Anyone hunt with a 24" barrel on a levergun...and why?

[1894c]

Since I've been hanging with you guys on this forum I have noticed that a few of you have leverguns (in pistol cartridges) with 24" barrels, and some of you seem to use that barrel length strictly for hunting. The longest tube I ever used and owned is 20" and shorter.

Is there any advantage, besides a longer sight picture, for using a 24" in barrel on a levergun that fires either a .357 Mag, .44 Mag., or .45 Colt (notice I left out the word "long", been schooled proper). I want to thank you in advance for such a novice question, but I really do appreciate your input...the idea of a 24" barrel looks like a direction I would like to go... :)

[JerryB]

I have an 1892 Winchester in 32-20 with a 24 inch barrel and I enjoy hunting with it. I also have four Winchester 94 20 inch carbines and two Rossi 92 20 inch carbines and they hunt good too.

[Don McDowell]

In the pistol cartridges I dont' believe there's much benefit in the 24 inch barrel unless you're shooting strictly blackpowder.
The 24 inch barrels really do get the best out of the 30-30 tho.

[earlmck]

I like the way they feel. I like the way they hold on target. I like having less muzzle blast accost my eardrums. All my favorite rifles carry at least 24" of barrel. I have some variety, but if a gun of mine is going to have less than 20" of barrel, it's going to be a revolver and be packed in a shoulder holster. And even in a hunting situation it wouldn't be fired without ear protection in place (I can't afford to lose any more hearing).

[Dave]

I am mixed on 24" barrels for pistol cartridges. They hang nice but when I had one in 357 it actually chronoed slower than my 357 carbines. I think the powder has already burned and the bullet starts to lose velocity because of the resistance of still being in the barrel.

I was using 2400 so another powder might change that.

[hfcable]

well i like the balance and pointing

the longest i have is a 44/40 with a 30" barrel and i just like it because.... well... i dunno i just like it!

[earlmck]

No, anyone thinking there is any ballistics advantage to the longer barrel is dreaming. Playing with the QuickLoad ballistics program, it shows about 30fps more velocity using top load of 2400 and a 155 grain bullet for the 24" vs. the 20" bbl. and only 50 fps difference using Lil'Gun. As in Dave's post, it's real easy for an individual 20" rifle to give greater velocity than another individual rifle with 24" bbl, because of the other factors (chamber, bore, and mystery).

It's just a personal gun toting/handling/shooting preference thing.

[Rusty]

For years I was a handgun shooter, I hardly ever shot any rifles at all unless it was a .22. Then I started shooting muzzleloaders. I became used to the way a muzzleloader seems to hang on target. When I wanted a levergun I liked the idea of the Marlin Cowboy II in .44 mag. If I wanted a higher level of performance I'd go with a .45-70.

[guntar]

I don't have a short-barreled 45 Colt to compare it with, but the Lyman Handbook 49th edition shows a velocity of 1236 fps with a load of 17.5 gr. of 2400 with a 250 jacketed bullet out of a 16 inch Trapper. With 16.5 gr. of 2400 with a 250 gr. jacketed bullet out of my 24" Model 92 I get 1640 fps. This amounts to 33% higher velocity with 6% less powder.
This seems like a significant increase to me. Also, this is the easiest rifle to shoot offhand I have ever used, the weight is not excessive, and the balance is outstanding. It has become my favorite daytime feral hog gun. In Texas we are allowed to shoot hogs at night, and for this I use a scoped rifle.
I hope this helps.

[Shrapnel]

It's just a personal gun toting/handling/shooting preference thing.

Actually I think it is more than that, I would add "Marketing". What sells is not necessarily what people want. Very few people would know any advantage of a long gun vs a carbine in accuracy, killing power, etc. You can't find a Marlin 94 in anything but a carbine. I have an original in a rifle and prefer it. Carbines have a particular attraction to them, but for the most part is unfounded by today's buyer, mostly due to watching movies and seeing nothing but 92 SRC's from the Civil War to World War I. You can only buy what is available, and in pistol calibers, you are restricted to mostly carbines. Besides the 94, which is still mostly available in carbine configurations, most of all the rest of the guns made today are in longer barreled versions and seem to be considered rifle cartridges.

Personally I like both, but only have 2 carbines, a model 92 SRC and a Winchester 1873 SRC, while owning dozens of longer barreled versions of lever guns.

[stew71]

Yes. I've taken my 45 Colt Rossi 92 deer hunting in the timber. I like the way the 24" barrel feels and handles. Besides it looks correct. Short barrels don't look "right" to me.

But that's me.

[Griff]

While I've taken my 24" '73 in .45 Colt on hunting trips, I've not used it in that manner... YET! I'd planned for a spring havelina hunt for it and my 20" 1892 rifle (also in .45Collt), but the trip didn't materialize. And, yes... sight radius was the excuse I was going to use... as I can shoot much stouter loads with the 1892.

I have used my 26" barreled .30-30s to good effect on game. Any better than a 20", or even a 16" Trapper? I don't know... when you flip a coin it WILL land on either "heads" or "tails".

[Mike D.]

My .33 W.C.F. 1886s have 24" barrels and they are hunted often. The rest of 'em have 22" and they are used plenty, too. all guns get some shooting/hunting action.

