Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 5: Revolvers
• Method 2 of 5: Semi-Automatic Pistols
• Method 3 of 5: Single and Double Barreled Shotguns
• Method 4 of 5: Pump-Action and Semi-Auto Shotguns
• Method 5 of 5: Rifles
• Tips
• Warnings
• What do you need

It is very useful to know the exact size of the barrel of a pistol, and measuring the length of the barrel yourself is quite simple. The process itself for all pistols is almost the same, but with slight differences that depend on the type of firearm.

Steps

Method 1 of 5: Revolvers

1. 1 Unload the pistol. Open the drum of the revolver and remove the bullets that are inside.
   • Point the pistol in a safe direction and fold your left hand into the boat, keeping your fingers away from the muzzle.
   • With your right thumb, press or pull on the drum latch on the left of the gun. Move the drum to the side.
   • Insert the middle and ring fingers of your left hand into the open frame of the pistol.
   • Turn the pistol so that the muzzle is pointing up. Squeeze the fingers of your left hand around the drum.
   • With the base of your hand, hit the ejector rod once. This will free up the cartridges. Then it's up to gravity. The cartridges should fall out of the drum.
   • Check all drum compartments to make sure the gun is unloaded.
2. 2 Insert the dowel into the barrel. Insert the dowel into the gun barrel until it touches the face or front of the chamber.
   • The diameter of the dowel used must be smaller than the diameter of the revolver barrel. Do not try to force the dowel in as this could damage the pistol.
   • The front of the drum is located just behind the gun frame. She is the real beginning of the trunk. Remember that barrel length does not refer to drum size.
   • If you can no longer push the dowel further into the barrel, it means that it has reached the face of the drum.
3. 3 Make a mark on the dowel. When the dowel reaches its deepest point, draw a line where the dowel begins to protrude from the muzzle of the barrel.
   • Take a pen or pencil to draw this line. The line should be as close to the muzzle as possible.
   • When noting the length, it is important that the gun lies flat on the work surface.
4. 4 Pull out the dowel. Pull the dowel carefully out of the gun barrel. Move the gun to the side and place the dowel on a work surface.
   • As you move the pistol to the side, make sure the barrel is not pointing at you or anyone else. Although you have discharged it, you should still treat the firearm as if it is loaded.
5. 5 Measure the length of the dowel. Take a ruler and measure the distance from the mark you made to the end that was inserted into the barrel of the pistol.
   • The resulting length will be the length of the pistol barrel.

Method 2 of 5: Semi-Automatic Pistols

1. 1 Unload the pistol. Take out the clip and remove the cartridges inside.
   • Grasp the pistol with your dominant hand and point it in a safe direction.
   • With a passive hand, press the clip on the clip, which is located on the side of the pistol.
   • Pull the clip out with your passive hand, or carefully point the muzzle of the pistol upward until the clip falls off under the influence of gravity.
2. 2 Open and close the shutter. Grasp the bolt with your passive hand and pull it fully towards you. Release the bolt and let it return to the front of the pistol.
   • Repeat this step two or three times.
   • During the last time, pull the bolt and hold it in place. Before releasing it, press the bolt latch with the thumb of your dominant hand.
   • The shutter will be locked in the open position.
   • Look into the chamber and then into the clip. Make sure there are no cartridges or other debris in the chamber and magazine. Use your finger to remove any existing interference.
   • Push the bolt down to close the bore again.
3. 3 Insert the dowel into the barrel of the gun. You must insert the dowel into the barrel. Continue pushing it into the barrel until it stops at the bore.
   • Always use a dowel with a smaller diameter than the barrel diameter. Do not try to force the dowel into the gun barrel.
   • The bore is where the cartridge is fed into the chamber.
   • The chamber of the pistol is included in the measurements of the barrel, which slightly differs this measurement from what we carried out with the revolver. You need to be sure that the dowel can reach both the barrel and the chamber, and then stop at the point where the cases fly out of the pistol.
4. 4 Make a mark on the dowel. Draw a line where the dowel sticks out of the gun barrel.
   • Mark as close to the muzzle as possible. Take a pen or pencil to draw it.
   • You may find it easier to do this with the gun flat on the work surface.
5. 5 Pull out the dowel. Carefully remove the dowel from the barrel of the pistol by pulling it out of the barrel.
   • Move the gun to a safe place.
   • Place the dowel on a work surface.
6. 6 Measure the length of the dowel. Measure the distance between the drawn mark and the end of the dowel that you removed from the barrel. To do this, use a ruler.
   • The distance between two points will be the length of the gun barrel

