shotgun barrel length

[Ethical hunter]

I have a young waterfowling buddy who insists that the longer the barrel of your shotgun the quicker you can get on target. He further claims that all the top skeet shooters use long barrels for this reason. Me and another buddy of mine keep pointing out that more mass on your barrel equals more energy to move your barrel equal slower time on target.

EH

[Something Good]

I have a 28" barrel but now that I have some experience shooting I wish it was a 26.

[Grain of Salt]

Funny...cause I am now using a 26....wishing it was a 28...barks pretty loud...jumps around a bit more and feels like a toy. A 30 feels too long for me, a 28 about right, but that is what I grew up with.
Shoot what you are comfortable with and you will hit the target.

[mpmax]

I have a 26" also, I've got from 22" to 28" and like the 26" for all winged fowl.

[Troutinator]

wow... I thought physics was still required in high school...

take a 2x4 that is 10 feet long. swing it 90 degrees along the horizon and time how long it takes. Do the same with a 2 foot 2x4. The result should be intuitive.
Hopefully your young buddy will figure this out on his own at some point. This only applies to the speed with which you can accelerate, swing and stop a given length and mass. Nothing to do with which one is louder, more accurate or any other factor. Time to target only.

[BW]

Faster no, smoother yes.

[98ramtough]

Wow care to measure the overall length of a Benelli with a 26" barrel and the overall length of a remington 1187 with 28" barrell?

The length from butt pad to end of barrell is just about the same.

Lighten up dude, not everyone is a gun genious like you!

Originally Posted by Troutinator

wow... I thought physics was still required in high school...

take a 2x4 that is 10 feet long. swing it 90 degrees along the horizon and time how long it takes. Do the same with a 2 foot 2x4. The result should be intuitive.
Hopefully your young buddy will figure this out on his own at some point. This only applies to the speed with which you can accelerate, swing and stop a given length and mass. Nothing to do with which one is louder, more accurate or any other factor. Time to target only.

[Teton]

The shorter the barrel, the faster the target acquisition. Take it from a former Engineer.

Target acquisition isn't all there is to trap shooting. Follow through, and proper alignment are key as well.

Seriously though, your young friend has a good argument, he's just not familiar with the reasons a trap (not skeet) shooter would use a long barrel, and is apparently applying it in the wrong context. The benefits of a long barrel include smoothing and controlling the swing, and some say their sight picture feels better with a much longer barrel and two-bead sight configuration.

I shoot at the range, but not a whole lot. Most of my shotgunning is done in the field, and I'm a habitual snap-shooter (upbringing on fast-flying hungarian partridge). For me, I use a long barrel (28 plus an extended choke) for waterfowl. A slightly longer barrel helps to slow my swing on waterfowl. A 26-28 inch barrel for pheasant works perfect for me. I also have a super-short 24 inch o/u for dove and quail. Target aquisition is lightning fast with this little gun.

[northriver1]

What experience I have is dated. A few years back (x 15) there was a move to longer barrels by shooters for trap shooting. However I did not notice any gun makers selling skeet guns with 32 inch barrells nor anyone shooting long barrell fire arms on the skeet range. There is nothing about trap shooting which reminds me of wing shooting other than pulling the trigger. As stated previously maybe your buddy is getting the games mixed up.

[CombinationLicense]

Originally Posted by Teton

The shorter the barrel, the faster the target acquisition. Take it from a former Engineer.

Target acquisition isn't all there is to trap shooting. Follow through, and proper alignment are key as well.

Seriously though, your young friend has a good argument, he's just not familiar with the reasons a trap (not skeet) shooter would use a long barrel, and is apparently applying it in the wrong context. The benefits of a long barrel include smoothing and controlling the swing, and some say their sight picture feels better with a much longer barrel and two-bead sight configuration.

I shoot at the range, but not a whole lot. Most of my shotgunning is done in the field, and I'm a habitual snap-shooter (upbringing on fast-flying hungarian partridge). For me, I use a long barrel (28 plus an extended choke) for waterfowl. A slightly longer barrel helps to slow my swing on waterfowl. A 26-28 inch barrel for pheasant works perfect for me. I also have a super-short 24 inch o/u for dove and quail. Target aquisition is lightning fast with this little gun.