[Blaine]

Never thought about it much, except the shorter ones are way louder, IMO. My Guide Gun is maybe more accurate than the 1895 Cowboy...maybe.

[O.S.O.K.]

I used my Marlin 94 Cowboy in 45 Colt for CAS shoots. I liked the way it pointed quicker and more accurately for me. The longer sight radius was a real benefit. My club would put the levergun targets at around 25 - 30 yards usually and I could nail them as quickly as I could work the action. I found I could do so better than with the 16" trapper model 94 in the same caliber that I started with... It also gave me more capacity due to the longer mag tube.

Most of this is obviously a benefit for hunting too - or can be.

Even with the longer barrel, it still weighs in under 7 lbs.

For my 30-30 AI, the longer barrel also gives more velocity which is obviously the whole idea of the AI to begin with, so it makes sense - it also gives maximum sight radius with the tang sight and allows for precise shooting.

I think the carbines are handy for carrying - weight-wise and length-wise - handier in thick brush... and obviously work better as a "truck" gun.

[Nicknack]

To me the 24'' points better and they just look right in an octagon barrel.

[Mutt]

I really like my Marlin '94 cowboy OCT. 24" barrel . Looks good,feels great,carries easy, shoots straight. And as the man says , "JUST CAUSE !"

[Old Savage]

Mod 99 has a 24" barrel so that is what I hunt with.

[Old Ironsights]

I'm the opposite. My 9410 had a 24 and I really disliked the balance compared to my 20" 92.

OTOH, my S99 has a 24 and it swings great. Center of gravity I suppose.

My next Lever (another .410) will have the 20"... but it is/will be a brush gun like my .45/70 (18") & .357 (20") so the "shorter" barrel is/will be more appropriate.

(To me, IMO, YMMV... )

[6pt-sika]

I've got no less then 16 Marlin First Model 444's with 24" barrels and have killed a pile of deer with them in the last 4 years !

I also have several 444 and a 45-70 with 22" pipes . Another 444 with a 19" pipe and my only pistol cartridge rifle has a 20" pipe .

[1894c]

Thank you all for your replies, your experience is truly appreciated--as I stated at the top I never gave a 24" barrel much thought until some of you extol their virtues in other posts... :)

[Canuck Bob]

My Winoku 92 Takedown has a 24" barrel. I bought it as it mirrored the long rifles popular before WW2. My go to gun is a 444 with a 22" tube. It has always made sense to me that barrels should be of a reasonable length. My 444 was at home in willow and muskeg swamps and I never felt a need to chop it or replace it. If I ever upgraded I would chose the 444XLR with the 24" tube to get the ss and ballard rifling in a heartbeat. No guide gun for me. In the heavy bush a scope is a terrible contraption in my book compared to a standard rifle barrel.

I have a little Lee Enfield No.5, Jungle Carbine, and it really puts on a show in failing light for muzzle flash and report. The No.4's seem to get it just about right with their longer barrels.

My 92 is a 32-20 and turned out more barrel heavy than I like. The small bore and octagon barrel really adds up the weight. Its a keeper but someday I might shorten it to 20" as it is a handy lever and a low capacity case so the improved balance would be a better option. 20" would be my limit to bob the barrel.

Edit: My problem may be just not enough time with the long rifle. After reading all the threads on prefering the long barrel hang offhand it seems I might be missing something.

[Tumbleweeds II]

Yes. Why not?

I hunt small game with a 39a with a 25" bbl, and like it better than the shorter rifles for the accuracy. This rifle is 8 oz heavier than the 20" 94-22 I no longer have, and the whole 8 oz is hanging on the end of the barrel. Much, much steadier for aiming at small targets.

My deer rifles are shorter, 20-22". I could trade for longer rifles, but deer are easier to hit than squirrels so I haven't bothered. Now, I live in a place where 200 yds is a long shot at a deer, and most shots are at less than 100. If I moved west, I would reconsider the choice.

[model55]

Have hunted with the 24 inch barrels before but it was what I had at the time, didn't feel that they were any trouble.Will be taking the trapper this year if for no other reason because it will pack better and I intend to do a little more brush busting in thick stuff this year.

[Cimarron Red]

I no longer hunt, but I shoot a lot of lever gun and BPCR silhouettes as well as gong matches. So I prefer the longer barrels -- 24 inch on pistol cartridge rifles, 26 inch on rifle cartridge guns, and 30 inch on single-shots for BPCR, octagon preferably -- the more weight out front, within reason, the better. As one of the best silhouette shooters I've ever met once said, "Who takes a carbine to a rifle match?"

[kimwcook]

I have to agree that longer barrels hang better. Plus, the longer sight radius. I guess I'm just not old enough to feel the weight difference as some guys do. I packed a Shiloh Sharps #1 that weighs like 12 lbs. for two elk hunting seasons and the only thing I wish I had different was a sling.

[765x53]

My 870 is a full foot longer than my '94.
I manage to carry it through some pretty thick brush and swing on flying targets.
A long barrel is less of a handy-cap than popularly imagined.

[FWiedner]

Nothing new to add. Longer barrel seem to feel better balance wise. The extra weight seems to add stability.

Only draw-back I can think of to a longer barrel is that it might not be handy if you end up sitting in a small blind.

Other than that, if you got room, stick it out there.

[OJ]

That's how it came - balance is just right -



I couldn't improve on it -





Fits me just right