Cobrageezer
Member
Is the length of a barrel measured from the bolt face or the front end of the chamber. I've got a running arguement with a friend whose a LEO. I really want to be right. I say it is measured from the bolt face.:banghead:
It would seem to me that the barrel length is measured from the chamber out. You don't count the cylinder length on a revolver why would you count the chamber length on a semi-auto?
The answer is, it depends.
What type of firearm are we discussing?
Usually boltface to muzzle, but revolver cylinders do not count.
To be legal for deer, handguns must use center-fire cartridges of .22 caliber or
larger and have a 5½ inch minimum barrel, measured from the firing pin to the
muzzle with the action closed.
Correct, for pistols, rifles and shotguns. (On autoloading pistols it is easiest, as a practical matter, to measure from the rear of the ejection port.) This will include the chamber. For revolvers, measure from the front of the cylinder to the muzzle.I say it is measured from the bolt face.
Because in a semiauto, the chamber is part of the barrel, whereas in a revolver it's not.It would seem to me that the barrel length is measured from the chamber out. You don't count the cylinder length on a revolver why would you count the chamber length on a semi-auto?
WI in a rare case, is regulating the length of bullet-travel within the barrel, it actually makes more sense to me.from the Wisconsin Deer hunting Regs
But when the chamber is integral with the barrel, what do you use as your reference or starting point? The shoulder where the case neck abuts? The barrel throat? This is not consistent from firearm to firearm, sometimes not even the same model from the same maker. An eighth or even a sixteenth of an inch can make the difference between a legal 18" shotgun barrel and an illegal "sawed-off." A consistent measuring point that works on all firearms must be established.Just One Shot said:It would seem to me that the barrel length is measured from the chamber out.
But when the chamber is integral with the barrel, what do you use as your reference or starting point? The shoulder where the case neck abuts? The barrel throat? This is not consistent from firearm to firearm, sometimes not even the same model from the same maker. An eighth or even a sixteenth of an inch can make the difference between a legal 18" shotgun barrel and an illegal "sawed-off." A consistent measuring point that works on all firearms must be established.