Im new to pistols so i was wondering is there a noticeable felt recoil between say a 3.8 barrel and a 4.5? Any other advantages or disadvantages? Thanks

not really, but the weight of the gun does, and longer barrel guns tend to be heavier. 

not really, but the weight of the gun does, and longer barrel guns tend to be heavier.

From a purely technical standpoint this^^

 

However, recoil is a very subjective thing. People interpret it very differently and the interpretation is based on many factors, some of which are outside you control. What may feel like extraordinary recoil to you may feel controllable or even negligible to another and vice-versa.

You'd feel a much sharper difference between 2 and 6 inches.

You'd feel a much sharper difference between 2 and 6 inches.

 

There is an obvious dirty joke somewhere around here .. 

So even more technicality, there are a few different components to recoil anyway.  

 

Firearm recoils isn't as simple as someone pushing you or hitting your hand with a hammer. There are probably 4 or 5 different components to consider. 

 

1) first you have momentum, which probably is the biggest one. To propel the bullet forward at some speed you need to impact the same momentum to the firearm, in the opposite direction.  Because of this, the heavier the gun, the less felt recoil you will perceive as the momentum is a dependent on mass. You would think that given the same loading, and the same total firearm mass, the shorter barrel would have less recoil because the bullet doesn't get to move as fast, hence less momentum but see (2)

 

2) Ejected gases add to the recoil. Think rocket engine, crap flies out one end, rocket gets pushed the other way, even without a projectile being explicitly shot out of the rocket motor. The gas itself is the projectile. The same is true with gun powder, as you eject gases and unburned powder after the bullet has left the gun, you continue to push against the firearm. This why I said see (2) above, because you will end up expelling crap out the muzzle faster potentially balancing stuff out.  This is also why competition shooters obsess over "soft powders" which impart the same velocity to the bullet but with less gases. Often these are fast powders like VV310, Titegroup, Clays, etc. but they operate at higher pressures and are not quite as "safe". The other problem with soft powders is that if you have a compensator, they don't produce enough gas to make the compensator work. 

 

3) Axial torque. As the bullet is forced to rotate through the barrel it tries to rotate the gun the other way. In this case the longer barrel will have more axial recoil because the bullet pushes against it longer, but it is probably the least noticeable component of recoil and the added gun mass makes up for it. 

 

4) vertical torque has more to do with bore axis vs your hand location, and affects how much the gun wants to push back vs rotate upwards, and barrel length doesn't really matter here.*

 

But in short, no barrel length itself doesn't affect recoil

 

Edited to add (*) Actually it kinda matters because the farther from your hand the force gets applied the angular momentum changes, but it is probably not something anyone really cares about. 

thanks guys, ive shot a bunch of handguns recently but nothing with a barrel shorter than 4.5". I really like the xdm and was looking at one with a 3.8" barrel and i didnt think it would be much difference but like i said im kinda new to pistols. Not to guns just semi auto pistols lol. This brings me to my next question anyone know where i can get xdm mags pinned? I searched on the forum and the only one i saw to do this was paul at A&A, any thoughts?

My usual answer is buy the .40S&W, but in this case that doesn't work because it holds one more round then M&Ps and Glocks which is back to NJ suckland. 

 

So .. hmm .. Buy the .45?

yeah im thinkin i might just get the xdm in 45 and then the sig 226 in 40

To the extent that they add more weight to the gun.

you can get an xdm with pinned mags I have one in 5.25 its a great gun.

I've been tryin to find someone to pin mags but haven't had any luck yet, I really want the .40 with 3.8 barrel