Long barrel vs short barrel

[DranDran]

I've been thinking about this ever since shooting my friends mossberg 535 which has a 22" barrel. It is sold as a turkey gun (and at just under 6 pounds it kicks like a mule with 3" loads) but my preferred turkey/trap gun is a Winchester mod 1912 with a 30" barrel. Does a short barrel really give any advantage other than maneuverability?

[d.winsor]

I have heard that short barrels are harder to pattern, I have also heard that long barrels give better patterns.  I guess the advantage is maneuverability.  All my guns are short barreled.  Years ago I stumbled onto the Winchester Supreme HV #5 shot, never had a problem with patterning a gun after that with a briley .665 straight rifled choke.  Still have a few boxes left that I hunt with, but I have tried the Winchester Longbeards XR #5's and when I run out of Supreme's I will get a more open choke and hunt with them.

[West Augusta]

My 870 Express came with a  28" barrel and had a terrible pattern no matter what choke or shell I shot in it.  I changed to a 24" barrel and a 665 Jellyhead and now am very happy with the patterns of Hevi13 Mag Blends.  Haven't had any complaints from turkeys since I made the change. 

[allaboutshooting]

I've been thinking about this ever since shooting my friends mossberg 535 which has a 22" barrel. It is sold as a turkey gun (and at just under 6 pounds it kicks like a mule with 3" loads) but my preferred turkey/trap gun is a Winchester mod 1912 with a 30" barrel. Does a short barrel really give any advantage other than maneuverability?

That seems to be one of the more debated and discussed topics, maybe second only to chokes and shells. I wrote an article several years ago about the subject and you might find it interesting. http://allaboutshooting.com/article_info.php?articles_id=264

Thanks,
Clark

[DranDran]

My 870 Express came with a  28" barrel and had a terrible pattern no matter what choke or shell I shot in it.  I changed to a 24" barrel and a 665 Jellyhead and now am very happy with the patterns of Hevi13 Mag Blends.  Haven't had any complaints from turkeys since I made the change. 

Probably haven't I guess you could say I'm kind of a traditionalist when it comes to the guns/loads I use. That old winchester gets plain #6 lead for turkey hunting, my other gun I'm setting up for next season is a 20 gauge NEF single shot. 26" full choke, how I look at it is: if my great grandfather didn't need rifled slug barrels or super full chokes then I don't. I don't have anything against those who do use those things, but it's just not for me

[Snoodsniper]

My 21" barrel is cool looking, loud, and it patterns well. The loud I can do with out but everything else I can't. So I'm going to try some walkers game ears or a variation of them.

[WV Ridge Reaper]

I run a 21 inch m2..I bought it to turkey hunt...I don't have enough experience to make claims or anything like that but with today's shells and chokes why in the word would a person need a few more inches of barrel? To get a few more pellets.

I'll take the shorter gun.

The only thing I can back up is a short barrel will ring your ears!!

[nothingbutlongbeards]

My perfect barrel is 26" and I have no idea why it feels so much better to me

[chatterbox]

My 870 Express came with a  28" barrel and had a terrible pattern no matter what choke or shell I shot in it.  I changed to a 24" barrel and a 665 Jellyhead and now am very happy with the patterns of Hevi13 Mag Blends.  Haven't had any complaints from turkeys since I made the change. 

Dead birds tell no tales, Steve!
I love my 835 with the 20" barrel. However, if I had a true choice, I would have a 24" barrel, but this one came with the 20" barrel, and it meets all my needs quite nicely!

[Longshanks]

My turkey guns are 20"-24" barrels. They shoot great and are the most comfortable to use sitting at the base of a tree and navigating through the woods. Have a couple of 28" barrels that shoot good patterns with lead 6's but when it comes to HTL and Winchester Longbeards the patterns are business out of the short barrels. Weight of the gun became an issue hunting in the mountains of Missouri and other areas of the country where I was walking miles at a time. The weight of the vest, gun, boots etc can make a big difference at the end of the day especially when the temps get up in to the 80's-90's.

Beretta xtrema 24" 333 in a 10 @ 40   Hevi 13 7's

Rem 870 21"       214 in 10 @ 40        Win LB 3" 6's

Rem 870 21"      285 in a 10 @ 40      Hevi 13 7's

Rem 870 28".     163 in a 10 @ 40.     Win LB 3" 5's

Rem 870sm 26"   169 in a 10 @ 40.    Win XX 3/2/6's

These are the best patterns I've been able to come up with out of various barrels lengths. They will all work in the turkey woods as far as pattern goes. The only advantage I have seen out of the longer barrels is a little better patterns with lead. If you are shooting lead only (other than LB's) then the longer barrel may be a good option.

[DranDran]

I started this thread looking for benefits of one over the other, but now I'm seeing that it really comes down to personal preference.

[Oconeeguy]

My experience has been longer patterns tighter at distances. Had a Mossberg 535 with a 20 inch and a Mossberg 500 with a 28 inch barrel. I patterned them both once with the same Jellyhead  choke.  I was curious myself about barrel length vs pattern density. I shot each deep cleaned barrel once with Hevi shot 3"-2 oz-#6 at 40 yards from the same bench. I don't remember the details, but I remember that the long barrel Pattern was significantly tighter, something like 115 vs 150. Just my experience with one test and only variable being barrel length.

[glenhunter]

I have a Mossberg 535 Turkey/deer combo shotgun which came with two barrels, smooth and rifled. The smooth turkey is 22" while the rifled deer is 24". Shoots well, patterns well and has brought down her share of game.

gh