Barrels: how short is too short?

[decoykrvr]

Once again the "maneuverability" of short barrels raises its ugly head.  What a joke.  A 25"-26" barrel has never been an impediment in the thickets, brambles, and cane brakes which I traverse yearly pursuing gobblers.  The movement of a short barrel on a turkey gun, just like on a rifle, revolver, or pistol, magnifies the same movement on target contributing to less "barrel control".  As someone who has shot firearms for over 50 years, one major detrimental aspect to short barrels is hearing loss from short vs long barrels.  The differences in fps between a 20" and 26" barrel may be negligible, but the measured db's to the ear of the shooter is significant and extremely destructive.  I've owned and hunted w/ turkey guns w/ barrels from 36" to 21" and have found a 25"-26" barrel on 3" guns and 24"-26" on 31/2" guns to be optimal for performance, handling and safety.

[ibtx]

Once again the "maneuverability" of short barrels raises its ugly head.  A 25"-26" barrel has never been an impediment in the thickets, brambles, and cane brakes which I traverse yearly pursuing gobblers.

I would have said this, but I am new here.  Some day we will come full circle & everybody will have to have a 30" barrel.

[Ozark Ridge Runner]

Glad it works for you. Interesting to see Hevi 7s mentioned yet once again. Must be a requirement for short barrels.

Hevi 6's work for me also out of that poor little short barrel.  They will kill cleanly that same 20 yards past where one should be shooting.  It's still a moot point.   

[WildTigerTrout]

Once again the "maneuverability" of short barrels raises its ugly head.  A 25"-26" barrel has never been an impediment in the thickets, brambles, and cane brakes which I traverse yearly pursuing gobblers.

I would have said this, but I am new here.  Some day we will come full circle & everybody will have to have a 30" barrel.

No way will I ever have a barrel that long on a turkey gun. Back in the 70's there were alot of them around though. Those long barrels with fixed full chokes went out when choke tubes came on the scene.  I like 24 to 26 inch barrels myself.

[ibtx]

Once again the "maneuverability" of short barrels raises its ugly head.  A 25"-26" barrel has never been an impediment in the thickets, brambles, and cane brakes which I traverse yearly pursuing gobblers.

I would have said this, but I am new here.  Some day we will come full circle & everybody will have to have a 30" barrel.

No way will I ever have a barrel that long on a turkey gun. Back in the 70's there were alot of them around though. Those long barrels with fixed full chokes went out when choke tubes came on the scene.  I like 24 to 26 inch barrels myself.

The 30" barrel comment was meant as a joke (not that there is anything wrong with a 30" barrel) hence the  , a comment on how fads change over the years.
I like the 26" barrel also, although I have some that have 24" barrels.
Back in the 70's everything was 28"-30" or even longer.

[Ozark Ridge Runner]

Glad it works for you. Interesting to see Hevi 7s mentioned yet once again. Must be a requirement for short barrels.

Hevi 6's work for me also out of that poor little short barrel.  They will kill cleanly that same 20 yards past where one should be shooting.  It's still a moot point.   

Moot point for some, fact of life for others. I've hunted both short and long barrels, I'm guessing even longer than most of you have. I'm not interested in killing paper, I've already seen enough real world results to form an opinion.
One day you will have a 40 yard shot and that overchoked short tube will throw a pattern with a hole in it. Tom will just roll, jump up and leave you feeling like you are shooting rock salt. 200 in 10 won't mean a thing then.

I'm sure there isn't a soul on this board with as much "real world" experience as you have.  I'm a noob myself with only 42 turkey seasons in the rear view mirror so what the heck do I know about anything.  If you are trying to tell me that 5 additional inches of barrel length will make a shotgun incapable of shooting a pattern with a hole in it you better bring a lunch.  I know for sure that is not the case.  I certainly respect the fact that everyone is entitled to their opinion, but the bottom line is with the ammo and chokes available today, barrel length doesn't mean much in the "real world" with the exception of sight radius.  Like you, I am not a pattern paper guy.  I test enough to find out what I need to know and move forward.  I've shot a lot more turkeys with 24/26 inch barrels than with my 21 inch gun, but I sacrifice nothing in the area of clean kills with it and it's easy to carry.  Have a good Memorial Day and thanks for the conversation.   

[Ozark Ridge Runner]

Glad it works for you. Interesting to see Hevi 7s mentioned yet once again. Must be a requirement for short barrels.

