Home Forums Birds & Dogs Waterfowl 26” vs 28”

I like 26" on my 870SP duck gun and 28" on my 20ga SxS upland gun.

I did recently buy a used 21" RemChoke VR turkey bbl for my 870. I think I could use that for upland if needed.

Actually, that’s more what some consider open woods around here. I don’t think we’re so much disagreeing about SHOOTING a shotgun vs barrel length, as much as I’m just referring to carrying ease growing up in the quail edges and rabbit briars with side by sides around here. I also made a point that SxS and O/Us are a different conversation than a repeater, with regard to swing, balance, etc.....two barrels are different, and a receiver adds length, period. While 2” either way (for shooting) is noticeable for most in a double, I’ve just never found it noticeable outside of handling, in a repeater......until it was more than 2” either way. Doesn’t matter if it’s an SC tourney, rabbits, woodcock, dove, or geese in Canada....a 26” repeater has always swung/shot as good as a 28, but maybe not as good on long crossers as a 30 or 32, for me. Not getting into who’s what in SC or upland/waterfowl circles......we all have preferences that can differ, whether it’s after mere boxes or 40+ years of flats and cases.

I can find a lot to agree with this post....Especially when it comes to autoloaders vs two barrel shotguns. For hunting with an auto-loader 26 or 28 would be fine...For clays I prefer the longer.

As far a Quail, I'm not about to come off as having any expertise on the varied habitat they may be found in.. However, I had the privilege to hunt down in Georgia on one the the premier private Wild Quail plantations. 15,000 acres of ground literally cultivated for Quail.. It was for the most part wide open shooting as long as a Pine didn't get in the way and there were not all that many..

That tried for years to keep the predators down by various means, which was greatly limiting their success....Finally they came on to the idea to thin out the trees and you cut down on the the places they lived and would sit to wait..Last I was there they figured they had 7-8 Quail per acre.

40 years that would put Battue starting shooting a shotgun when he was 60!

Due to the receiver length on a 3 1/2in gun....sight plane is gonna be about the same length with a 26in 3 1/2 compared to a 28in on a 3in receiver. If a dedicated waterfowl gun, I'd still go with the 28.

The ‘managed’ quail country of the last 20 years is quite different from the overgrown clear cuts and briar thickets we used to run dogs in while foot hunting the hill country of AL/TN/KY. And you’re correct: managed pine/quail plantations of southern AL/GA are wide open, comparatively. My favorite semi I ever carried for ‘rough’ quail and rabbit thickets was a Superlight Auto 5 20ga with a 24” skeet barrel. I’ve still done it more with a Fox 20ga SxS and 26” tubes, cuz that’s all I had when I was starting out as a kid. Guns have purposes. Swinging often wasn’t too important when we had to spot shoot through a hole, when the birds or rabbits were in it. LOL

Ya, after a certain point you say to yourself there has to have been a mistake on my certificate.👀

I couldn't resist buddy!

LOL.... I got lucky when 8-9 years old back in the 70s.....yeah, I guess I’m a pup comparatively. . My dad didn’t hunt much, but he’d drop me off with my football coach who had a skeet and trap range next door, fill with old clays and quail curmudgeons. They’d all tell me something different, one day to the next, but I had all the clays and shells I could shoot, and all the surrounding land was a quail, rabbit, and dove paradise at the time. I figured a few things out a little over 8-10 years of hanging around with Wally’s skeet club gang and trailing dogs. Those days are gone, but I was glad to nibble the tail end of that culture, at least.

👍

Anyone who says 2” of bbl isn’t noticeable in the brush hasn’t hunted brush. Remember, not every part of hunting is like pulling up to the trap range to just shoot. You’ve gotta get to where you’re hunting, ride in a boat sometimes, maneuver through some thick stuff to get to where the birds/bunnies are, etc. Sure, when it’s time to take the shot, having an extra 2” might be better for swinging on long crossers. However, for all the rest of the schit involved, it being 2” shorter can be nice. I’ve hunted with a 28” bbl for nearly 20 years and have recently switched to a 26” bbl for the above mentioned reasons. I’ve got a crisp $20 that says after this season I won’t have a preference either way. Therefore, at the end of the day, buy the one you feel best about because the rest of this schit is hot air for folks that aren’t burning up thousands and thousands of shells shooting clays or hunting the most premier of anything. For the dude who’s out hunting, the difference will mostly be noticed when closing the soft-sided gun case getting in and out of the boat/truck because 26” will fit in one much better than a 28” bbl, especially if you opt for extended chokes. If one is in stock or you can get a deal on one or the other, that’s the one to get.

