barrel length?

[ghillie]

Short or long...your thoughts please..and why??

[bird]

Short or long...your thoughts please..and why??

I prefer a 23"-24" barrel and no longer than 26".  Every gun patterns different than another but I have found in my opinion that a 23" or 24" barrel seems to pattern better and more consistently than any other length of gun.

[BrowningGuy88]

I like the 21-22" barrels when turkey hunting for their handiness. I prefer 30" for wingshooting and clays. So I could only have one shotgun give me a 26" barrel with good balance.

Daman

[bowhunter84]

my 1187 has a 23" barrel and i like it. i think it's about perfect for a turkey gun

[renegade19]

28".  Because that's what my 870 had on it when I started.  It's performed well, so I kept it.

[gobblezilla]

I went with a 26 on my Benelli. I chose that length because my gun is do it all. I don't currently wing shoot but it does everything else. Turkey, deer or small game it my gun. That's also why I paid the extra coin to get the reliablility and also why I got the semi auto. So for me it was a happy medium decision.

[VAHUNTER]

Short or long...your thoughts please..and why??

I prefer a 23"-24" barrel and no longer than 26".  Every gun patterns different than another but I have found in my opinion that a 23" or 24" barrel seems to pattern better and more consistently than any other length of gun.

agreed 

[sugarray]

I have only had 1 gun and it is a 20" MB 835.  I have never had any difficulty getting the patterns I want.  I shoot handloads and had to change the recipe.  Once I did, all is easy as pie. 

Short barrel for me

[VAHUNTER]

this is one of those threads that will have huge responce but will help figure out nothing. 99%of  the time the person's favorite barrel length is the one that they currently use

[decoykrvr]

I prefer a minimum of 25", and normally hunt w/ a 26" barrel on both 3" and 31/2" receivers.  I've killed 8 or 9 flying turkeys and a shorter barrel may be fine under most hunting circumstances, but will not swing like a longer barrel on flying birds.  As for the notion that a short barrel is handier in the woods,  I try to avoid thickets, the turkeys do too.  I hunted w/ a 21" 10 gauge Ithaca w/ Briley tubes, and unless you wear hearing protection while hunting, the shorter barrels are much louder and more detrimental on your hearing.

[njdevilsb]

I have a 20" 12 gauge and a 28" 20 gauge, and I can't really decide which I like carrying better.  I don't find the extra length on the 20 gauge to bother me at all as far as hindering my movement.

[S.C.C]

I like a 20" or 21" or no more than24" for turkey hunting.
Easier to handle swing and move on a bird in the woods.
If you really ain't planing to shoot past 40yards its all you
need...

[goblr77]

I have all different lengths of barrels but 26" is my favorite. It's just a good all around length. They will pattern great for turkey hunting without being overly long and swing good for wing shooting as well, if you're gonna use the gun for both.

[S.C.C]

Any Barrel that's over 24" is obsolete in the turkey woods nowadays!!
We now have H13 NITRO's and TSS...It is unfair to the birds if we still
use the long Barrels the Ole Timers used,those 26" to 32" put us to 
close to the Gobbler's in this modern/progressive sophisticated time!!   
                                      

[grousec]

I like 20"-24" for turkey. 24"-26" for upland hunting, 30"-32" for clays and trap, where the long barrels give a better sighting plane and help if using slow burning powder.
I like the moveability and lighter weight (sometimes you have to hold the gun up awhile) of a short barrel for turkey.