Home on the Range

More on barrel length: 9mm handgun comparison

This Wednesday, will the same hold true for 9mm handguns? Will the gun with the longest barrel be the most liked? Will it shoot more accurately than those with shorter barrels?

Tony, who thought that barrel length didn’t make a difference when we first began comparing the .45s, isn’t betting on the outcome today. “I was wrong before,” he complains. “Now I won’t say that length doesn’t matter when you compare 9mm handguns.”

This Wednesday at the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office range, where interested shooters and beginners meet at 10:00, we are comparing a Rohrbaugh, a Sig Sauer, and a Springfield.

The Rohrbaugh has a 2.9” barrel. It is a very small gun with only 5.2” in length and 3.7” in height. Its magazine is loaded with 6 rounds and 1 round in the chamber, and its total weight is 18 ounces. There is no manual safety. When empty, the slide does not lock back. This little guy is an “emergency tool” used for close quarters. It is probably not your primary gun of self-defense.

Why no safety? Goodness. You don’t need one. The 11-pound trigger is safety enough, as we’ll see when 4 of us shoot the gun.

We are scoring as we usually do. A “1” means we like it or it is easy and a “5” means we hate it and it is difficult.

Averaging the scores of 2 strong men and 2 able women, the trigger pull comes to a 3.3. Tough! Not well liked! This trigger pull is meant to be a safety itself. It’s so long and hard that the trigger won’t go off until you squeeze and squeeze. And squeeze once more.

When you average difficulty of recoil, again you get a 3.3 from the 4 of us. When 5 is the worst recoil, a 3.3 is pretty high.

The grip gets a 3.3 as well. Even those of us with small hands find it hard to get 2 fingers on the grip. And the guys? They only get 1 finger on the grip. Shots aren’t particularly accurate when you don’t have a good grip.

Kick? Yikes. If 5 is the worst kick we’ve experienced, the Rohrbaugh is a hefty 3.7. Almost a 4! Yes, kicks like a rented mule.

“I didn’t like that itty bitty gun,” declares one woman. The recoil hurts her wrist, and she doesn’t like the trigger pull. She shoots it only once, while the rest of us shoot two times.

“Long pull, big kick!” says another.

But the Rohrbaugh has its place. It is a gun that fits into a pocket or purse. For self-defense in close quarters, the Rohrbaugh is a sturdy, reliable “emergency tool.”

The Sig Sauer P320 Compact has a 3.9 inch barrel. Overall, it is 7.2 inches long and 5.3 inches high. This gun, primarily made of polymer, weighs 25.8 ounces. I wouldn’t lug it in my purse, but might carry it on me like in an appendix carry. A loose shirt can cover it, but probably it will work best for a larger person.

This Sig has no safety. Trigger pull is not nearly the weight of the Rohrbaugh’s, coming in at about 5 pounds. The Sig has a nice deep beavertail for a good solid grip. This is the area where the web of your hand between your thumb and forefinger sits. Getting your hand deep into the beavertail is a start to a good grip. A good grip helps you to shoot more accurately. Speaking of the good grip, the Sig rates a 1.2 from us. Three of us give it a 1 for best grip, and one man gives it a 2. Clearly, we like the grip.

Trigger pull rates just over a 2. We like the trigger pull, though a couple think it seems a bit long.

Kick on the Sig isn’t bad. We all give it a 2. If 1 is the lightest recoil, a 2 isn’t far off.

Maxon Shooter’s Blog declares: “Firing the gun, it feels exactly as solid as any of the all-metal firearms already in Sig Sauer’s line. Polymer handguns can tend to have a more toy-like feel to them, but the P320 is built like a brick house.”

The Springfield XDM competition model has a 5.25-inch barrel. That’s about an inch and a third longer than the Sig’s. Everyone finds the grip comfortable. Grip gets just over a 1. “Good hand!” says one of the men.

Trigger pull is barely over a 2, but to be fair, we’ve had the trigger on this gun lightened. No wonder it’s so easy!

Recoil? Recoil gets a bit over a 2 as well. Let’s face it. After shooting the Rohrbaugh, kick on the Springfield is very manageable.

Ryan Finn, on The Truth About Guns says: “the thing shoots surprisingly small groups and flatters you into thinking you did it all yourself.”

We are shooting 7.5 yards from our target. Each of us has two shots. One of the women shoots the Rohrbaugh once, so the Rohrbaugh target has a possibility of seven holes.

The Rohrbaugh on the left target in the photo only receives two holes. There’s a hole to the right, and a hole in the target’s ear that are very close as well. Four pretty close shots.

Results from the Sig are on the right. While only two holes show in the circle, another five holes are just beneath. The grouping of all seven rounds is 2 inches tall by 3.5 inches wide. Tight.

Holes in the Springfield’s target are 2.5 inches tall by 2 inches wide. Tighter.

So many things go into gun preference. A good comfortable grip is important. Size and weight can be a factor, if you plan to carry the gun. Some people prefer a polymer gun, while some like steel.

When shooting these three 9mm handguns, barrel length makes a difference in accuracy.

In the two previous weeks, we found the .45-caliber and the .38 gun’s barrels also made a difference in accuracy.

“OK, so the longer the barrel makes a difference in target shooting,” grumbles Tony. “But I still prefer my .45-caliber Kimber with the 4-inch barrel.

It’s the gun for me.”