What Brush are we talking about that is so difficult???? The Maine Northwoods for Grouse and Woodcock? Flooded Timbers of Arkansas? Southeast Alaska in Rain Forest loaded with Devils Club? The UP chasing Grouse? Woodcock in Louisiana? Hmmm I hunt with 28" and 30" barrels and never once have had a problem. As far as a gun case buy the right size case and you will never have a problem putting your gun away.

I have hunted Upland Birds and Waterfowl my entire life from Southern Georgia to Texas in the south. Maine to Alaska and a few states in-between. I have not hunted the Central Midwest or the southern Western states. I have shot more flats of ammo hunting than the average weekend clays shooter. I have guided for both Upland Birds and waterfowl. I have never seen a case where the barrel was too long and caused a problem. Funny I have seen many shooters and hunters put away their shotguns in case both hard and soft with zero issues. I have been in and out of Layout boats in Long Island Sound, Boston Harbor, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean. The length of the barrel has never been a problem. I have crawled in sloughs on my hands and knees again without problems! You guys act like two inches is two feet!

Whole lot of “I’s” in that post. Proud of yourself? It’s funny that you say people are acting like 2” are 2’ when you’re the one going off the deep end about how much of a difference those 2” will make in performance.

Those 2” won’t matter in the big picture. The OP will shoot either just fine. But, the fact that you’re holding on to something as irrefutable as a shorter weapon is more maneuverable in thick brush does more to show how proud you are of your own opinion and how important it is to you to be “right” about something than how willing you are to admit something like a simple fact that a shorter item is easier to manipulate in tighter quarters. It’s not really a question of your experience, it’s a question of geometry and you can’t argue it. I wonder why modern war fighting weaponry has moved to shorter (read: more maneuverable) platforms? Wait, no I don’t. They’re easier to manipulate in tight quarters.

But I get it, trap ranges and sporting clays facilities are full of folks like you. The guy who will go blue in the face defending the logic behind owning what he owns rather than admitting it isn’t perfect in every way and some other options might come with better performance in certain areas.

Fortunately, I learned at a very young age that people who so adamantly defend their own decisions are usually incapable of considering alternatives, anyways, and to take their vigor with a grain of salt and move on. If you honestly think 2” on the skinny end of a dedicated autoloading duck gun is in any way stacking the odds in the favor of (or against) the every day waterfowler, perhaps all of those shells you claim to have fired have shaken a few screws loose.

Thanks everyone for the input. I ended up going 28 but would of been just as happy with a 26”. Appreciate everyone’s opinion. Different strokes for different folks. Decided to switch it up this time. Couple weeks and I can enjoy the thing.

Ooh crisp $20 dollar bill..

Yep. A down payment for a layaway plan on my next gun.

Geez, you guys. Haven't you ever read the 2-3 highly authoritative Internet posts where 27" barrels (whether on doubles or repeaters) are the very best? That's because 27" is very close to 68.5 centimeters, one of those magical metric lengths.

What is funny is that I have seen a lot of guys struggle with short barrels and lengthening them has almost always helped with both their swing and sight picture. Those very few that didn't were always mounting issues. This has zero to do with sporting clays or Trap. The fact is 28" over a 26" is never a handicap. Except for you getting it in your case. Well done!!!!!

Except when it is.

Undeniably a 28” barrel helps with swing. Got it. Marginal (yet unnoticeable) improvement in ballistics. What else? It’s heavier and therefore slower (again, marginally). Less maneuverable (marginally). Perhaps you can use it as a push pole in 2” deeper of water?

But, again, you just won’t let it go. Like I said, I have shot a 28” bbl for years. I’m just not willing to say that it’s never a handicap when it most certainly is in some situations.

I have a 26" steel shot bbl on my 1100 mag.
Wish it was 28".

My 870 supermag is 23" turkey model. I've run it on doves and limited out at 50%.
Its usable.

But if I shoot steel for honkers, I'll put a 28" bbl on it.
Or just buy a whole nuther supermag.

30" bbl on 1100 magnum was my fave goose rig.
And it was wicked on dove as well (back when we could run lead on state ground).