You're right on Teton. The reason a longer barrel works is because of the additional weight and momentum. As you mentioned, it smooths out the swing and helps keep the gun moving to get an effective follow through. 30" & 32" tubes are pretty common in competition these days.



"CL"

[Lured In]

An average adult with a properly fitted gun should be able to raise and swing just about any gun with a 26" or 28" barrel without issue. (Personally, I believe a gun fit has more influence on 'target acquisition" than barrel length).

As stated a few times above, a longer barrel simply provides a longer sight and some additional weight to help with follow through and swing.

Almost mentioned above, is it is not just about barrel length, but overall length. A pump or autoloader with a 3 1/2" chamber and 26" barrel will be signifcantly longer than a break action with 28" tubes. (You have to take into consideration the length of the bolt and the open action to accommodate the shell. This could be as much as an additional 6"+ in a repeater.)

Just my .02 and will stick with my 28" barrel, thank you.:tongue:

[Duckwheat]

This is one of those rare instances where shorter or less is better. I bought a 24 inch Berretta for a steal price. Thought I could get another barrell, 26". Started shooting it, and now own four 24 inch barrell guns.

As I have said before, long guns make great decoy retrievers, push pole for the boat, or assist with retrieving items from high shelfs.

Go short, you will never go back.

DW

[Bait Bucket]

Kinda depends on what gun I'm toting. I like my 30 inch barrels on doubles and 28 inch on autos and pumps.

[steelheadslayer]

Kinda depends on what gun I'm toting. I like my 30 inch barrels on doubles and 28 inch on autos and pumps.

[BrotherWolf]

Originally Posted by Bait Bucket

Kinda depends on what gun I'm toting. I like my 30 inch barrels on doubles and 28 inch on autos and pumps.

Ditto!!!!


The way I look at it is If you have a fast swing a longer barrel will work out for ya...to slow ya down a little...If you have a slower swing a short barrel will work for ya because its lighter.


To me Barrel length doesnt matter its the shooter that determins the target acquisition time

[jnicholson]

Guys that miss a lot will generally hit more with a shorter barrell.

[BrotherWolf]

Originally Posted by Bait Bucket

Kinda depends on what gun I'm toting. I like my 30 inch barrels on doubles and 28 inch on autos and pumps.

Originally Posted by jnicholson

Guys that miss a lot will generally hit more with a shorter barrell.

would that be beacuse the pattern starts spreading out faster in a shorter barrel???

[baltz526]

people that miss more will generally hit more with a longer barrel:tongue: it makes little difference 26" with choke tubes or 30" with choke tubes. the gun that fits will kill more birds

[scottishsetter]

If a "Bad guy" is behind you and you are going to shoot to kill..
Do you want a 5" semi auto pistol? OR a 32" Goose gun? (Thinking faster on target the better)

[Lured In]

Originally Posted by BrotherWolf

would that be beacuse the pattern starts spreading out faster in a shorter barrel???

Barrel length does not determine pattern. A modified choke from a 26" gun only gets an extra 2" to open up versus a modified choke on 28". Not likely to make any difference at the target.

[Gun Rod Bow]

Originally Posted by jnicholson

Guys that miss a lot will generally hit more with a shorter barrell.

As much as I hate to answer a thread started by the keeper of all virtue...

As someone who shot tens of thousands of tournament targets in registered Sporting Clays, if you think a shorter barrel will make you a quicker shot...it wont.

The quickest shots I ever knew shot 30" barrels. Live Pigeon shooters pretty much shot 30" and 32" barrels and there is no quicker game in shooting.

I have a 30" barrel on my auto for hunting and love it. I wish 30s were available on the new guns I am looking at. I will grudginly shoot a 28 on an auto.

