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Barrel Lenght


Avon Raven

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Lookin' at purchasing a SBEII...Never owned a Benelli before, I like the swing of the shorter 24 inch barrel vs. the 26 inch or larger. Can anyone give their Pros and Cons of a shorter barrel?...Oh by the way did I mension I'm a so called..Newbie' I'll be use this weapon for sporting clays, and duck & Goose hunting. Any input would be greatly appreshiated

 

[ 11-22-2004, 07:58 PM: Message edited by: Avon Raven ]

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I'm taking an interest in this thread as well, as I too am beginning to become more and interested in a SBE II.

Does the extra 2" make that much difference?

What about with regard to velocities. Are muzzle velocities affected by barrel length in shotguns in a similar fashion to the way they are in rifles... longer = faster?

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Raven,

 

Go to your local gun store and try shouldering the 28" and the 26" in the gun model you are planning to purchase.

 

I would quickly bring the gun to my shoulder and while swinging the gun to sight something on the wall or ceiling.

 

In the end, I felt more confident with the 28" barrel.

 

Most of clay shooters prefer the longer barrels 30" - 32" and longer than 32" due to the longer barrel provides a smoother swing of the gun. That is to say, the gun is not "whipy" when aiming.

 

No gain in performance with the barrel length. Hopefully the link below to Remington website will answer your question.

 

http://www.remington.com/support/shotgun/shotselect5.htm

 

There is no answer to your question. It is strictly your preference.

 

Regards threeshot

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  • 2 weeks later...

The Benelli barrels are longer than the other brands. My SBEII is a 24'' and i love it. The barrell is a preference. It makes no difference with the performance. The chokes make the difference. The shorter barrells give a quicker point and shorter lead. So its your preference.

 

[ 12-01-2004, 12:10 PM: Message edited by: jjones21 ]

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Avon Raven -- I've shooting targets for over 30 years and the barrels when attached to autoloaders make the gun 4" inches longer than a O/U. So when you compare a 30" O/U gun to a 26""automatic they are the same length from the stock end to the end of the barrel. Most of the top sporting clays shooters are shooting 32" or 34" barrels on their O/U's and 28" or 30" on their automatics. The longer the barrel the better the sight plane, but you have to be a pretty good size fella to shoot long heavy barrels. My opnion (take it for what it's worth & this what I use) is that the 28" is the best for an automatic for sporting clays and 26" for skeet. Hope I helped. Good luck. GB

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When I bought my SBEII 26" several dealers told me the barrel length was a matter of personal preference, it didn't affect the shooting aspect of the gun itself. With that in mind, I bought a 26" because the 28" seemed waaaaaay too long for me. Also, I couldn't tell a difference between "sighting" the 24" and 26", and would have preferred the 24", but when you buy a LH gun you take what you can get.

 

I've been very happy with my 26" and personally think it's a good compromise between sighting and total gun lenght (and I HATE long guns).

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I tend to agree with everything thats been said so far...Your right though LH the select doesn't seem to be the same as the RH. I am leaning toward the 26 inch even though I like the 24 inch because I'm not totally convinced the 24 inch is going to reach those tougher to bring down geese..anyone have some convincing insight on this????

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With modern shot shells, you will get the same ballistic performance with any standard barrel length from 21 to 30 inches. It really is a matter of preference, but conventional wisdom is 28-30 inch barrels for waterfowl, and it has to do with the longer sight plane helping in aiming. Shorter barrels tend to be used where a quick aim and shot is needed for things such as quail hunting. Having said that, I use a 26 inch Montefeltro for ducks because I like the balance and feel, and the shorter gun is easier to carry and handle in flooded timber. A 24-inch will work fine, but it was probably intended as a turkey gun.

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All good information up to the Velocities ..

 

Its tested and proven that with with every 2 inches of length from 24" on up that muzzle velocities increase at a general rate of 5-10 fps per every 2" of increased length to the barrel.

 

So from 24" to 28" muzzle velocities will generaly increase 10-20fps.

 

IMO .. try sticking with the longer lengths for the reasons previously listed.

 

[ 12-04-2004, 09:57 AM: Message edited by: birddog ]

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Hello birddog,

 

Can you point me to some reference material describing the increase in speed for every 2" of barrel?

 

The Remington link in my earier post says:

Many years ago, barrel length was a major concern when buying a shotgun, mainly because longer barrels allowed more time for those old propellants to burn. But today’s modern powders burn completely in just 10 to 14 inches of barrel. However, barrel length is still an important consideration, although for an entirely different reason. The barrel must match the quarry for best results. The best rule of thumb is to select the longest barrel available for the type of shooting done most often. Most misses are caused by stopping the barrel’s swing to and through the target as the shot is fired. Longer barrels assist in smooth swing follow-through, and also provide the increased sighting plane needed for longer shots. Remember that with the advent of choke tubes, almost any length barrel can have almost any degree of choke.
Thanks threeshot
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Hello threeshot - Happy Holidays to ya!

 

I'll need to take a look for the research data as it's been a few years since I've referenced to it..

 

The site (Remington's article) is correct on the development of newer propellents (powders) having faster burn rates. . . but, even with-in specific powder manufacturers - burn rates vary from product to product and to say that they've been able to concentrate the burn with-in the first 10-14" is a little vague.

 

When cleaning your gun from time to time you'll see or pick-up unspent powder in your reciever and barrel..

 

..this in itself tells you that not all the powder/propellent is being burned upon ignition/firing in the first 10-14" of the barrel.

 

That in itself is another can of worms but, I'm sure you can reason the longer barrel / increased velocity reasonings by just this alone..

 

I'll look around for the technical reference and throw it up here If I find it once again ..

 

but, then again .. I've been looking for a few socks to show up for the past few months too smile.gif

 

 

take care threeshot

 

[ 12-04-2004, 10:40 AM: Message edited by: birddog ]

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The information threeshot quotes from Remington should be correct. I am no expert, but here is my understanding. With black powder it makes a difference because the propellant is slower burning. As long as it is burning (exploding is the wrong way to think about it), it is generating more gas and the velocity will increase as long as you don't run out of barrel (to a point I suppose). With modern smokeless powders, the powder burns faster, and barrel length needed to reach maximum velocity is shorter. Everything I have read says that this occurs at a barrel length of something less than 20 inches, but I haven't run the tests myself. I think you will run into a different situation if you compare pistol barrels of different lengths.

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