Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns All-around barrel length??

I've got a Mossy 930 Waterfowl with the 28" barrel. I really enjoy the shotgun but that barrel is a little longer than I need most of the time. I don't do a lot of skeet shooting and bird hunting but I want to. I also want to press it into service for turkey and maybe even deer. The length just often gets in the way. I've seen that I can pick up a 22" barrel for it off the JM competition gun and was wondering how much capability for wing shooting/skeet would I give up if I go with the shorter barrel? Would 22" be a good, all-around barrel length? Please advise. Thanks.

I like a 26 inch, but my question would be, how does the 22 inch barrel affect the balance of the gun?

You want a long barrel for wing shooting or skeet shooting.
There is a reason most clays guns have 30-32" barrels.
The only thing a 22" barrel is good for is home defense and thick brush grouse hunting.
Stick with your 28".

What he said!

A 26" - 28" barrel is a versatile barrel that can do a whole bunch of things pretty well. A 22" speciality barrel would handicap you for a lot of shotgunning. Especially so wingshooting.

I went from a 28 to a 24 on a SBE II for the same reason, too long and cumbersome with the 3 1/2" chamber length. Use it some for waterfowl, turkey, and as my "fowl weather" gun. I like it better. Clays is a different story, you can stick with a 28, but you can use your hunting gun for clays and your clays gun for hunting but ideal barrel length for both will be a compromise usually.

I do a lot of bird/rabbit hunting and a 28" barrel with a vent rib is too muzzle heavy for me. I had an 870 express with a 28" barrel that felt like a telephone pole when swinging on a bouncing bunny. I bought a 26" and what a difference. Now I do have some 28" pump guns that balance well, but they dont have a vent rib.

general purpose on a repeater...26.

on specific guns.

again repeaters

grouse 24-26

rabbit 24-26

pheseant 28

ducks 26-28

geese 28-30

turkey 22-24

trap and sporting clays 30-32

skeet 26


if I had to pick one it would be 26


on a double gun 26 for grouse and rabbit

28-30 on everything else

I like 26' barrels for everything. Shoot ducks, upland, doves etc and always feel like anything longer is clunky. Personal preference for sure.

I hunt with a 26 inch auto, shoot clays (all of them) with a 30 inch auto.

Personal preference.. YMMV

For me, a 24" would be an ideal all around length, and 22" wouldnt hurt my feelings. My Beretta A300 has a 28", and I hate it...I hate it to the point that the gun will probably end up going down the road..

I loved my 21" Special Field 870 20 ga on rabbits.
It was tricky on doves but once I learned how to shoot that gun, the others were easier.

Short bbl for slugs- recoil and time of flight in the bore, shorter is better (less shooter input).

Dove and geese? Love me a 30" autoloader.
Had a 26" over/under one season. Sucked. Needed 28" bbls.
20 or 12.........like a 28 or 30 in an overunder for clays/birds.

My first turkey gun was a 30" 1100 mag. Worked fine. Have since used 21, 26 and finally settled on 23".

Run my turkey gun as HD too.

I have also ran it on doves, F&W draw hunts..........and done very well (no cherry picking). Which PO'd more than one purist down the line.

It's not ideal, but 23" is usable for a decent variety.........rabbit, deer, dove, geese, turkey, HD.

If I got another 870 20 ga Special Field..........I'd go 21"
(they did make them in 23" near the end).

Quick gun. Hurry and it's too quick.

When I learned that.... stuff fell out of the sky with regularity.

Another vote for 26"....
The only shotgun I have left is my Merkel SXS....it has 25" barrels and I get along fine with that but I wouldn't want em any shorter...

I totally agree... These guys that can't swing a 28" barrel fast need to go to the gym more often or grow a pair. Bunch of whining fu cking sissies now days. 28" shotgun tubes (for hunting) have always been the norm, and for good reason. My doubles gun was a 32" Browning citori trap and my singles was a 34" BT99. My hunting/fun money shoot gun is an older 870 wingmaster 12 gauge with a 28" improved modified barrel. That mother fu cker swings like lightning. It takes a lot of money away from whining puzzies too...

I dislike 28" in a pump or auto.
Rather have a 26" for some stuff, 30" for other.
And who in the hell buys one shotgun to do everything?
Extra barrels?
Buy another shotgun.
One for each purpose, just like rifles

With approximately 5-6 inches of receiver a 22in barrel on a semi is the equivalent to a 27-28 on a SxS or O/U as far as sighting plane. Comparing the barrel length of the semi to the other two is almost apples to oranges. Stand either side by side to a semi and the over all length, with the same barrel length is obvious. For a semi to be used mostly for field use, I personally would go with 26in. It should handle and balance better than 22. Almost all competition sporting O/U's today are 32-34. Those using a semi for sporting are usually 30-32 barrels. Including receiver length, they make for a long shotgun, which would interest me little for field work.

All very good tips gentlemen (and lady if there is one). I'll stick to this barrel and then maybe buy another, shorter one for woods work. Thanks.

I have 6 repeaters and 3 have 26" and 3 have 28". I have a spare 30" full for my 1100 that is used for turkeys. They all handle fine. I Do sort of prefer the 26" on the sub gages.

I like a 26" for all around huniting it's ok for skeet too. I have SBE with a 26" barrel and used it for everything. I also have an M1 and have 21, 24, and 28" barrels. I use the 28 for dove crows pigeons and ducks, the 24 for upland game and the 21 for turkeys. The 26 Balances perfect on the SBE and the 24 does on the M1 so every gun is different. Find a length that feels natural to you and go with it. I shoot long pigeons and crows on occasion with the 24" M1 and don't feel handicapped with the modified choke. My duck hunting buddy has been shooting a Browning gold with a 24" barrel and has duck hunted with it since I can remember, kills as many or more than me.

Back in the old days skeet guns had short barrels, long barrels are a current trend. A 30 is usless to me as a chic with a well you get the picture. A short barreled gun is handy in the field.