I was looking at the Winchester 94 Legacy rifles wth 24" barrel and started to wonder if the 24" barrel is helping or hindering the pistol cartridges like the 44 mag and 357 Mag.

What barrel lengths are optimal for the peak the pressure build up for the 30-30, 44 mag, and 357 mag? I would hate to get a gun with a longer barrel which would be counter productive to the velocity generated.

Seems to me a barrel would have to be pretty long for pistol cartridge bullets to actually start slowing down before they exit the muzzle (reasonably powerful loads that is; "how light and slow can you go?" cowboy loads notwithstanding). I expect a 24 is still delivering higher velocity than a 20 inch tube with most loads. Good hunting!

I beg to differ, since pistol cartridges are loaded with faster powders than a rifle powder, friction in a longer barrel length would slow down your velocity somewhat. Optimal length for a pistol cartridge carbine would be 16"-18" with about 300-400 f/s over a revolver. More barrel than that, you gain prcatically nothing. The old levergunners like Paco Kelly discovered that long ago. If you were shooting a true rifle cartridge then a longer barrel makes sense.

quote:

Originally posted by 475Guy:
I beg to differ, since pistol cartridges are loaded with faster powders than a rifle powder, friction in a longer barrel length would slow down your velocity somewhat. Optimal length for a pistol cartridge carbine would be 16"-18" with about 300-400 f/s over a revolver. More barrel than that, you gain prcatically nothing. The old levergunners like Paco Kelly discovered that long ago. If you were shooting a true rifle cartridge then a longer barrel makes sense.

Ye'up. I'd go with a 30-30 to get the design advantages.

.454 Cassull...with 300 grain Cor-bon..
6.5 inch ported revolver...1478 fps.
7.5 inch non-ported revolver.1540 fps.
8.38 inch ported revolver....1586 fps.
12 inch T/C Contender........1806 fps.
24 inch T/C Contender.........1938 fps.
28 inch Browning High wall....2014 fps.

All the same load and checked by Sherriff Jim in different barrel lengths.Hope it helps..

Jayco

Jayco. All well and good. But isn't the Casull loaded to somewhere around 50,000 PSI or CUP (I forget which term they were using.) and the .357 and .44 Magnums closer to 35,000 PSI/CUP and possibly less this day and age? I think that might make some difference with a longer barrel for those two cartridges.
I know the .357 and .44 have been downloaded by the factories by a substanial amount. Probably started out after the S&W 19 and 66 came out as original factory ammo was shaking them loose in a hurry. About five or six months ago, I came across a fellow at the range shooting a Taurus .357 Mag. and he was bitching about how hard the reloads he was shooting were kicking. He threw most of the ammo in the bradd bucket saying he was not going to shoot any more of those "overloads". I asked him if I could have them to break down for the brass and bullets and he said OK. When I got home, I looked at the box which was 1960s vintage and looked a couple of rounds over with a magnifying glass. They were not handloads but original 1960s vintage .357 mag. ammo that was loaded to "full" power as originally intended. I ran a few over the Chrony and got 1450 FPS from a 6" S&W Model 28. I had some current factory ammo and it gave 1210 FPS, definitely downloaded from the original specs.
I believe that current .357 Mag. ammo and most likely the .44 Mag. ammo as well could start to lose speed to some degree in the longer barrled rifles due to this downloading.
Paul B.

Paul B

That is very true in every sense. When Mod. 19's and 66's shook loose and Mod. 29's shook
loose, the ammo factories loaded them way down. In the old days, I shook an 8 3/8" Mod. 29 so loose that I had to send it back to the factory. Found that I had stretched the frame just a wee bit and endshake in the cylinder was horrendous. After numerous phonecalls, they decided to give me one with a new frame and innards. Of course, I had to re-register the damn thing.