Pardini Barrel Length Question

I see that Pardini offers their .22 Bullseye pistols in 5 and 6 inch barrel options. I am wanting to try one of these for CMP EIC competition (iron sights).

For you guys that have Pardinis, which one do you recommend purchasing? Is there much of a difference between the two barrel options?

I am currently utilizing a Hammerli IPSC (5.9 inch barrel) and a Ruger MKII Comp. Target (6.75 inch barrel) for EIC matches. I have a 5 inch MK III with a relined barrel, but have not shot it in an EIC match as I noticed that I don't shoot it as accurately at 50 yds as the MK II.

I had a 6" barrel on my Pardini HP and it was very front heavy, I just couldn't hold it straight. Just my personal experience. I suppose if you don't have any problem shooting your Ruger, then the heavy barrel wouldn't be an issue for you.

I have had both 5 and 6 inch. I sold my 5 inch!

James, what did you like better about the 6 inch version?

I had both on my previously sold SP Bullseye Mechanical. For comparison: 5 with 6 weights = 6 with 2 weights. However, that 6 has them balanced so far forward that it feels much heavier with all other things being equal. Start putting other weights in and it becomes even more front heavy. Hey, some people love that and it's fine. Not me. I am not a wimp and can easily one arm hold a PPC 4lb revolver, even though front heavy. However, Pardini is a light gun and with 6in barrel it was not comfortable for me to shoot, though I really tried to like it. The weight is just too far up front. 5in feels comfortable and if you want more weight then.better invest into tungsten recoil weights. Also, the sight radius in 5 is plenty adequate and shorter bullet time in the barrel is more forgiving.

I shoot on a Pistol team in a league where there are many shooters that shoot the Pardini.  

One of the shooters on another team purchased a pardini with three different barrels, the 5 inch, the 5 inch with compensator, and the 6 inch.  

Since we all have been shooting together for years, the barrels got passed around where most of us tried out the 5 inch comp and the 6 inch barrel for a day or so.  Almost all of us have the old 5 inch barrel so it was interesting to get the feed back from the various competitors.  

While there was some dissagreements, most of us preferred the 5 inch barrel primarily because of the following two reasons:

1) The compensator on the 5 inch compensated barrel loaded up with carbon and needed to be cleaned out before the debris actually impacted the bullet upon firing.  In some instances this happened in as little as 300 rounds and you could determine the need for a cleaning by inserting a unfired round in the muzzle.  if it did not pass into the compensator, it most certainly was hitting the bullet upon firing and that cannot be good for accuracy.  It would be interesting to test this further with a ransom rest. 

2) between the 5 inch and 6 inch barrels, most of us expert level and above shot the 5 inch barrel more accurately and achieved higher scores with it, particularly in slow fire.  My theory on this is that with our less then perfect trigger pull, the longer time in barrel of the 6 incher throws the bullet that much farther, IE a bullet thrown into the 8 from a mediocre trigger pull in the 5 incher would score a 7 with the six incher.  Interestingly, the masters did not notice this as much as the expert level shooters which makes sense when you think about it.  

As for the balance, most of us preferred the 5 incher but there is so may options with the six steel/tungstun weights available for either barrel that it does not really factor in much.  

For what it is worth, if I liked the 5 inch comp or the 6 inch barrel, I would of purchased one for myself.  I have not purchased a new barrel for my pardini and am not inclined to purchase one.  


Now one thing to consider is that the new 6 inch barrel has the integrated weaver mounts which allow you to attach regular scope rings on the barrel, and remove them while retaining zero (approximately).  Unfortunately, this option forces you to mount your red dot close the muzzle which makes the firearm even more nose heavy.  Furthermore, the muzzle blast will throw debris on the objective of the scope which will damage some of the coatings on the lens.  

Regards, 
Crankster

The reason I use the 6 inch is my 22 scores were within a handful and most of the time they would flip back and forth. I use the same frame for 22 and CF. The 6 inch if far better than the 5 inch shooting 32 ACP. I was in my late 40’s when I switched to the 6 inch and now I’m 52. Lucky for me I’m still strong and the weight of the pistol doesn’t matter to me. I can’t tell it’s nose heavy one bit! I can hold my pistol release all of my fingers and it just sets there in my grip so I don’t know what the deal is when people say it’s nose heavy. Can’t speak for them but my pistol grip fits my hand like a glove.


Something also there are several 5 inch guns for sell but very rarely do you see a 6 inch and that’s because I bet people like them better

Thanks, guys. All your posts contain good info and plenty to consider. This is exactly what I was looking for. I appreciate your replies!

I think the ideal for EIC would be a 5 inch Pardini SP with an aftermarket front sight to extend the sight radius to the maximum allowed (IIRC, 10 inches).
If only I had some milling machine skills and some spare time...