Ruger 5.5 or 6 7/8 barrel???

chadflys · January 12, 2009, 02:59 PM

I went to pick up my new ruger the other day and someone had already bought the 5.5 bull I wanted. Shucks! They still have the 6 7/8 barrel. Does anyone have any thoughts on this. I do play on getting into competition shooting so I want to make the right purchase. Balance and feel are important and from what I have read many seem to prefer the 5.5, but I'd like some more educations information. I'm going to go handle it a bit too to see if it feel right. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Chad

mstuhr · January 12, 2009, 03:07 PM

Hi Chad,
This is just me. If Iwas going to shoot a dot I would prefer the short gun. If Iwas going to shoot open sights I prefer the longer sight radius.
Good luck
Mike

melchloboo · January 12, 2009, 07:52 PM

Exactly. However, be sure the gun has target sights, not the hunting fiber optic/v-rear. They can be replaced but its an extra expense.

Also, it is possible for a gunsmith to shorten the barrel and recrown if you later decide to the gun is too long. There are also aftermarket pac-lite uppers for the ruger.

LHB1 · January 12, 2009, 07:59 PM

Hi Chad,
Many years ago when I was a young man shooting Bullseye competition, my .22 LR gun was a S&W M41. I tried 4" barrel, 5.5" bull barrel, and 7 3/8" barrel, all with open sights. My scores were measurably better with the 5.5" barrel than with either of the other barrels. For me, the sight radius was too short on 4" barrel and the long 7 3/8" barrel had WAY too much front sight wobble, especially in the latter stages of a match when I began to tire. I also tended to drop more low shots with the long barrel whenever I failed to follow thru and allowed the barrel to droop when trigger broke. My advice would be to wait and find another 5.5" barrel pistol.

January 12, 2009, 02:59 PM	#1
chadflys Member Join Date: January 1, 2009 Posts: 55	Ruger 5.5 or 6 7/8 barrel??? I went to pick up my new ruger the other day and someone had already bought the 5.5 bull I wanted. Shucks! They still have the 6 7/8 barrel. Does anyone have any thoughts on this. I do play on getting into competition shooting so I want to make the right purchase. Balance and feel are important and from what I have read many seem to prefer the 5.5, but I'd like some more educations information. I'm going to go handle it a bit too to see if it feel right. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. Chad

January 12, 2009, 03:07 PM	#2
mstuhr Member Join Date: February 19, 2006 Location: MO Posts: 49	Hi Chad Hi Chad, This is just me. If Iwas going to shoot a dot I would prefer the short gun. If Iwas going to shoot open sights I prefer the longer sight radius. Good luck Mike

January 12, 2009, 07:59 PM	#4
LHB1 Senior Member Join Date: March 25, 2005 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 1,545	Hi Chad, Many years ago when I was a young man shooting Bullseye competition, my .22 LR gun was a S&W M41. I tried 4" barrel, 5.5" bull barrel, and 7 3/8" barrel, all with open sights. My scores were measurably better with the 5.5" barrel than with either of the other barrels. For me, the sight radius was too short on 4" barrel and the long 7 3/8" barrel had WAY too much front sight wobble, especially in the latter stages of a match when I began to tire. I also tended to drop more low shots with the long barrel whenever I failed to follow thru and allowed the barrel to droop when trigger broke. My advice would be to wait and find another 5.5" barrel pistol. __________________ Good shooting and be safe. LB

January 12, 2009, 07:52 PM	#3
melchloboo Senior Member Join Date: October 2, 2008 Posts: 279	Exactly. However, be sure the gun has target sights, not the hunting fiber optic/v-rear. They can be replaced but its an extra expense. Also, it is possible for a gunsmith to shorten the barrel and recrown if you later decide to the gun is too long. There are also aftermarket pac-lite uppers for the ruger.