Barrel Length

[swingingbeard160]

Needing some input on a 20" barrel on a Mossberg 500. Too short? I personnel have never hunted, let alone shot, with a 20" barrel. Will it still give me a decent pattern? average range will be 20-40 Yrds.

[allaboutshooting]

Needing some input on a 20" barrel on a Mossberg 500. Too short? I personnel have never hunted, let alone shot, with a 20" barrel. Will it still give me a decent pattern? average range will be 20-40 Yrds.

Properly choked and with a good shell, a 20" barrel can be effective. It can also be much more "challenging" than a longer, 24" or 26" barrel. I'd encourage you to "deep clean" the bore https://allaboutshooting.com/blogs/blog/98772615-deep-cleaning-a-shotgun-barrel since that will get you going on the right path, no matter what.

I'd recommend the 3" WLB shells with 1 3/4 oz of #6 shot and the Kick's .655 Turkey Choke https://allaboutshooting.com/products/kicks-gobblin-thunder-turkey-choke-win-choke-655 for that gun. That will give you the best opportunity to get the kind of patterns that will do the job at those ranges with your shotgun.

Thanks,
Clark