Hevi 6's work for me also out of that poor little short barrel.  They will kill cleanly that same 20 yards past where one should be shooting.  It's still a moot point.   
[/quote  I wasn't "led to dive in," I simply expressed an opinion that is at the root of this thread.  Take a good look above and see who made the first unwarranted comment regarding short barrels.  None of my comments were directed at you until you chose to address my post.  You assumption was incorrect when you thought I was addressing you as a "rookie."  Get over yourself.

[ccleroy]

Long Barrels > Short Barrels

Plain and simple, you guys don't get your feathers all ruffled just know you all fall short......lol

Start showing me more dead turkeys and less dead patterning sheets.

[dirt road ninja]

Long Barrels > Short Barrels

Plain and simple, you guys don't get your feathers all ruffled just know you all fall short......lol

Start showing me more dead turkeys and less dead patterning sheets.

I like the pattern sheets, they never move or hide behind trees and are always in season. I've not killed the number of birds or shot more targets as many here have, but for what it's worth all the card shooters use long barrels and the longer tubes do seem to rock the board more. Hopefully I can post a few more dead ones in 10 months. Till then I'll post my cardboard turkeys.

[natman]

but the bottom line is with the ammo and chokes available today, barrel length doesn't mean much in the "real world" with the exception of sight radius.  

I agree. That said, let's finally put sight radius to bed. Yes, it's true, a longer barrel will increase sight radius, which will decrease the change in point of impact caused by sighting error. No, it doesn't make a significant difference when shooting 40 yards with a shotgun.

Let's say you make a 1/16th of an inch sighting error. That's a HUGE error, equal to half the width of a 1/8 inch front sight. The difference in point of impact at 40 yards between a 20 and a 26 inch barrel will be 1 inch (4.5" vs 3.5").

A more realistic scenario would be a hundredth of an inch sighting error. The difference in POI caused by the shorter sight radius would be about 3/16". A big deal when target shooting with a 22, not significant when shooting a shotgun with a 10 inch diameter sweet spot.

So please, no more mentions of longer sighting radius as an advantage for longer barrels in turkey hunting. It's true, but it's not relevant.

[OLE RASPY]

I'd shoot a 40 inch barrel if i had one.

To the op shoot what ever you are comfortable with but 26 inch is a good medium.

[natman]

Once again the "maneuverability" of short barrels raises its ugly head.  What a joke.  A 25"-26" barrel has never been an impediment in the thickets, brambles, and cane brakes which I traverse yearly pursuing gobblers. 

Just because someone prefers something different than you do, doesn't make their choice a "joke". I've hunted with both and prefer a 20" barrel because I find the difference in maneuverability to be very real, but if anyone prefers a longer barrel that's fine with me. It will be certainly be news to millions of carbine owners that they are fools because they prefer a 20" carbine to a 28" rifle in the woods.

The movement of a short barrel on a turkey gun, just like on a rifle, revolver, or pistol, magnifies the same movement on target contributing to less "barrel control". 

This is a variation of the sight radius argument and it's been thoroughly refuted. See post above. 

As someone who has shot firearms for over 50 years, one major detrimental aspect to short barrels is hearing loss from short vs long barrels.  The differences in fps between a 20" and 26" barrel may be negligible, but the measured db's to the ear of the shooter is significant and extremely destructive.  I've owned and hunted w/ turkey guns w/ barrels from 36" to 21" and have found a 25"-26" barrel on 3" guns and 24"-26" on 31/2" guns to be optimal for performance, handling and safety.

It's indeed true that short barrels are louder than longer ones, but the way it's been presented as "26 inch barrels OK, shorter barrels dangerous" is inaccurate. A more realistic perspective is that shooting any shotgun, even with a 28" barrel, is dangerous to your hearing and a short barrel is even worse. Which is why I wear hearing protection for all shooting, in which case the point is moot even with my 20" 12 ga with a ported choke. It's wonderful how my electronic muffs turn a shotgun's BOOM into a faint, faraway boom.

[redleg06]

Every man is right in his own mind.

I wont argue that GENERALLY speaking a longer barrel will out perform a shorter barrel BUT not to the extent to make me go back to carrying a longer barrel into the turkey woods when I like the feel of a shorter barrel better.

The overwhelming majority of the turkey I shoot are 35 yards and under and I shoot TSS 9's to cover the rest.  The first 20 years I hunted turkey I carried a 26" barrel. Two seasons ago, I discovered the glory of the 20" barrel and have had zero trouble killing both paper turkey and the real thing. 

Like I said, I cheat and use TSS reloads so killing pattern hasnt been an issue so I chose to go with what feels best.   

[vaturkey]

  Anybody catching any fish !   

[dirt road ninja]

  Anybody catching any fish !   

Caught a Wahoo and a few dolphin over the weekend.