Which would you recommend and why? 21" would be more maneuverable. Would the 26" have better down range patterning? How about recoil? This would be for an adult.
I like the short barrel.
Did a search...seems to be pretty split on preference between the long/short barrels.
Can't comment on the 26" barrel as I've never hunted with one. I can say I wouldn't trade in my 21" barrel. It patterns very will with the TSS reloads out to any distance I want to kill a turkey and is a dream carrying in the woods vs any 12ga I've ever used.
I must admit, I am diggin my 21" barreled 870. Short, light, and shoots great.
21 will do everything a 26 will do.
21" for me and lovin it! As far as the patterning goes, look around on here, these little barrels can put up some big numbers.
Quote from: schuylkillspur on April 19, 2012, 07:38:03 PM
21 will do everything a 26 will do.
+100 short barrel is all you need
If you are using the gun strictly for turkeys I would have to say the 21" barrel. I have both lengths and wound up hunting with the short one. It's not far behind the 26" on the patterning board and is a joy to tote in the woods. With Fed 7s and the right choke the short barrel still has enough umph to hammer a bird at distances past what we are allowed to talk about on this site.
I went with a 26 on my project gun....simply because that is what the shotgun guru that lengthened my forcing cones suggested that I get.
As far as patterning difference I have no idea at all....I am waiting on it to return from it's Mossy Oak spa treatment so I can begin pattern testing.
Would the velocity diff between the two bbls mean anything with the smaller shot sizes.
I tote a Remington 870 20ga Youth Model with the Shur Shot stock and love it.
I can jump into any brush pile or move through the woods without any hang ups or snags.
Great guns.
I have both lengths and also an 18.5 inch barrel, my preference is the 21 inch. My 21" shoots better with my reloads than the 26" so its a no brainer for me. I think Im gonna use the 18.5" for a kids/blind gun, with the adjustable stocks and the short barrels they are a treat to carry.
do you have a ballistics calc? If so could you do a penetration calc on a lead 6 at 1200. The pellets seem to run from 1.85-2.0 grains per pellet if that helps.
I would do the 21".
I have 870 SM special purpose. I cut down 26" bbl to 21" bbl. it was no where close to longer bbl patterns. I spent almost $300 to get a new 26" bbl.
Quote from: drenalinld on April 29, 2012, 10:29:59 PM
I have 870 SM special purpose. I cut down 26" bbl to 21" bbl. it was no where close to longer bbl patterns. I spent almost $300 to get a new 26" bbl.
Yeah, velocity is not really that big of an issue... However, patterning consistency tends to lean more toward the 26". I went with the 26" on my 870 and 1187.