Method 3 of 5: Single and Double Barreled Shotguns

1. 1 Remove the cartridges. Even if you are certain that the shotgun is not loaded, you should still follow the discharge process to make sure there were definitely no bullets inside the shotgun when measuring the barrel.
   • Point the gun in a safe direction and turn it over. Find a lever that moves up and down near the receiver. This lever is also known as a hoist.
   • Press the lift up with your dominant hand, while pressing the slide with your passive hand. Thus, through the lower part of the receiver, you will get all the cartridges from the clip.
2. 2 Insert the dowel into the barrel. Insert the dowel into the muzzle of the shotgun until it stops at the bore.
   • Always use a dowel with a diameter smaller than the barrel diameter to prevent accidental damage to the barrel. Never try to force the dowel into the barrel.
   • The place where the cartridge enters the chamber is called the bore. Cartridges are not included in the barrel measurement, which is not the case for the chamber.
3. 3 Make a mark. Take a marker to draw a line around the circumference of the dowel where it just sticks out of the muzzle of the shotgun.
   • In order to get as accurate data as possible, mark as close to the muzzle as possible.
   • You may need to put your shotgun on a work surface to do this.
   • You can use a pen or pencil instead of a marker.
4. 4 Pull the dowel out of the barrel. Carefully remove the dowel from the barrel of the shotgun. Place the dowel on a work surface.
   • Remember to put the shotgun aside. Make sure the shotgun is not aimed at you or any other living creature.
5. 5 Measure. Take a ruler or measuring tape and measure the distance between the marked mark and the end of the dowel that was in the barrel of the shotgun.
   • The distance between these two points will be the length of the shotgun barrel.

Method 4 of 5: Pump-Action and Semi-Auto Shotguns

1. 1 Unload your weapon. Follow the process of unloading the weapon, even if you think it is already unloaded.
   • Point the gun in a safe direction, flip it over and find the lift - the lever that sits near the receiver and moves up and down.
   • With your dominant hand, place the lift in the up position.
   • At the same time, push the bolt back with your passive hand. All cartridges inside the clip will be removed through the bottom of the receiver.
2. 2 Close the shutter or shutter channel. Make sure the shutter of the shotgun or gun bore is closed before attempting to measure it.
   • The barrel length of this type of weapon does not include the entire barrel length. Instead, length is measured as the distance between the muzzle of the barrel and the face of the stem or bore when those parts of the weapon are in the closed position.
   • Close the bolt of the shotgun by pushing it forward and down.
   • Close the gun channel by pushing forward on the sliding part of the mechanism.
3. 3 Insert a dowel of a suitable length into the barrel. Insert the dowel into the barrel muzzle until it stops at the breechblock or gun bore.
   • The dowel should have a diameter smaller than the diameter of the gun barrel.
   • If there is a permanent choke-boron attached to the barrel, then remember to include it in your measurements. If a removable choke-bur is attached to the barrel, then remove it before inserting the dowel into the barrel of the gun, and do not include its dimensions in your measurements.
4. 4 Make a mark right next to the muzzle. Draw a line on the dowel. Draw it just above the muzzle.
   • You can use a pencil, pen, or marker to do this. Regardless of how you draw the line, it should be as close to the muzzle as possible.
   • If the weapon is not already on the work surface, lay it down and then make a mark on the dowel. This will make the whole process easier and safer.
5. 5 Remove the dowel carefully. Remove the dowel from the barrel of the gun. Place it on your work surface in front of you.
   • Move your weapon to the side. Point it in a safe direction.
6. 6 Measure the correct distance. Measure the distance between the drawn line on the dowel and the end you inserted into the barrel.
   • This length will be equal to the length of the gun barrel.

Method 5 of 5: Rifles

1. 1 Make sure the weapon is unloaded. Regardless of whether or not you consider the rifle unloaded, you must still complete the unloading process before proceeding to measure the barrel.
   • Be aware that the sizing process is almost the same for all types of rifles, including bolt action and semi-automatic rifles. However, there may be some differences in the discharge process.
   • Bolt-action rifles:
     • Hold the barrel with your dominant hand and point the weapon in a safe direction.
     • With your passive hand, push the bolt back and forth to open it.
     • Take a look in the chamber and clip. If the weapon contains cartridges, gently slide the bolt in the magazine until all cartridges are removed.
   • Semi-automatic rifles:
     • Point your weapon in a safe direction.
     • Find the latch that is located at the back of the clip. Pull back on the latch to open the clip. The cartridges inside the clip should fall out from below.
2. 2 Close the shutter or shutter channel. The barrel length extends between the muzzle and the face of the bolt or breech bore. Do not measure the part of the barrel behind the breech or bore.
   • Close the shutter by pushing it forward and down.
   • Close the channel by pulling on the latch and letting it back forward.
3. 3 Insert the dowel into the barrel. Insert a dowel of a suitable size into the barrel of the rifle. Push it in until it stops at the gate or channel.
   • The dowel diameter should be smaller than the rifle barrel diameter.
4. 4 Mark the dowel in the appropriate place. Draw a line just above the muzzle. For the most accurate data, draw a line as close to the muzzle of the rifle as possible.
   • You can use a pencil, pen, or marker to do this.
5. 5 Remove the dowel. Remove the dowel from the trunk. Place it in front of you and set the rifle aside.
   • Place the rifle aside and point it in a safe direction.
6. 6 Measure the length. With a yardstick or ruler, measure the distance between the drawn line and the end of the dowel that you inserted into the barrel.
   • This length will be equal to the length of the rifle barrel.

Tips

• To measure the barrel, instead of a dowel, you can take a cleaning rod for cleaning weapons. Insert the cleaning rod into the barrel in the same way as the dowel, and make a mark in the same place, but not with a pen or marker, but with duct tape.

Warnings

• Always check that the weapon is loaded before measuring the barrel.
• Always consider a weapon loaded, even if you know it is not. Aim the muzzle in a safe direction and keep your fingers away from the trigger.

What do you need

• Dowel or ramrod
• Measuring tape or ruler
• Pencil, pen or marker
• Electrical tape (optional)