Anyone had a barrel cut down ?

[Jay Longhauser]

I have a new BPS that I have turned into a dedicated turkey gun.  It shoots well and Ive had patterns that Im happy with.  The only thing I don't really like about the gun is that it has a 24" barrel.  My others have been shorter, 20" on an 835 and 21" ( I think) on an 870.  I always hear that making a barrel shorter will negatively affect the guns ability to pattern as well.  My question is how much does it actually effect the patterns?  Im sure shooting it is the only way to really know, but does anyone have any first hand experience where they can say " I had X gun and with a 26" barrel it shot 200 holes in a 10" circle-- and after the barrel was shortened to 20" with the same choke and shell it put 150 holes in a 10 inch circle at the same distance? "  I hate to find out I made a bad decision on cutting it down after the fact.

Thanks

Jay

[paladin]

Jay pattern does not seem to be a problem.
I have an 18" and 20" that pattern great.
Shorter barrels are more picky and you lose velocity.
You lose 15 to 30 fps for each inch of barrel.
One problem would be in the quality of the job.
The choke must be concentric to the bore.
In other words a good barrel can be ruined.
In most cases it is cheaper to sell your barrel and buy a shorter one to replace it.
I have shot 18" 20" 21" and 24" but nothing longer in a turkey gun.
Cut or get the barrel length you want and then make it work.
I have a 20" barrel that shoots 51% in a 10" at 40 yards so don't worry about the pattern.

[I hate turkeys]

While you get the fast handling of a short barrel you will limit your choice of chokes. Check that out first.

[Jay Longhauser]

Thanks guys, Ill look around for a shorter barrel before doing anything to this one.

[Tom Foolery]

I have a 24" 835 and a 20" 870 and I have really found no difference in handling in the field.  I was afraid I would not like the 24" barrel but it hasn't hung up on anything or caused problems in tight spaces.  I would leave'r be.