Snubby revolver barrel length?

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This may be just a trivia question.

I have a S&W snubby with a 1 7/8 inch inch barrel. This strikes me as an odd length to choose. Why not 2 inches? or 1 3/4 inches?

Is there a formula defining a relationship between barrel length and some other measure of the gun or cartridge? (I know longer barrels generally give better accuracy, but i wouldn't think that is really a consideration with the snubby guns.)

Does anyone know or care to offer a guess as to the reason for the length S&W chooses for the short barrel guns?
 
It always struck me as odd for S&W to make the guns as 1 7/8" but not 2"... I too am perplexed, and look forward to the replies of those knowledgeable on the subject.
 
it might have something to do with marketing instead of engineering. Shortening the barrel by 1/8" maybe makes your overall length a smaller number then your competition.
 
That's a good question. I've always wondered the same about the 3 and 1/16" barreled Ruger SP101s. Why not just 3"?

I know guns with 4.2" barrels are as such so they can be sold in Canada. I wonder if it's a similarmarketing reason, like hAKron suggests.
 
The US imposes a 3" revolver barrel minimum length rule on imports. Some countries, especially S. American countries, take a very tit for tat approach to their laws. "If you won't let us sell our short barreled revolvers, we won't let you sell yours." That might explain the 3.1" Ruger.
 
Taurus, Rossi and EAA all import revolvers shorter than 3" barrels. There are even more autos with sub 3" barrels imported into the US. Not sure where you are getting your information.
 
No, they don't import revolvers with barrels shorter than 3". They import revolvers with longer than 3" barrels and then cut them down in the US.

References:
https://www.nraila.org/articles/19990728/federal-handgun-importation-criteria

''A revolver must (1) have a frame "of 4 1/2" minimum [and] a barrel length of at least 3" and (2) pass a "safety test" consisting of what is commonly referred to as a "drop test''

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/20...ag-revolver-down-to-size-to-satisfy-atf-regs/
 
It is my understanding that some types of competition have a maximum allowable overall length requirement. The 8 3/8" barrel will give shooters the most barrel they can use and still be legal.
 
S&W put a true 2" barrel in their snub nose model 10. The length of the barrel that sticks out in front of the frame is the same length (1-1/4") for both my 2" model 10 and 1-7/8" model 36. This length is determined by the length of the ejection rod as chosen by the manufacturer, likely due to minimum reliable ejection rod length needed. The shorter barrel on the J frames has to do with fit in the smaller frame as the barrel length is measured from the start of the forcing cone to the end of the barrel.

BarrelJframe.jpg

BarrelKframe.jpg
 
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"No, they don't import revolvers with barrels shorter than 3". They import revolvers with longer than 3" barrels and then cut them down in the US.

References:
https://www.nraila.org/articles/1999...ation-criteria

''A revolver must (1) have a frame "of 4 1/2" minimum [and] a barrel length of at least 3" and (2) pass a "safety test" consisting of what is commonly referred to as a "drop test''

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/201...isfy-atf-regs/"

Thanks for posting the links Ed Ames. Learn something everyday...well some days anyway.:)
 
My guess is the 1 7/8" barrel on the J-Frame came about when the cylinder on the 2" I-Frame was lengthened to be long enough to hold .38 Special.

The cylinder got longer, so the barrel got shorter to keep the same over-all length of the gun.

Rc
 
Taurus does not "cut down" barrels. They import with 3" barrels, unscrew those, install a 2", and send the 3" barrely back to Brazil for another trip. Importers like Taurus and Rossi have had to do this since 1968 to meet the 10" length plus height requirememt.
 
Griz, what you say makes sense, but do you know when they started doing it that way? I have seen multiple reports that as of 2012 they were cutting barrels down, e.g.:

102312_D7C_43341.jpg

"The machinist in the photo above is trimming the barrel of an imported Rossi .44 magnum revolver from three inches to two.*" -- Dan Zimmerman, 2012

weirdtaurus31.jpg
-- Taurus snubby as imported. The oddly shaped front portion of the barrel is normally removed in the USA. 2009
 
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The US imposes a 3" revolver barrel minimum length rule on imports.
Click to expand...

I have to wonder the purpose of this. Not that senseless regulation is unusual in any way. I just have to wonder what the thought process was behind this.
 
GCA '68 limits imports to guns with "sporting purposes". The 3" rule is just part of how the ATF enforces that. They have a minimum height+length for semi-auto pistols, magazine capacity limits for shotguns, a points system that makes no real sense (it penalizes .22LR guns) except if people were trying to block pocket guns, and so on.

They don't enforce those rules for guns made in the US only because they lack the statutory power to do so.
 
Taurus was changing barrels not cutting them down in the 90s to my knowledge. I guess they started to cut them down now according to what others have posted. My guess it's cheaper than swapping barrels considering labor costs IN US and Brazil.
 
It probably has to do with the length of the blanks that S&W buys. For that model, the bill of material may specify to buy a blank that's 2" long and Smith cuts it down to the 1 7/8" length to machine both ends. When a company does as high volume production work as S&W, you save every penny you can and if it comes to getting blanks and finishing them to whatever length, you do it for the bottom line.

And we all know how much S&W loves the bottom line:

http://clinton3.nara.gov/WH/New/html/20000317_2.html
 
These were good answers (and might even be correct smiliesnicker_zpsd3f8a63d.gif ).

So, why does Ruger make 7 1/2" and 5 1/2" inch single actions, like Colt does, but unlike Colt's 4 3/4" one, the Ruger short one is 4 5/8"? Why that eighth of an inch shorter?

Unlike (as was mentioned up the thread), the Smith, where the K has a 2 while the J has a 1 7/8, both the full-size Blackhawk/Vaquero and the smaller Single Six have the 4 5/8 barrels.
 
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