Jump to content

24" vs. 26" barrell


skillet74133

Recommended Posts

Thanks Tucker for the info. That was a lot of video to watch and enjoyed. Still looking for personel experience 24" vs. 26". Thanks again.

A 26" should swing better, and is what I would go with, but if you need a short barrel for going through brush then a 24" may fit your needs better, what do you normally use and is the barrel to long etc? In theory the 26" should perform better but you may shoot better with a 24". Shoulder the gun in both lengths if you can, and decide from there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would go with a 26" barrel because I find them to be more accurate and also even though there is controversy over the topic of todays fast buring powders a longer barrel will get the most out of the ammo that you use. Also the extra weight should reduce your recoil and allow you to get back on the next bird. Good Luck

Edited by tyson129
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Would like to purchase a 12 ultra light. Bird gun only. Would there be much difference between a 24" or a 26" barrel in performance? Would like opinions please. Thank you in advance.

Either one of these will make you happy. I have bbls., from 24'' to 30'', and none are appreciatively more accurate than the other. All will out shoot the guy pulling the trigger. As far as weight goes, 2 inches of hollow pipe will not slow you down. Personal preference is 24'' in the turkey blind and the thick woods and 26'' in the open field, but both will and do work in either situation. Good luck with your choice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would go with a 26" barrel because I find them to be more accurate and also even though there is controversy over the topic of todays fast buring powders a longer barrel will get the most out of the ammo that you use. Also the extra weight should reduce your recoil and allow you to get back on the next bird. Good Luck

Accuracy? Really? You find them to be more accurate? Have you patterned 2 barrels from the same shells, same brand, same model, and same chokes? The only accuracy difference those 2" will make, is the fact that the shot leaves the barrel and begins to expand 2" closer. You might as well take a baby step forward and you would make up the difference and then some. With slugs, a longer barrel is less desirable, slugs actually go so slow, that the muzzle jump starts to happen before the slug leaves the barrel. The faster the slug leaves the barrel the less raise it is going to have. The raise wouldn't be a problem, but it is in consistent, you might have a tighter or looser hold when you actually point it at an animal and pull the trigger. Riffled slugs and riffled barrels, have rotational torque that can affect the flight of a slug to, making it go slightly to the left in consistently, and this is more so with a longer barrel. So a slug gun is not desirable to be as long as possible, and scatter guns are much more effected by bore diameter, forcing cone length, and chokes than they are by 2" of barrel length powder consumption and range.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...Would there be much difference between a 24" or a 26" barrell in performance...

No, not any difference as far as how shot pattens, and not much on slugs, although I doubt you are going to use it on slugs. There is a tiny difference in swing/feel. A 24" might be to "whippy" and you might swing to fast. A 26" would be a little more barrel heavy, but probably not even noticeable. So a 26" might perform better but I couldn't tell you what you will perform better with. Your personal opinion is probably a bigger factor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Longer barrels throw a more dense pattern. And yes, I've tested this with the same gun and different barrels. Sometimes as much as a 15% difference when using the same choke and shell combo.

 

My more recent turkey gun puchases have been 28" bbl guns.

 

Now, I'm talking strictly numbers and my tests have been limited to turkey chokes.

 

For waterfowl and upland, I don't want turkey patterns, so either the 24" or the 26" should be fine.

 

I'd flip a coin or go with the 26" for maybe just a tad tighter pattern at a tad longer distance, just a tad mind you :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Longer barrels throw a more dense pattern. And yes, I've tested this with the same gun and different barrels. Sometimes as much as a 15% difference when using the same choke and shell combo.

 

My more recent turkey gun puchases have been 28" bbl guns.

 

Now, I'm talking strictly numbers and my tests have been limited to turkey chokes.

 

For waterfowl and upland, I don't want turkey patterns, so either the 24" or the 26" should be fine.

 

I'd flip a coin or go with the 26" for maybe just a tad tighter pattern at a tad longer distance, just a tad mind you :)

Were you using a rest? 15% difference sounds like to much to believe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess I will take your word for it, as you are no novice to shotguns, I need to try this myself. If only I had two identical shotguns with different barrel lengths. What was the barrel lengths of the 2 guns.

 

I was convinced to try different barrel lengths based on the reports by shooters like Steve Conover, who has won a ton of NWTF Still Target Shoots over the past few years. You can maybe still find some of his older posts over on the NWTF forums.

 

I am lucky enough to own and/or have access to many different barrels. Sometimes it's just a matter of borrowing a gun from a buddy and not telling him you are going to swap the barrel for a little testing.

 

My initial concern over barrel length started in 1999 with a 24" barreled Nova that tossed maybe the worst pattern I have ever seen. 28" barrel with the same choke and shell produced excellent patterns. Sold the 24" gun for $200 and moved on.

 

Same for my many SBE's over the years. 28" barrels always threw better turkey patterns than the 24" or 26' barreled guns.

 

My Browing Golds, Silvers, and BPS's all put more pellets in the 30" circle with longer barrels even when using the exact same choke and shell combination. Going from 24" to 28" will produce the most drastic change in pellet count.

 

Please remember, I'll spend $500-$700 in shells just to test each year, so it's not like this is new to me. I shot 50 H-13 3.5" #6's in one day last year in five different guns. With 2-3 new guns coming this year, I'll probably do it again!

 

If I didn't travel to states where shots on turkeys can be longer (Nebraska, etc.) I probably wouldn't care so much about long range patterns. But since I do, I do :D

 

I hope this helps :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...