5" or 6" Nelson

At Perry I ordered a 6" Nelson .22 conversion. Rail and irons, really nice looking setup. Short term my intent is to improve my 1911 skills, and in the long term have a great .22. As a novice, am I making a mistake getting the longer barrel? Would the 5" provide better training by being closer to the 1911? Is the longer barrel a handy cap for a newer shooter?
Given the lead time the order can be changed if needed. 

Please provide your opinions. 

Thanks 
Arthur

Truthfully a longer barrel requires better fundamentals to shoot it well. How much difference? Varies from shooter to shooter.
Jon

If you find the 6” inch unwieldy, I’ll have a 5” available..

I’ll have a 5” available..

Already? 

If shooting iron sights, the longer sight radius would provide an advantage (but note the sight radius limits for .22 EIC).  If you're shooting red dots, I'd think the longer barrel just adds weight out front and would probably be a minuscule disadvantage.

AMU just ordered a bunch of 6" Nelsons with Patridge sights for training and competition.

In theory the 6" barrel is better for several reasons, including sight radius and recoil control.

I have always found barrels 5" or so to be the best balanced for my liking and I've not been hurt by shorter sight radius, as far as I can tell. 

Your mileage may vary but I imagine you got a 6" for a good reason. Did you get a chance to hold both the 5" and 6" versions in the Nelson shop?

As Jon said the longer sight radius really tests your fundamentals.

This reminds me of something else, the sponsor of targettalk.org is Pilk guns which is a supplier and shop for high end air pistols and rifles. They once had a policy that they would only sell you a "long barrel" Steyr competition air pistol if you could prove shooting something like 570-580 in a sanctioned match. They felt so strongly that beginners should start with a compact sight radius that they risked losing the sale of $1500 air pistols.

I ordered mine straight from Europe and put a red dot on it. I've since got to a 571 on a regulation 10m target.

Long story short. Shoot what you like but the shorter sight radius and more even balance may benefit a Mk level shooter at least in the short term.

TonyH wrote:

I’ll have a 5” available..

Already? 

I’d even throw in a barrel weight!!

https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2018/6/21/short-pistol-barrels-five-vs-six-inch-accuracy/

Thanks for the input. The unit I ordered was exactly what was built for the AMU. That was a selling point for me. 
My hold is pretty good, trigger control is the challenge. I think I will stick with the 6" even if it is up hill for a while. If I change my mind they sell super quick on the forum. 

Thanks again
Arthur

It probably won’t be exactly what the AMU uses.  Different barrel.  Let us know how it goes, I think they'll be a great addition to the 5"!

JayhawkNavy02 wrote:It probably won’t be exactly what the AMU uses.  Different barrel.  Let us know how it goes, I think they'll be a great addition to the 5"!

What is different from the AMU barrel?

TonyH wrote:

JayhawkNavy02 wrote:It probably won’t be exactly what the AMU uses.  Different barrel.  Let us know how it goes, I think they'll be a great addition to the 5"!

What is different from the AMU barrel?

I too would like to know the answer to this.

more than likely lothar walther blanks and chambered and crowned by them.