Keith commented on a 6" 1851) but by and large most folks were happy with what the Army thought was good.  Some guns got cut down by their owners but by and large the guns stayed the way they came from the factory.  It wasn't until the Army decided to modify the Model P to a 5 1/2 barrel for the artillery that the idea of different barrel lengths on full sized revolvers started to catch on.  The small framed 31s were offered with a variety of barrel lengths as standard.

We are seeing a lot of short barrel replicas because that is what the suppliers think will sell.  Same as we see a lot of replicas of guns that were not produced in great numbers.  Because of this, some think they were common back when they were originally made. 

[simonkenton]

Although there is a loss of velocity with the 5.5 inch barrel, it is not too much.

John Wilkes Booth used a Deringer with a 2 inch barrel and he got the job done.

[jlchucker]

I believe the majority of the revolvers were sold with the 7 1/2 or 8" barrel because that is what the Army wanted when they ordered them.  Colts would sell other barrel lengths (Keith commented on a 6" 1851) but by and large most folks were happy with what the Army thought was good.  Some guns got cut down by their owners but by and large the guns stayed the way they came from the factory.  It wasn't until the Army decided to modify the Model P to a 5 1/2 barrel for the artillery that the idea of different barrel lengths on full sized revolvers started to catch on.  The small framed 31s were offered with a variety of barrel lengths as standard.

We are seeing a lot of short barrel replicas because that is what the suppliers think will sell.  Same as we see a lot of replicas of guns that were not produced in great numbers.  Because of this, some think they were common back when they were originally made. 

What you say may be true about the longer barrels.  I had my Remmie cut to 5 1/2 inches and found it handier to carry, but not by much.  I had it cut before they started selling them that way.  Over time, I figured out that I maybe should have left well enough alone.  The shorter barrel made no real difference at all for casual shooting purposes.  I use my Remmie as an occasional woods-walking piece--and shoot it at least as much as my 357 S&W's.  I even had a 31 with a barrel somewhat longer than 4 inches once.  Nice plinker.  One thing with shorter guns though--at least with the Colt style ones, the loading lever is shorter, and that means loading is done with a little less leverage.

[StrawHat]

The longer barrels are definately easier to carry!  I cut an 1860 to 3" and found it to be a royal pain to carry in a period style holster.  I finally ended up using a pancake style.  The short barrel was accurate enough to use at much longer ranges than many thought it would be.

As for the short loading lever, with the 3", I just removed it.  I have a 5" barreled Walker, for it I used a cheater bar over the lever arm, until I removed the lever.  A real howitzer, but even with the shortened barrel it will never be a quick draw firearm.

I have a variety of C&B Pocket Colts (36s) with 5 1/2" or 6" barrels.  They are a blast to shoot.  Just got a 31 so have no experience with it.  Looking forward to a range day but it appears unfired so I may just sell it and buy a more user friendly version.

[Rangr44]

I actually like my shorty better than the longer barreled one I had, and so gave the long bbl 1860 to a good friend for his milestone b-day last year.

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