gun barrel question

when buying a shotgun for pheasant what is the difference between a 26 inch barrel and 28 inch barrel? I mean besides two inches.

[stinkycat]

The difference is how the shotgun handles. Does it come to your shoulder smoothly and fast? Is it easy to swing on a passing shot? If you have a chance ... try before you buy. That is the only way to find out which will work best for you. Also, it is not just the length of barrel that you need to look at but the total length of the shotgun, the weight and how it fits you. Just my .02

Overall length is different for each type of gun also. My buddy shoots a Beretta 686 28 ga, with a 26 in bbl. He just bought a new Benelli 28ga with a 24 inch bbl and it is 3/4 " longer than the 686 in over all lenght.

Negligible difference in performance, its more of a handling/fitting option.

[2Labs]

The debate over barrel length and its impact on the user goes way back to the side-by-side double barrel guns. Those guns were fairly light (the well-made ones) because they didn't have the parts associated with the "repeaters" that were designed later. The pumps and auto-loaders brought with them ammo tubes under the barrels, the weight of extra shells in the guns, the weight of more moving parts, etc.

The "doubles" were considered to benefit from longer barrels because the extra ounces of weight out at the end of the longer barrels was thought to help the shooter "swing" the gun through the target instead of stopping the gun when the trigger was pulled.

Todays "repeaters" don't need long barrels to achieve "swing weight". They put so much more weight between the shooters hands than the light double barrels that the impact of the shorter barrel losing "swing weight" is negligible.

I buy all my new shotguns with 26-inch barrels. I find that they handle faster for me, point faster, and are easier to handle in a waterfowl blind then the slightly longer 28-inch barreled guns. I MAY buy a shotgun with a 28-inch barrel if I run into a good used gun which came that way.

And, I have one lightweight 20-gauge grouse gun with a 24-inch barrel that I really like!

[Phil T]

I agree with the comment about lightweight doubles. I have a Beretta SXS with 26" barrels, and I wish they were longer.
If you're a snap shooter (not a good thing unless in hunting ruffed grouse), the lighter gun may be better. Everyone else is better served by a gun with more weight out front to make it swing and follow through better.

[Further North]

Pretty good info here...

It comes down to balance, "feel" and what you like.

I like a 28" or longer gun, I think they look better...but here's the rub: to get long, lightweight barrels, you are going to pay through the nose.

My duz-it-all gun is a Poli 16 gauge with 28" barrels that weighs just a smidge less than 6 pounds...it's the tiniest bit stock heavy and most of the gun's weight is centered between the hands. It's lightning fast, which is how I like my guns as I hunt a lot of grouse and woodcock.

My heavy duty (late season pheasant, clays and very occasional duck/goose gun) is an AyA 53 12 gauge with 30" barrels. It's set up to feel the same as the Poli as far as fit and balance...but it weighs 8 poinds. It's not quite as "fast" as the Poli, but it'll absorb the recoil of thousands of shells shot at clay, and the heavier loads for the above game.

Both of those guns are SxS...which is the only "real" gun. If God had wanted us to use O/Us, he'd have put out eyes one above the other...

[T Mac]

Originally Posted by Guest II

when buying a shotgun for pheasant what is the difference between a 26 inch barrel and 28 inch barrel? I mean besides two inches.

Strictly personal preference.
For some a 26" works better, for others, 28"
Heck...although I have shorter guns, too.... I still prefer my old O/U with 30" bbls.

[MrStarnes1]

i have always been told that the 28 inch barrel will help you out with longer shots, as in more accurate and paired with the proper choke, be able to hold a tighter pattern than a comparable 26 incher.
any truth to that? when i sit back and think about it, i see points of argument for truth and for false.

[2Labs]

Originally Posted by MrStarnes1

i have always been told that the 28 inch barrel will help you out with longer shots, as in more accurate and paired with the proper choke, be able to hold a tighter pattern than a comparable 26 incher.
any truth to that? when i sit back and think about it, i see points of argument for truth and for false.

I have done extensive shotgun patterning over the last 20 years.

I would be willing to bet I am up to 600+ rounds that I have personally patterned. That ranges from 20 gauge to 10 gauge guns with a heavy emphasis on 12-gauge. This is auto-loaders, pumps, over-unders, and side-by-sides. Add to that about 100+ patterns (best guess) I have helped my friends with as we worked on load/choke combinations for their guns. I have patterned the same model guns in both 26 and 28 inch barrels numerous times. Granted they were different guns, but exactly the same model (Remington 11-87's). In fact, I personally own an 11-87 with a 26 inch barrel and another with a 28-inch barrel.

This does NOT count the work I have done with slugs ... just shot shells.

Bottom line is that you will NOT find a difference due to the 2 inches. Zero. None. Nada.

There is enough variation in the screw-in choke diameters alone to negate ANY effect of barrel length. I have personally micrometered dozens of chokes from 6 or 7 manufacturers ... and tolerances can run 3 "points" (thousands of an inch) easily in a choke marked "Modified" from one manufacturer ... and this doesn't even start to deal with the variation of the very definition of a particular choke size from several after-market manufactured chokes for the same gun. Further, there is variation within the diameters of the barrels ... the tolerances depending on the particular manufacturer. Toss all this together, and the effect of 2-inches of barrel length won't amount to a slight sneeze in a tornado.

Buy the barrel length you feel comfortable with and don't look back.

Oh, I will add this as an afterthought ... the things I note above don't even begin to touch on the effect of a manufacturer of ammunition. Changing shot shell manufacturers can have an effect as well.

[T Mac]

Originally Posted by 2Labs

I have done extensive shotgun patterning over the last 20 years.

I would be willing to bet I am up to 600+ rounds that I have personally patterned. That ranges from 20 gauge to 10 gauge guns with a heavy emphasis on 12-gauge. This is auto-loaders, pumps, over-unders, and side-by-sides. Add to that about 100+ patterns (best guess) I have helped my friends with as we worked on load/choke combinations for their guns. I have patterned the same model guns in both 26 and 28 inch barrels numerous times. Granted they were different guns, but exactly the same model (Remington 11-87's). In fact, I personally own an 11-87 with a 26 inch barrel and another with a 28-inch barrel.

This does NOT count the work I have done with slugs ... just shot shells.

Bottom line is that you will NOT find a difference due to the 2 inches. Zero. None. Nada.

There is enough variation in the screw-in choke diameters alone to negate ANY effect of barrel length. I have personally micrometered dozens of chokes from 6 or 7 manufacturers ... and tolerances can run 3 "points" (thousands of an inch) easily in a choke marked "Modified" from one manufacturer ... and this doesn't even start to deal with the variation of the very definition of a particular choke size from several after-market manufactured chokes for the same gun. Further, there is variation within the diameters of the barrels ... the tolerances depending on the particular manufacturer. Toss all this together, and the effect of 2-inches of barrel length won't amount to a slight sneeze in a tornado.

Buy the barrel length you feel comfortable with and don't look back.

Oh, I will add this as an afterthought ... the things I note above don't even begin to touch on the effect of a manufacturer of ammunition. Changing shot shell manufacturers can have an effect as well.

Great information...and just what I figured from what I have seen over the years in the field.