Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting Barrel Length

26-30 inch works just fine..

Ray is right. Basic woods craft, hunting skills, and a dependable shotgun will get it done just fine and it doesn't much matter how long the barrel is.

Lot of hype with this short barrel thing. Any barrel length works just fine. Think about it. The short barrel "craze" was started by gun manufacturers just so you might buy another shotgun or at least a barrel. If you are hunting where a tree or sapling might hit the end of your barrel you are probably hunting in too dense of cover to make a clear shot anyway. And a scoped "short barrel" shotgun in a blind must just cause you to shoot a nice hole in your blind. Looking at the turkey through your scope not realizing your barrel is just inside the wall of the blind. Shooting a 28" or 30" will help prevent this. I have hunted several states each year since 1994 with my 30" double barrels and have never hit a tree (or cow) when I swing. I would guess if anyone is using a 20" or 21" for turkey would probably want to use a 36" for ducks to get the barrel up past the cattails!

Savage99F358

Really it doesn't. In fields maybe but in the spring woods a shorter barrel is always more versatile. Too much junk to get in the way of a longer barrel. I like them to be around 20"

All of mine are 23"-26". I think that length range is perfect for my use in CO and western NE. My TC Encore 12 gauge 24" barrel is actually much shorter over all than my pump guns. The increase in muzzle blast is definitely apparent. It is about equal to that of a receiver gun with a 20"-21" barrel. I always use plugs, a result of mid 70s USMC. Even then, those short guns really rattle my teeth!

My only real advice is to try on various length shotguns to get the feel for what will work best for you. You have to try them on to know what works. Fit and feel is king. Doesn't matter how good or cool looking, if it doesn't fit you and feel good in your hands and on your shoulder, you will never shoot it well. Especially in the field.

taz4570 wrote:

"My only real advice is to try on various length shotguns to get the feel for what will work best for you. You have to try them on to know what works. Fit and feel is king. Doesn't matter how good or cool looking, if it doesn't fit you and feel good in your hands and on your shoulder, you will never shoot it well. Especially in the field".

I believe this is one type hunting you can use just about any shotgun, regardless of barrel length, length of pull, comb and heel drop. You will very rarely have a "snap" shot like quail hunting when you are after turkey. In most cases you will have up to a minute, or even more sometimes, setting the shotgun into your shoulder, readying for the shot. You can use a gun with a 12" LOP or 15". It could have a 1 1/2" DAH or 3 1/2" and you will still be able to get on target before the shot, in most cases.

Savage99F358

Guns are many times a matter of taste as much as function. I have an old Ithaca 37 that a gunsmith friend remodeled for me as a dedicated turkey gun. Shortened the stock to make it easier to handle sitting down. He cut the barrel back to 21 inches and installed a thinwall Colonial tube that is flush with the end. It's a 2 3/4" and magnum turkey loads make that lightweight come alive when you touch it off. It is the handiest Turkey gun I have ever owned. It is D&T with an old Leu 2.5X lightweight and the setup is both highly functional and I just plain like it. About 40 turkeys and never lost one. 35 yds. is about the best it can do. I always look around after set up and mentally measure 40 yards so when a bird is called inside that circle - BANG.

I have a 26" Beneli 12ga semi, Stoger 2000. Both feel mighty awkward. A 26" Encore 20ga. with another 2.5" choke sticking out the front. Too long. Had a Moss. too clumsey. I like the short barrel.

Where I hunt here in the North East it's brushey. Sometimes I like to run&gun. Sometimes sit and call. Short barrel fits my fancy the best.

If I were to have another dedicated turkey gun, (I do) I'd pay the bucks and have the barrel at about 21". Taste, fit, function. My height is 5'6". That might effect things.

Jim

For me the short barrel guns are more about mobility. I noticed a long barrel while I'm trying to slip through the woods with gun on sling. My 28" barrel aggravated me to death. When I would duck under a low limb it would always hit the limb and almost always slide the sling off my shoulder. The 24" is handier on the trail in the blind and getting in and out of a vehicle. I really like mine. But it will ring your dang ears in a duck blind so the short barrel is swopped out in november. It's not hype imho, it's practical.

Why would anyone be so foolish as to hunt in a duck blind without hearing protection, regardless of the barrel length. Must be a "macho" thing? The people you trying to impress are the people you won't be able to hear talking by the time you are 60. I use hearing protection on every turkey hunt with usually only one shot fired per hunt, if that. As for the moving through the woods with a long barrel, try this. Sling your shotgun upside down when moving quickly through brush. If you hold the barrel with one hand, you can even run.

Savage99F358

Thank God we have you here. It's nice having someone around who knows everything.

Turn the gun upside down on the sling huh, mud in the end of the barrel makes for great turkey patterns and reduced recoil. See everybody here can reply like a dik.

Good day sir

I've hunted with both. I started out with a 28" on my Mossberg 500. It was a pain when carrying the gun because the barrel was taller than I was and would hang up on every tree limb it could find. For some reason carrying the gun with the muzzle pointing at my feet never occurred to me.

