Barrel Length Question.....

[Mississippi Yelper]

I have three SP-10's, and of the three, two of them have the shorter barrels  (24" maybe) and one has a 28" barrel..... using TSS 7's and an indian creek .690, the pattern on the longer barrel is ridiculously tighter than the shorter one (i have only shot one of the shorter barreled guns)... same choke, same shells, way different pattern.... i couldn't see the barrel being longer making that extreme of a difference, but I could be wrong.... I just don't know why exactly i am... my question is this: Is the forcing cone of the longer barrel a little bit longer than the shorter barrel? both barrels of course are the same on each end, but have different taper per inch due to the length... could the forcing cone be longer increasing the performance of the longer barrel? could it be due to the increased muzzle velocity of the longer barrel? or is it just better because its got 4 more inches of barrel? ALSO, those who have the shorter barrel guns, what constriction choke do you use? TIA

[Bottomland OG]

I have an early 90's model sp-10 with the shorter barrel. I have a .690 Rhino in it and it's a monster.
I have a ton of turkey guns, both short barrels and long. Not all but a couple of the short barrels I've had to run a little tighter choke to make them come around. All guns are different though.

[Mississippi Yelper]

Thank you for your reply.... I am using an Indian creek, but I feel the shot is being "scattered" in that gun/choke..... I wish I had taken picture to post the difference, but I was so aggravated at the difference that I went straight in to "swap barrels" mode.....

[Bottomland OG]

I completely understand. Well good luck with figuring it out. It could be as simple as that gun just don't like the load and choke combo. Changing a little something up could make all the difference.

[deadbuck]

I run an SP10 26 inch barrel with a .695 Jellyhead choke and a 32 inch single barrel H&R 10  with a .700 Sumtoy choke and have found TSS8 to be the best shot size for patterns. The TSS 7 have the lethality to kill a deer, but if patterns are what you are after try TSS 8. I also have a 23 inch SP10 in mint condition that has only been fired once, saving it to fund my retirement plan, lol.

[Mississippi Yelper]

Yes sir! My wife gifted me a MINT condition SP-10 in original bottomland for my first fathers day.... she fusses at me for "never shooting the one she bought".... i try to make her understand my reasoning... lol

[mcw3734]

I've got a 25" barrel, don't know if that's considered short. Plus another ~0.75" extended Trulock tube in .700 which shoots #7.5 TSS fantastically. I did a comparison with a .680 several years ago and the more open choke definitely shot better.

[YoungGobbler]

Well, a longer barrel is supposed to shoot tighter patterns on a longer distance. Remember those 36 inch barrels that were made before... They must have been made for a reason! But now, folks these days say that the choke is the most important factor on the pattern and that shortee barrel do not affect the distance you can shoot...

I am skeptical on that and your post gives reason to believe that longer barrel = tighter patterns at farthest distances, wich makes total sense in my mind.

As for the science behing the thing... I think all your ideas are good possibilities. In the end, I would simply say that the shot stays longer in the barrel and result in a better partern.

[ruination]

Well, a longer barrel is supposed to shoot tighter patterns on a longer distance. Remember those 36 inch barrels that were made before... They must have been made for a reason! But now, folks these days say that the choke is the most important factor on the pattern and that shortee barrel do not affect the distance you can shoot...

I am skeptical on that and your post gives reason to believe that longer barrel = tighter patterns at farthest distances, wich makes total sense in my mind.

As for the science behing the thing... I think all your ideas are good possibilities. In the end, I would simply say that the shot stays longer in the barrel and result in a better partern.

Don't believe you old lady, 4 inches is not enough to make a difference.

[Old Gobbler]

I've owned 4 barrels for my sp10 and ithaca mag10

My ithaca has a extra sp10 bolt carrier group modded to shoot any sp10 barrel ...and the original mag BCG to shoot the ithaca bbl

All have had the forcing cone polished but not lengthened

The 24 inch sp10 barrel is really a 23 inch it shoots the second best

The 26 inch is really a 25 inch ...it shoots almost as good as my 23 ...so I sold it ...there is no discernable difference in handling between the 23 and 25

The ithaca barrel is originally a 32 inch barrel cut to 28 and then threaded to briely thin wall chokes ...William Lambert ( sumtoy )  made a special choke .685 a d it shoots slightly better than the 23 in ...it shoots simply amazing,  slightly heavier than the 23 ..you can barely notice the heft

I have a 30 inch sp10 barrel and it's set up for shooting geese and is a real beast.....you will notice a difference , I wouldn't want to hike 10 miles with it ..I've shot it with thevsame .685 sumtoy turkey choke ...but the 28 then 23 shoot better ..I'm sure the fps is faster but all of the scores of gobblers I've killed with the 23 inch barrel for almost 30 years never had a issue

The most important part is going to be the choke ans ammo Imo , and don't forget shooting true