Shotgun barrel length

[Duckman8]

What is the difference in shooting a 26" barrel over a 28" barrel? What would you prefer.

[Archerysniper]

Another good area to post this would be in one of the hunting sections I know it's been talked about in the waterfowl section before.

[Pinusbanksiana]

28 is better for me. Much better weight balance.

[no bait nate]

I was told by a shotgun expert that the barrel length doesn't make a difference on how it shoots. It has a lot more to do with the loads and chokes you are using. The barrel length has more to do with weight, feel, and swing. I shoot a SBE with a 24" barrel, I like the short barrel for hunting out of duck, and turkey blinds. It seems to swing fine for me and with a 1.75" extended choke tube it makes my barrel almost 26" as it is.

[bobbymalone]

28 is better for me. Much better weight balance.

How much would you think 2 inches of shotgun barrel weighs? Unless you are an olympic level skeet shooter, I am guessing the weight balance thing is 95% in your head.

I think it's mostly about what you have and how you're accustomed to it. I have a 28 inch 870 and and 26 inch mossy 935. I shoot the 870 better but I've also put about 10 times the shells through it.

[Powerstroke]

Thank you for proving the point Bobby. Pinus said "is better for me". It is a matter of feel and in your head, and you further made his point by explaining you choose the gun you do by practicing with it more.

Generally longer barrels are more accurate with a longer sight plane if you're shooting down the barrel. The rest is based on weight and feel. It also depends on how you plan to use it. I do turkey and upland. I want a lightweight gun that can move through brush well. Most waterfowlers hunt from boats and blinds where weight and length are less of an issue.

The best one is the gun that feels right to you.

[Hookmaster]

I'm with no bait nate. I have a 24 inch Benelli M1 Super 90. The shorter barrel is nice in the woods for grouse and in a blind for ducks. My son shot well with mine so when he moved up from his 20 gauge youth gun to a 12 gauge, I bought him a Benelli M2, the newer version of my gun. We don't sight down the barrel. We both shoot instinctively.

[Duckman8]

Thanks for the info. I found a 26" benelli at a good price and would like to purchase it for my daughter. We do a lot of waterfoweling, so i was curious about what the two inches will do for distance? we do some snow goose hunting and big canadas. Just curious about choke patterns at a distance.

[bobbymalone]

Effective range has a lot more to do with the choke tube than 26 or 28 inch barrels. And choke tube info you might gain from here will only serve as a guide. Your gun, your choke tube, and your shells are all part of the equation on what your pattern looks like at a given distance. Switch any part of the equation and the effective range will probably change.

[Hookmaster]

+1

I read somewhere that with modern shells and chokes, a shotgun barrel from 18 inches and up will perform the same ballistically, meaning patterns and speed. The shells have a lot to do how a gun will pattern. You have to do the work to figure out which shells give acceptable patterns in your gun. I would suggest the 26" for our daughter. When I bought my gun, the guy at the store said Benelli's receivers are a about 1 inch longer than other guns so a 24" barrel would be similar to another brand with a 25" barrel. I compared it to my 26" Remington 870 and he was right.

[ice-man/vexilar-king]

we use to have the Long Tom style guns because the powder that was being used at the time took so long to burn. The new age powders are burning at a rate so fast that its gone at about the 18" length. So the choke is left to do the performance. so the better and longer time you choke the shot the more consistant you will be down range or in the field. Ever shoot at a cripple on the water and have the shot go all around it. Yes! we all have. So to kill more birds in the air and aid in picking up cripples its a Huge benefit to have an after market choke tube like a PatternMaster. Barrel length is a feel/swing/sight plain calculation. Yes two inches doesn't add a ton of weight but when ducks are in my decoys and im trying to swing fast and get a tripple the 28" barrel slows me down. I have a SBE with a 26" barrel and use it with a PatternMaster for all my hunting. I simply just change shot size. 7 steel doves (faster than lead) 3" 4 shot on ducks and crows , and 3 1/2" 2's and BB's for sky carp (geese)depending on the hunt. Even if you don't want to buy a PaternMaster after listening to a guy who has shot one for the last 10 years, at least get an after market extended Mod choke.

[Pinusbanksiana]

I am talking break action type guns here, I have no experience with pumps or auto loaders. A 26 is too whipy for me, and a 30 is too long. I like 28s. They are harder to find because they are more desirable. A light shotgun, say 6lbs or under, I need a 28 inch barrel length.