In waterfowling one of the constant problems that guys that have shot a lot is hearing protection. A 26" barrel is much more apt to ring your buddies bell than a 30". Sight plain, smoother swing and good follow through the best reasons IMO for longer barrels. Ballistics don't change that much, but they are better with a longer tube.

[BrotherWolf]

Originally Posted by Lured In

Barrel length does not determine pattern. A modified choke from a 26" gun only gets an extra 2" to open up versus a modified choke on 28". Not likely to make any difference at the target.

If you were shooting a 18 1/2 barrel it would...LOL
It would be interesting to pattern the two to see if there was much diffrence I personal like the longer barrel Guns for the same reasons Gun Rod Bow has stated

[Hooked up]

I use Remington 870 Special Feild, it has a 21 inch barrel & english stock. I love it!

[Got One!]

Well to be ridiculed, I have to say without a doubt, the best shooting shotgun barrel lenght I've ever owned was a 36" barrel .

20 gauge Mossburg bolt action goose gun no less. Before you laugh to hard, I won multiple local county and state trap competitions in NB including the adult comps as a young teen with that thar shotgun. Last comp being a county fair where I went 83 out of 83 in 8 clays into OT when I told I could stop, if I remember right. That was also my sole pheasant shotgun also, and took hundreds through the years. At that time I think I weighed a whopping 145lbs, so this whole too slow because of the weight and length doesnt hold a whole lot of weight with me!

My dad took great joy in watching the guys with the mega $$ silver embossed feather weight over unders get buried by a scrawny kid with a bolt action. I was just having fun. I personally think most of them choked early because of what I was shooting, and I would rarely miss if at all in a few comps.

So all that said, I don't honestly think barrel length has anything to do with anything, I think its solely how the shotgun fits you, and how well you know how it shoots. I can also say since I sold that shotgun, (For $30? to a farmers son that I did work for when I was around 17) I have not shot/found one that I come nearly as close to in accuracy. My dad gave me his Rem 870 when I sold it and I never could shoot that shotgun worth a darn, and I'm talking, I was out in the field shooting clays with the 20, sold it and next day couldnt hit poo with the 870. I never bought another goose gun. This is why I personally think its all fit and feel.

I currently have a 28" a 26" and an old 25"? j.stevens arms and tool co nitro special. (190 something vintage) I'd be lucky to hit 10 in a row now with any of them....and only if that was singles forget about doubles or trips

---------edit-------->

So ok after reading this and not really thinking in detail to much about it before I re-read that, for me perhaps length does matter.....forget everything I just wrote lol. That may explain why I can't shoot the shorter weapons nearly as well...ugh 30 years later to have this dawn on me,...I'm a genius!

[namu mac]

the longer the barrel the easier it is on you buddies ears if you get too close.

[nobrownline]

I am with gun rod and bow. I wish you could get all the new guns in 30. I shoot them better from the blind. If we are talking quail hunting I shoot a shorter barrel because I shoot behind the faster birds.

[Bill Monroe]

Originally Posted by Gun Rod Bow

The quickest shots I ever knew shot 30" barrels. Live Pigeon shooters pretty much shot 30" and 32" barrels and there is no quicker game in shooting.
I have a 30" barrel on my auto for hunting and love it. I wish 30s were available on the new guns I am looking at. I will grudginly shoot a 28 on an auto.

GRB's secret!
Duh...A 30-inch barrel IS CLOSER TO THE BIRD!

Actually, I agree with Baltz...
"It makes little difference 26" with choke tubes or 30" with choke tubes. the gun that fits will kill more birds."

It's all about fit (and no, I don't shoot thousands of clay targets).

I once blew out the muzzle of my favorite 870 while swinging and slinging on a pintail. The second shot plugged and I fired so fast my brain couldn't keep up (please, no comments)...

Had it sawed to about a 25-incher and use it (full open now, straight barrel) with steel 7 1/2s for quail...
Even get them.

Was having a grim time with an old side-by 12 (springfield arms, hand-stamped no. T 77) until I bought an over and under from Baltz and, so far, have found the closest fit since that 870.

(still not getting as close to the birds as GRB, though)