I switched to a 20" and it was much easier to carry because the barrel didn’t reach above my head. If I were a deer hunter and said I preferred a 20” barreled carbine to a 28” barreled rifle for hunting in the woods nobody would argue the point. Yet if you say the same thing about a shotgun people will go out of their way to make up reasons why it’s a bad idea.

Here are the facts about short barrels:

Velocity: You’ll lose about 75 fps going from a 28 to a 20. That’s not 75 fps per inch, that’s 75 fps total. Not enough to worry about.

Pattern: Pattern is primarily determined by choke. There’s possibly a tiny difference caused by the gas pressure being higher at the muzzle with a short barrel, but if you use a vented choke the turkeys will never know the difference.

Noise: Short barrels are louder than longer barrels. This will be a moot point if you’re wearing ear protection, which you should be doing regardless of how long your barrel is. My Peltor 6 electronic muffs turn the BOOM of my 20” with a vented choke into a faraway boom.

I've used both, I prefer the 20" and I'm not going back.

Mr Dik,

Carrying a long barrel shotgun upside down will not touch the ground unless you are 4' tall.

Savage99F358

20" barrels are fine, if you already own one. The only real point I was trying to make was if you own a 26, 28 or 30" gun you don't need to buy another gun, barrel or have it cut to hunt turkey.

Savage99F358

OR crouch down to duck under a low limb especially in steep terrain.
Regards
Mr. King Dik

Been carrying my firearms that way since uncle sugar taught me that trick to protect the scope (there is a scope on the Savage 24 in the photo) from exposure back in 1966. It worked in the jungle and it works turkey hunting almost anywhere. Heck, it even works with an elk rifle in the mountains, or a deer rifle going through the swamp. It will work going under limbs and through switch cane. It will work whether you are four feet tall or six.

Applause !!! Applause !!! Applause !!! Smart man!
Great picture demonstration, Ragnar73 Thank you.

Savage99F358

It has always been somewhat humorous to me how a small thing like how someone carries his shotgun can get people excited and feeling threatened. That causes me to speculate on what they might do if something ACTUALLY IMPORTANT occurred and how they might handle that. A constant assessment of those around you and the situation you are in at any given time could save your life when the SHTF.

But how you carry your shotgun while you are turkey hunting doesn't fall into that situational category. So I don't care how you carry your shotgun when you are turkey hunting, but I do wish you good luck in finding an old long beard gobbler.

All the best to all of you turkey hunters.

Well I be damn, I see what you mean now. I have tried carrying my gun upside down with the sling with that 28 inch barrel and it always went barrel down and if I squated down the barrel would touch the ground. I was always afraid to because of mud or snow getting into the end. I need to shorten my sling to be able to hold the barrel up.

On my response though, if you call someone foolish and say they are just trying to be macho then you gotta expect a little bit of crap. I don't do the macho BS thing I am who I am, like me or hate me I don't care, got nothing to prove and I do wear ear plugs 8 hours a day so when I'm hunting I want to hear, I need to hear. I listen for turkey sounds or chatter from ducks as they fly. I'm also a drummer so earplugs are in my ears then too. I took it as you were being a jackass, if you didn't mean it that way then my apologies.

Not that amazing, it's just that you may have helped penetrate the thick outer layer.

Savage99F358

https://www.natchezss.com/hunter-leather-1-quick-fire-sling.html

A quick adjusting sling like the Hunter Quick Fire above is the key to carrying your shotgun or rifle slung in that manner. The above sling is what I use, but there are others out there like the Latigo Quick Set sold by Brownell's. By being able to quickly and easily adjust the sling length without having to use any claws or hooks, you can keep your gun in a comfortable and easily controllable position.

You can also easily adjust the sling for a steady shooting hold when you get ready to make the shot with rifle or shotgun. For those of us who were taught to shoot a rifle with the aid of a shooting sling, it makes all the difference in how steady we can hold.

It isn't shown on the Natchez web site, but the Hunter Quick Fire sling also comes in camo nylon. If you want a Quick Fire camo sling, just look around on the internet to find one. There is a Hunter Quick Fire nylon camo sling on the Savage 24 in the photo up above showing the upside down carry method. All my hunting rifles have the leather Hunter Quick Fire sling on them and the Remington 1100 pictured above does as well. Or if you have quick detach swivels, you can use one sling and transfer it to your various guns with QD swivels. That 1100 has a 21 inch barrel on it because hunting in the mountains is more difficult than it is in the flat lands and the shorter barrel makes hunting up here a little safer trying to get around. And if I was worried about shotgun noise, I'd quit hunting and start playing golf.

But that quick length adjustable feature of the sling is the key to using the upside down carry method. With the Hunter Quick Fire sling, you can even adjust it as you walk along. It is fast and secure once it is adjusted and it takes no effort at all to do it once you get the hang of it.