Actually with my 4 5/8" Blackhawks in .45 Colt (and the 4 5/8" .44 Super Blackhawks I used at times in the past), I find they are a bit easier for me to shoot well at shorter ranges, and they are definitely not any handicap at the ranges at which I shoot actual live critters. With any of the 4 5/8" guns I have had, dropping coyotes is easy out to 100 yards or so, but change to a smaller item like the head of a rabbit and then the range gets cut to no more than 50 yards or so. Most of the shorter barrelled Blackhawks I've had regardless of caliber have tended to shoot into anywhere from 1" to 1 1/2" at 25 yards when using a rest (rest = any solid object with a rolled up towel on top), and all of the Blackhawks I've had that shoot into one big hole at 25 yards have been in the 4 5/8" length. If accuracy seems to drop off at 100 yards, try widening the notch in the rear sight, or have a gunsmith thin the front sight to 1/10". Cutting a bigger notch in the rear is best initially because it is cheap to replace if you don't like it. Also something that seems to make it far easier to shoot well is to make your own front sight with a square rear face or undercut like on a Ruger MK II, and replace the rear sight with eaither a Millet or a Bowen, and make sure those sights are plain black, no white outline, no colored inserts, just BLACK. Intrinsic accuracy of the shorter barrel should actually be better than the longer barrels, since the barrel is proportionally stiffer and less inclined to flex. I like them enough that I haven't packed any Blackhawk longer than 4 5/8" for almost 20 years now....soon as I wear out the barrel on my 6 1/2" Single Six, it's getting a 4 5/8" replacement too.