Ohioans For Concealed Carry Discussion Forums

Interesting discussion with a friend who is a 9mm fan recently. We were discussing the various barrel lengths of the M&P and XD lines - what's your view on 3" vs. 3.5" vs. 3.8"?

Obviously, the more barrel length the better the ballistic performance but with that comes less concealability. On slow moving rounds like the .45 ACP I don't give much thought to barrel length, but we're talking 9mm here.

Also, I haven't seen a lot of "short barrel" formula 9mm loads running around out there. As an avid wheelgun guy I appreciate the Speer SBGDHP loads in .38 Spl and .357 Mag. If anybody knows of a short barrel 9mm load please provide a link to it, that would certainly help address one of the concerns.

I got all of 'em. That get me a prize?

From the testing I've seen, as long as you pick good SD ammo from a top tier manufacturer (like Gold Dot, HST, etc.) the short barrel isn't going to be a problem.

I voted for the longer barrel, the slide/barrel IMO is the easiest part to conceal.

Morne wrote:Interesting discussion with a friend who is a 9mm fan recently. We were discussing the various barrel lengths of the M&P and XD lines - what's your view on 3" vs. 3.5" vs. 3.8"?

Obviously, the more barrel length the better the ballistic performance but with that comes less concealability. On slow moving rounds like the .45 ACP I don't give much thought to barrel length, but we're talking 9mm here.

Also, I haven't seen a lot of "short barrel" formula 9mm loads running around out there. As an avid wheelgun guy I appreciate the Speer SBGDHP loads in .38 Spl and .357 Mag. If anybody knows of a short barrel 9mm load please provide a link to it, that would certainly help address one of the concerns.

ShootingBull410's 9mm Ammo Quest video playlist. Done with Sig Sauer 938.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... -w4Yozc27i

What I think is neat is that a 1-7/8" barrel on a snubbie revolver is longer than a 3" barrel in a 9mm semi-auto.

I want my semi-auto to have as long a barrel as I can conceal (IF I'm concealing).

I voted for pumpkin pie.

I carry an XDm 3.8 Compact and have no problems concealing it year around. I use Speer Gold Dots in it.

Morne wrote:Obviously, the more barrel length the better the ballistic performance but with that comes less concealability. On slow moving rounds like the .45 ACP I don't give much thought to barrel length, but we're talking 9mm here.

That depends on what you mean by "ballistic performance". More energy, yes. Better actual performance, not necessarily. A faster hollow point may open up sooner & larger, causing a reduction in penetration. You'll see that in several STB410's vidoes, linked above. For example, the HST 124 +P and 147 +P both opened slightly larger in bare gel but penetrated slightly less deeply as compared to the standard pressure rounds.

Despite some beliefs that 9mm 147gr bullets move too slowly to open up, although that was true in a lot of cases, both the Federal HST and Winchester Defend standard pressure 147gr rounds were some of the best performers out of a 3" barrel from STB410's tests.

DontTreadOnMe wrote:

Morne wrote:Obviously, the more barrel length the better the ballistic performance but with that comes less concealability. On slow moving rounds like the .45 ACP I don't give much thought to barrel length, but we're talking 9mm here.

That depends on what you mean by "ballistic performance". More energy, yes. Better actual performance, not necessarily. A faster hollow point may open up sooner & larger, causing a reduction in penetration. You'll see that in several STB410's vidoes, linked above. For example, the HST 124 +P and 147 +P both opened slightly larger in bare gel but penetrated slightly less deeply as compared to the standard pressure rounds.

Despite some beliefs that 9mm 147gr bullets move too slowly to open up, although that was true in a lot of cases, both the Federal HST and Winchester Defend standard pressure 147gr rounds were some of the best performers out of a 3" barrel from STB410's tests.

The issue of standard versus +P pressures is for another thread. Here, I simply wish to address barrel length.

Given all other parameters the same (bullet weight, pressure, et cetera...) I think that increasing barrel length towards standard service pistol length is at least somewhat valuable. The question then becomes, "Is it worth the decrease in concealability?"

Tru-Heathen wrote:ShootingBull410's 9mm Ammo Quest video playlist. Done with Sig Sauer 938.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... -w4Yozc27i

I enjoyed watching those videos. The HST 124-gr loads looked marvelous! The 124-gr +P (but not regular pressure) Speer GDHP (both regular and short barrel flavors) also looks good. Like the host, I would choose the short barrel load (though a casual web surf revealed none for sale in stock anywhere).

Still, the .45 fan in me chuckled at the "patting on the back" for the 9mm 4-layer denim result of expansion to an average diameter of 0.47". Yeah, y'all go ahead and be proud of that.

The gun of choice for that video is a good one. The 3" barrel is just about the worst case. Thus, if it works in there it should work in anything.

So...to get back to the thread's point I suppose a 3" barrel with the RIGHT choice of ammo CAN WORK. I suppose that means we can rule out the 3.8" altogether. Maybe the slight margin gained with a 3.5" barrel is still worth it, though.

You bring up an interesting point. Although it sounds like a minor point, the longer sight radius makes a difference. More than I expected when I really studied it. Frankly, I think that outweighs any ballistic gains (especially as there many interpretations of "correct" ballistics these days).

Sig, with their Carry size (I think, regular grip and short barrel), got it completely backwards for the CHL. It is the grip that is hard to hide, not the longer barrel. The Colt CCO got it right, shorter grip and longer barrel.

Sig's Carry barrels are 3.9 ", I don't find either of my two,(P220 & P320) to be a burden to conceal. Though if I carry @ 10 o'clock the P320 gets the sub-compact grip module installed. At 8 o'clock in a Clinger holster,the Carry grip works fine.(For me.)

Mr. Glock wrote:You bring up an interesting point. Although it sounds like a minor point, the longer sight radius makes a difference. More than I expected when I really studied it. Frankly, I think that outweighs any ballistic gains (especially as there many interpretations of "correct" ballistics these days).

Sig, with their Carry size (I think, regular grip and short barrel), got it completely backwards for the CHL. It is the grip that is hard to hide, not the longer barrel. The Colt CCO got it right, shorter grip and longer barrel.

The CCO is a wonderful combination of properties.

Morne wrote:

Mr. Glock wrote:You bring up an interesting point. Although it sounds like a minor point, the longer sight radius makes a difference. More than I expected when I really studied it. Frankly, I think that outweighs any ballistic gains (especially as there many interpretations of "correct" ballistics these days).

Sig, with their Carry size (I think, regular grip and short barrel), got it completely backwards for the CHL. It is the grip that is hard to hide, not the longer barrel. The Colt CCO got it right, shorter grip and longer barrel.

The CCO is a wonderful combination of properties.

I thought that new Springfield EMP 4.0 would be the spiritual successor, but I believe the grip is longer too vs the original EMP.