5 1/2” Barrel Aim

I have two barrels for my Uberti 1851 Colt in 36 caliber. The 7 1/2” and a 5 1/2”. I prefer to carry the 5 1/2” because of weight and it looks better, to me.

Without a lot of range time, I got to thinking about the difference in accuracy in these two different barrels. Is the “standard” 7 1/2” Barrel going to shoot true at a certain yardage while the 5 1/2” Barrel would shoot low at the same distance given the 2” difference in sight distance?

Load, bullet, shooter, etc are assumed equal and 100% true of course! :wink:

The length of a barrel has nothing to do with the inherent accuracy of the barrel itself. Usually the longer barrel can be shot more accurately because of the longer sight radius. In other words, it's up to you.

So the sight radius does matter...

If the front sight on each barrel is the same height, all other things being equal, your calculations of the shorter barrel shooting to a different point of aim would be true, though the 5 1/2 might be prone to shoot high rather than low, depending on how the sights are set on the gun.

It is not a matter of accuracy, but a matter of trajectory and the point of aim. If your front sights on the two barrels are the same height, the line of site would most likely cross the bullet's trajectory in a different spot.

Likewise, if there is any slight difference in the true bore of each barrel related to front sight, it could cause the bullet to shoot to the right or left as well as high or low. A longer barrel can also affect the velocity, which would also change the trajectory.

As far as accuracy itself, which means the ability of the barrel to put the shot in the same spot each time, the barrel can make a difference, but probably not because of the length of the barrel. Flaws, such as rust or leading can have a bigger impact than length on actual accuracy, and possibly on velocity as well.

The only way to know for sure how each barrel shoots is through careful trial and error, preferably with a bench rest and cleaning between cylinder loads to eliminate human error.

You may find a significant decrease in the bullet's velocity with the shorter barrel, and this can be a cause of a different point of impact on the target.

The front sight posts are indeed identical, and the rear sight is obviously in the nose of the hammer.

All else being even you will probably find that the shorter barrel hits higher than the longer barrel does. Even as light weight of a bullet as you have with a .36 shooting round ball the shorter barrel can get more flip and hence hit higher. The lighter the piece (like with a '51 machined out to .44) the greater the effect.

Same size measured on the front sight one of them WILL be wrong. Line of sight problem.