Barrel length alterations from the original, good or bad?

[His lordship.]

I took my late production Model 44 Mosin Nagant (like new condition, not rebuilt) to the range again yesterday, it is improving in leaps and bounds in the accuracy department as I try different ammo and it gets broken in, yet it has been harder than my Model 91/30 to get it tuned in for accuracy.

This shortened version of the Mosin Nagant Model 91/30 got me to thinking about the barrel length correlation in performance in comparison to the original design.  The short Mosin carbines, Model 38 and 44 are said to be not as accurate as the longer model 91/30, and the Enfield Mk.5 carbine is notoriously inferior to the MK. 4, and the Swedish Model 1896 is better than the Model 1938 shortened version.

Sure, there is more site radius, and more weight with the longer barrel.  I had also read that the Enfield Model 1853 3 band rifled musket with its longer barrel, was inferior to the Enfield Model 1853 2 band rifled musket with its shorter barrel, in accuracy.  This shorter model was used more by the sargents and the Royal Navy.

How about the other cut downs like the Carcano Model 1938 versus the older longer version?  Or even the so called M-1 Garand Tanker cut downs?  The German army shortened their Mauser Model 1898 (type K) used during WW2 from the longer barreled type "A" used in the 1914-1918 conflict.  If the Mauser 1898 "K" used by the German armed forces was inferior to the longer barreled earlier version, why would they still use the "K" in the sniper format during the 1939-1945 war?

Anybody else know of a shorter version in general being better than the original longer barreled version of a military rifle? :?

[willysjeep134]

Usually the sniper versions weren't all that special for most armies. They took a good production rifle and went over it to "accurize it". With a longer barrel you get longer sight plane, more mass which means heat has somewhat less of an effect on it, all that good stuff. The long guns were all out of production by the second war, so there would be no point to tool up a factory just to make a handfull of A mausers or 91 nagants for snipers when the K's and  44's would serve the purpose.

Also, the shorter rifles were cheaper to produce, they took less steel to make. I'm sure that with the changing tactics of war the need to stop cavalry charges a mile off was lessened, and the need to make a handy, short, and somewhat less expensive rifle was seen by everybody.

[1911crazy]

Chris;   I can't remember but a while back someone posted about using a certain weight bullet for long and short mosin barrels it made a difference in accuracy.  I can't remember if its a heavier bullet for short barrels and a lighter bullet for long barrels or the opposite.  I think it was Mikey or S.Sumner who said it and I hope they help out with this.  I'll have to write it down so i remember this time.                               BigBill

[1911crazy]

Now I don't think the shorter barrel or longer barrel matters of course with the older guns it may but with the newer better quality barrels like with the modern rifles sure seem accurate but sometimes we have to reload for them to be accurate too. So maybe we will have to reload to make the shorter barrel a tack driver.   But if we reload we can play with different bullet weights and adjust the powder burning rates to the twist rate we have too till it becomes more accurate. There is a lot of variables to achieving good accuracy and it sure can be a challange once the new barrel is broken in.  I've had some barrels break in after 20rds and some not until after firing 200rds. it all depends on the quality/sharpness of the broach/button when they put the rifling in it.  But we have to take one thing at a time.                                              BigBill

[His lordship.]

BigBill...you are right about the bullet weights.  The day I was shooting my Model 44 I started out using the Hungarian light grainers, and was getting 2 fliers out of each 5 shot group going to the left and up, both at 50 and 100 yard ranges.  I had some Hungarian heavy bullets, yellow tipped, that tightened up the group alot, and no fliers.  I remember  reading that some of the shooters found the MN carbines prefer the heavy bullets, I guess so!  

I also managed to get the Wolf light grainers to shoot ok, and as they are available and non-corrosive I am seriously thinking of buying a case of those as the military surplus stuff is not consistantly available when I want it.  I have to wait for the big gun shows, and at this point I don't know where the Hungarian stuff is, if I can even buy it, it might be all gone.  The Czech, and Albanian is out there, I don't like it though!  The Czech surplus (not commercial Sellier and Bellot), sticks in the receiver with the shellac steel case, and the Albanian is poor in all my Mosins.