remington 870 barrel

[northern wind]

Hi there, I hunt turkeys with a remington 870 and it's original 28" barrel with a pure gold turkey choke.
I'm wondering if the 20"/23" "turkey barrel" would be any better.  Ok, a little shorter could be a little more handy while walking in the bush but I don't mind my 28" about that.  Would the turkey barrel give a better pattern ?   Is it back borred ? IS IT REALLY BETTER ?

[jonhaga]

Pattern wise I don't believe you would see an improvement. I have a 28in 870 and it's averages are better than my 26in 870 and my friends 23in. Just my opinion though.

[renegade19]

 I hunt with the 28" on my 870 and love it.  Only complaint would be mobility in the woods.  With the extra length, it'll catch on brush and stuff that a shorter barrell will miss.

[gophert]

I have shot both 26" (came with gun) and the 23" out of my 870 SM.  As far as pattern, apples to apples, the 26" threw a 308 at 40 and the 23" threw a 277 with Hevi 13 3.5" #7s.

I personally like the feel of the shorter barrel and that is the one I use.  To me the shorter, slightly more maneuverable 23" out weighs the extra pellet count.

Hope this helps.

[West Augusta]

The 28"er that came on me 870 Express Super Mag wouldn't pattern any shell I bought.  I switched out to a 24" with a .665 Jellyhead and am very happy with 260's at 40 with Hevi-13 MagBlends.

[Gobble!]

with the right choke/shell combo a 23" barrel will be just a lethal at 50 yards as a 28" barrel. The longer barrel will produce slightly better patterns but not enough that it really matters.

[pullit]

I have found that choke shell combo is more important than barrel length.

[Deputy 14]

The biggest difference is the extra velocity you will get with the extra barrel length. I think it's about 15 fps for every inch up to 28.