I kinda like them on the short side. I have a 26" on my SBE and a combo 24"&28" for my M1. I like the 24" better for most things except pass shooting and I use the 28 for duck hunting so i don't ring everybodies ears. Wish I had the combo for the SBE and a 26 for the M1. I like the 26" better over all but the 24 is great on ruffed grouse in the thickets and rabbits too.


How long is your barrel and what do you use it for?

I prefer short barrels too - have both 24" and 26", and use either for anything depending on what gun I want to shoot... Never feel hampered with either.

Edited to add - I used the 24" SBE exclusively for several years (quail, dove, pheasant, duck and goose) with no problems and never wished I'd had a longer barrel.

Most of my semi autos are 26-28". Some, especially on my old A5s have been 30-32", and I can live with them...

Don't care for 24" much unless I'm turkey hunting, but I'm mostly a duck/goose hunter...

Field guns are 26, target guns are 30. The real short stuff might carry easier but tough to connect when you need to IMO. They just don't move well.

YMMV

26" on my 1100 and 28" on my SX2.

is 30" too long for the field?

No offense to you or anyone else, but just my humble $0.02 worth. I hear this a bunch and I personally don't find it to be true for me... My 24" auto is the same length as a 27-28" O/U.

Not bragging, as I am far from a competition shooter and only shoot average on trap/skeet, but I am a pretty good shot when it comes to hunting birds (ducks, geese, dove, quail, etc.) - don't have a problem getting my fair share, and anyone I've hunted with the last several year can attest to that. But I personally find shooting clays vs real birds totally different. On birds, I'm getting on and flinging shot, much quicker that shooting clays so I am not worried about "swinging smoother", etc. Also, I make sure my guns fit me - I don't sight down a plane, I point and shoot - only time I pay attention the the bead(s), plane, etc., is just practicing before the hunt (usually just around the house making sure I'm mounting the gun correctly, etc.). Unlike aiming a rifle, I just mount the gun and look at the target - more like shooting a long bow without sights vs. a compound with sights. Hard to explain because hunting with a shotgun is more instinctual shooting to me. Maybe I'd be a better shot with a longer barrel, but I'll likely never know as I prefer and shoot fine with shorter barrels.

Sorry for the rambling post, but just thought I't throw out my $0.02 worth in regards to how I shoot a shotgun... hope it makes some amount of sense.

Have and shoot lots of lengths from 25"-30". Shoot best with the Browning DoubleAuto and the barrels on them are weird metric lengths, I think one is 26 1/4" and the other I have is 27 1/2" or some such. Either way it's a rare bird that gets up inside of 30 yards that isn't toast if I'm carrying one of those guns. I personally feel that stock fit is more important than barrel length.

I find 30 inches barrel on a over/under perfect and 28 inches on a auto or pump for upland shooting. But that's just me. My Beretta 30 inch barrels are tapered and lighter than most 12 gauge O/U barrels.

Doc

I agree with da Doc.

30 inch autos are perfect in a Dove field

On my two 1100s I have 28" on them and like them both. On the other hand for hunting on the 12 ga I find the plain 26" is very handy. On thing I always get sort of tickled about is how the double gun crowd will wax on about how semis weigh too much and are too weight forward and how their double guns balance between the hands. Yet most then in the next sentence talk about how they find 30 and 32 inch bbls shoot better. They ignore that most 30" o/u shotguns will weigh close to 8 lbs.

There is nothing you cant do with a Remington 1100 with a 28 inch barrel. Nothing.

Haha, I definitely agree - you just summed up all my garble above in one sentence!

I agree, I have a left hand 11/87 "light contour" barrel on a left hand 1100 trap making the smoothest swinging auto I have. I sent my Beretta's 390 Golds down the road. The Remington light contour barrels are real sleepers.

Doc

X1000

A short barrel on one gun feels the same as a longer barrel on another. A 28 inch on a M1 feels way more betweven the hands than say a 1100 with the same barrel length.

I have smoked a lot of crows with my M1 and a 24" modified probably more than any other gun, its super handy. I have never pheasant hunted with it though which is crazy cause I hunt crows with pheasant loads.

I like short, depending on what I'm after, light too.

Mine run the gamut from 24" up to 32". My preference is for a longer barrel regardless of use. It can be a positive for pass shooting and in the brush I can't recall ever snagging the last few inches of the barrel on anything but I have gotten whacked across the knuckles too often to count.

I have three Semis

An Extrema 2 and a SBEII. both of those are dedicated waterfowl guns, and have 28 inch barrels because they swing better IMO.

My Mossberg 935 has a 24 inch barrel and is Isa dedicated turkey gun, wearing and pistol grip stock, and a red dot

If I were buying a gun as a General purpose shotgun it would wear a 26 inch tube

Me too. I wish I had a 26 for my M1.

SBE II - 24"
Montefeltros - 26"
Citori Lightnings - 28"
Ruger All Weather - 30"
The Ruger is the exact same length as the Benelli SBE with a extended turkey choke installed!

SBEs have a very long receiver. Other than for waterfowling that's why I pick up my M1 for almost everything. It's a little lighter and shorter.

Got a 28 inch on the Beretta A300. Would much rather have a 26 inch.

My Benelli Ultralight has a 24" tube. I'm primarily a SxS guy so that length makes it seem more nearly that of my doubles. Additionally, I'm a pheasant Hunter and snap shoot on maybe 90% of those birds, so the often mentioned "long barrel swings better" could be but I don't swing much; I see, point and shoot. Even on the occasional crossing shot I tend to snap shoot rather than swinging on the bird.

SBE II with a 24 inch barrel. It will shoot as far as a long barreled shotgun, but you don't have to pack all that extra barrel around. I always love to hear the sporting clays guys talk about their long barrels have extra weight that helps them swing through. Some day I think I will take my short barrel and duct tape a brick on the end to show them you can have weight without longer barrels...

Plus, now that I'm on the Medicare rolls, walking 3-5 miles over uneven ground for a chance at some birds, I've a strong notion light is right. 😊

[quote=shrapnel]

SBE II with a 24 inch barrel. It will shoot as far as a long barreled shotgun, but you don't have to pack all that extra barrel around. I always love to hear the sporting clays guys talk about their long barrels have extra weight that helps them swing through. Some day I think I will take my short barrel and duct tape a brick on the end to show them you can have weight without longer barrels...



Have you lost your mind? You cant kill pheasants with a turkey gun. If you could they would market pheasant guns with short barrels and camo. Pheasant guns all have long barrels and all good flyrod are fast action.

I usually go to Iowa to duck hunt and always take my SBE with a 26" barrel but next time I'm taking my M1 with 24" barrel cause we pheasant hunt in the evenings and my SBE feels like a boat anchor by the time I get back to the truck.