shotgun barrel length ?

[GulfCoast]

To tell you the truth I would be willing to bet that the difference in those two inches probably won't improve your shooting ability one bit.

I don't know of any shotgun shooting instructor who would agree with that statement for an adult male. Most people shoot better with a longer barrel, because the number one cause of missing is stopping the swing, and the longer the barrel, the more likely a shooter is to have a complete follow-through. Its one of those counter-intuitive things.

[GulfCoast]

. But I don't think what Anatidae and Gulf Coast are talking about is pattern. It is more about swing.
If you don't swing the gun well, you're going to miss more.

Joel is reading Randy and I correctly. It has nothing to do with pattern. Intertia, gun dynamics (fit), and balance are just as or more important. Those that want a very short barrel to "get on the shot faster" tend to miss more, because they also therefore "stop the follow through faster" and miss behind. Something like 90% of shooters tend to miss high and behind. Go take a shooting lesson from a Level 3 NSCA instructor, and ask them what folks who shoot live pigeon events (the most difficult shotgun sport, by far) for tens of thousands of dollars shoot. It ain't 26" guns with patternmasters.....

[GulfCoast]

I bitch and moan that I can't get 32" duck guns, so I would totally get the 28".

I understand that.........Oh, you know you can get'em.......they just might not be the type either of us could justify subjecting to those conditions.

Dude: I really want to have enough scratch some day so I can say "Yeah, I like this Fabbri so much I friggin' had it camo dipped....."

[Wildfowler]

Man, if they only made a 27".

[hwy12hunter]

Gulfcoast is right. Fit is the most important followed by balance/barrel length. The longer your barrel the better your follow through will be. Contrary to popular belief barrel length has nothing to do with pattern or effective range. Shorter barrels are lighter and easier to swing in tight quarters, but a longer barrel will add weight which will help you to follow through. Like gulfcoast said, you won't find a 26in barrel at a pigeon shoot!

[Greenhead22]

26

And I swear if I ever see another 22" or 24" ported turkey gun in the pit with me, I'm going to lose it.

[GulfCoast]

Sorry, I could not hear you. What was that again? And why is the dog shaking its head on the other end of the pit?

[Anatidae]

He said......

To make-up for all the ducks he misses with a 26" barrel, he just shoots 4 times the number of heavy load, high vel. shells........which makes his dog just as deaf as the occassional fella showing-up with a ported 22 or 24.

[hillhunter]

The dove gun I shot for years was a B-80 w/ a 22 inch barrel. I really loved shooting that gun bird hunting because you could really get on a bird fast. The gun I shoot now is a Citori 525 field model, which I love even more. It has a 28in barrel, but to me swings more like a 26, I guess cause there is less receiver and more barrel. I cant really say that I'm a better shooter with either cause I was a descent shot with the first gun, but the O/U balances much better. My dad has a Sweet 16 that he is deadly with, but I could never hit squat with, just never fit me quite right. Get whatever fits you best would be my advice. Oh, and practice makes perfect no matter what you shoot.

[Anatidae]

One of my former teachers always told me.......'perfect' practice makes perfect.

[GAHEEL83]

My daughter has a Beretta with a 24 inch barrel; she consistently kills duck as far out as I do with a 28 inch barrel, but it a pit blind, it will absolutely blow your ear drums out if you are next to hear as she is only about 5'4'' and the muzzle is right by your ear drum.

I have come to the conclusion that modern chokes tubes go along way toward negating longer barrel length.

[arduckslayer]

Barrel length has nothing to do with how far you can shoot.

[GulfCoast]

Its actually modern fast burning powders and modern plastic wads have eliminated the necessity for longer barrels so that the old slow burning powders would be fully combusted. The length of the barrel does not effect the pattern density at any given distance from the muzzle ("how far it shoots"). Barrel length, balance and gun fit have a LOT to do with how well a given person will shoot a gun.

[Rice]

It have always swung around 28 inches so I went with a 28" barrel out of comfort no other reasoning

[deltadukman]

I personally like a 28" barrel....except in a turkey gun. Then I like a 22". That short turkey gun will shoot A LOT further than the 28" gun...if I could hit with it!