I just acquired a Browning Citori Special Sporting Clays Edition in a trade. By my tape measurer, it has 30" barrels.

Can I get a 26-28" barrels (12ga) that are designed more for hunting?

Just hunt it as is.
I have a O/U with 30" barrels, it`s about the the same length as my Super black Eagle with a 24" barrel.

Yes, that is probably the smartest route

It would be far less expensive to buy a new Citori than get a second set of barrels if my experience with Browning of 20 years ago still holds true. This is going through Browning which does not consider the amount of time they would take to do the job. As I am still waiting on a set of firing pins and springs from even longer back, I would not hold my breath for them to do the job.

I have seen barrel sets for sale from other sources but they ran around $800. They were in the white so the price of bluing would have to factored in to the cost in addition to the cost of fitting the barrels to the action.

As mentioned, hunt the gun as it sits. I often use my 30" 525 Sporting Clays gun for hunting ruffed grouse and pheasants with no problem. The length of the gun falls between many 26" and 28" pumps and semiautos which are rather common hunting gun lengths. If the length is a problem for you, a new gun would be a quicker and cheaper alternative to a new set of barrels.

For 20+ years you have been waiting for them to send you firing pins and springs?

May be worth a phone call....


https://www.midwestgunworks.com/browning-citori/barrels.html

Yep, Browning stated they had them when I placed the order but a letter showed up stating they were back ordered. I picked up the parts I needed and left the order in as it never hurts to have spare parts on hand. I expected the parts to show up after the next build cycle but instead got another letter notifying me the parts are still on back order.

This correspondence repeated every few months dwindling to once a year now and it is now a source of amusement for me. For the $10 I have into it, I have gotten that much back in amusement.

The difference between the sporting clays and hunting shotguns is more about stock dimensions and weight than barrel length. If it balances well with 30 inch barrels, it would be fine to hunt with assuming proper chokes. You might not want to carry it far, though. It’s probably a pound or two heavier than the typical hunting shotgun.

At least they are staying in touch.👍😀

I've got one with 28" barrels. The only difference that I see between the Sporting Clays Addition and a regular Citori is the height of the rib and the shape of the forehand. Not sure what the problem is with the way it is. Just get a set of chokes and practice with it. I love mine and wouldn't hesitate to hunt with it.