popapi Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 Guys which one and why for ALL around hunting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwnr Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 I can see the advantage of the shorter barrel for tight waterfowl blind/boat situations and for hiding in blowdowns for turkey. However, the 28" does give you a longer site path for swingin' on fast moving flyers...other than that, I don't think it much matters. I use the 28" on my SBE in all situations and have never wished I had the 26". Are you going to be looking into aftermarket choke tubes for geese or turkeys? This will add length so the 26" would be a good choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birddog Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 Good advice above. Personally I'd go with the 28" barrel for wingshooting situations... having the extra 2" of barrel as bwnr stated gives you a point further in your sight plane and - in my opinion - the 2" of extra length from 26" to 28" is not going to be the cause of you 'hanging up' in the prickers or fumbling in a blind {insert hunter coordination and muzzle awareness here}. One thing to note: Taking this from the shooting sports - most target guns are adorned with 28"-32" barrels (.. most commonly 30"). So on a wingshooting basis the 'professionals' who these guns are modeled for are calling for longer barreled shotguns for a reason. I've found that my shooting is much better when I've got the right gun in my hands and that the barrel is 28" or 30" .... but, that's me. I'm sure others feel differently.. expect to get varied opinions on this one. one other thing - Benelli's front beads are set back an inch or so from where other manufacturers place their beads on the barrel rib ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudhen Posted March 25, 2004 Share Posted March 25, 2004 For all around, the 26" is best. I use several choke tubes that are 2"+. With the 26" + the 2"+ choke tube, you can still move the gun around in the turkey cover as well as the duck blind. I have shot the 26" for 14 seasons and have never wished for the 28". With the new Super Mad Max choke, the 28" would be almost 32" long! Too much for my turkey hunting. mudhen - CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popapi Posted March 26, 2004 Author Share Posted March 26, 2004 You guys are AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! I want to thank you for all the great info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bambihunter Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 popapi, your info says you're from OKC... Me too... I've got a 28" SBE if you'd like to go shoot sometime then you can see what you think of that length. Some other points to consider is the longer barrel helps reduce muzzle jump slightly, a plus when shooting magnum loads. However, it makes it too barrel heavy for my wife to shoot it. She used to shoot my Ithaca that had a 26" barrel. However, to be fair, the whole gun was 1/2 pound lighter than the relatively light SBE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popapi Posted March 26, 2004 Author Share Posted March 26, 2004 Originally posted by bambihunter: popapi, your info says you're from OKC... Me too... I've got a 28" SBE if you'd like to go shoot sometime then you can see what you think of that length. Some other points to consider is the longer barrel helps reduce muzzle jump slightly, a plus when shooting magnum loads. However, it makes it too barrel heavy for my wife to shoot it. She used to shoot my Ithaca that had a 26" barrel. However, to be fair, the whole gun was 1/2 pound lighter than the relatively light SBE. Gotcha. I went to Bass Pro and picked them both up and REALLY liked the 26",but ALOT of guys like both 26" and 28" it's just hard for me to make a discission.Could you please send you number so I can call you. Marcus___popapi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bambihunter Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 My phone number is xxx-xxxx... I live up by Remington Park. Anyway, give me a call if you'd like, we can try to find a time when we can both get away and shoot it. If you just want to shoot it, we can go to just about any gun range (although I don't go to H&H anymore) or we can go out to El Reno and shoot clays with it. BTW, if you really like the feel of the 26" then go for it, the velocity loss and pattern difference is very minimal at best. Mike P.S. I tried to send this as a P.M. but it gave me an error and of course I won't leave the # on a public forum... I'll try to email ya (if you have it on your profile). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bambihunter Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 email sent... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popapi Posted March 30, 2004 Author Share Posted March 30, 2004 Originally posted by bambihunter: My phone number is xxx-xxxx... I live up by Remington Park. Anyway, give me a call if you'd like, we can try to find a time when we can both get away and shoot it. If you just want to shoot it, we can go to just about any gun range (although I don't go to H&H anymore) or we can go out to El Reno and shoot clays with it. BTW, if you really like the feel of the 26" then go for it, the velocity loss and pattern difference is very minimal at best. Mike P.S. I tried to send this as a P.M. but it gave me an error and of course I won't leave the # on a public forum... I'll try to email ya (if you have it on your profile). Mike I got it(email).Your right around the corner at Remington I live at 17th and Lincoln Blvd. I decided to go with the 26" after picking it up at Bass Pro,and talking to Tom Knapp.Thanks everyone again,you guys are great!!! [ 03-30-2004, 02:59 PM: Message edited by: popapi ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bambihunter Posted March 31, 2004 Share Posted March 31, 2004 Great popapi... I think you'll be happy with it. If you ever want to go shooting or have any trouble with it, you have my number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
popapi Posted March 31, 2004 Author Share Posted March 31, 2004 Originally posted by bambihunter: Great popapi... I think you'll be happy with it. If you ever want to go shooting or have any trouble with it, you have my number. I sure do Mike.Thank you Marcus, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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