26 or 28 inch barrel?

[waxworm09]

Im wondering which barrel length would be better for me between 26 and 28 inch? It will be used about 75% of the time in the field on deer and pheasants, and 25% of the time ducks and geese. Does the barrel length make a big difference? And which one would be better for the hunting that i do? Thanks!

[workin4bait]

My opinion,barrel length affects balance slightly,but it has a greater affect on swing.I used to have a shotgun with a 30" barrel and then bought a 28" barrel for it and it seemed to me that it was easier to keep up with fast moving targets.

The barrel length has very little affect on pattern when talking 2" difference,many years ago duck hunters went with 32" barrels because"you got a tighter pattern",yes a 2" tighter pattern @ 40 yards because the end of the barrel was 2 inches closer to the target than with a 30" barrel.

If the balance seems better with a 26" barrel it should be "quicker" and slightly lighter when hunting with it.

[TooTallTom]

Plus, with all the options for choke tubes available now you can basically ignore barrel length from a pattern standpoint.

[mnviking28]

Personally, I have tried both a 26" and a 28". I prefer the 28". I hunt mostly pheasants and geese. The 26" seemed to handle faster, but the 28" seemed to produce a smoother swing. When you are hunting grouse in tight quarters, that may matter, but in the field, the only difference would be a little extra weight. The 28" gives you a longer plane of sight as well, so I know it seemed to help me with accuracy.

[bigbucks]

My original shotgun was a 30", that was stolen. My 2nd one was a 28", that got lost in a river. My 3rd one is a 26", which I like the best. I probably killed the most birds with the 30", but I hunted birds more then, so my wingshooting was probably better. Plus that choke was tight enough if you touched them, you killed them.

If something happens to this one I suppose I'll have to hunt with my son's 21" youth model 20 gauge...

[Ufatz]

Trust me....the last thing you need to worry about is whether your shotgun has a 26" or 28" barrel. What you NEED to worry about is whether you know how to SHOOT it well.

When hunting and shooting you are not going to see how long that barrel is and the ducks, pheasants or deer won't care.

Life can be much simpler if we just let it.

[Neighbor_guy]

Without knowing what kind of shotgun you are looking at it will be hard to say.

I prefer 28" barrels on my SxS or O/U shotguns. For me, they just swing and shoulder better. My current pump shotgun('yote gun) has a 20" barrel on it. I would not go much langer than 22-24" on a pump or an automatic. But I dont shoot ducks or geese, I am a grouse/pheasant hunter. If you do most of your shooting from a duck or goose blind, you may feel a 28" pump gun is to your liking.

The only real differance between 26" and 28" barrels is that the powder charge is fully burned in the 28". So you will not see "fire" from a 28" shotgun. My short 20" gun is a flame thrower. So shooting at night or dawn/dusk will result in that "flash blind" that happens when you loose your night vision for a few seconds. So that is another thing to consider.

[Fins-n-feathers]

I like a 28" better simply because it was what I was used to - its all personal preference

[TooTallTom]

The only real differance between 26" and 28" barrels is that the powder charge is fully burned in the 28". So you will not see "fire" from a 28" shotgun. My short 20" gun is a flame thrower. So shooting at night or dawn/dusk will result in that "flash blind" that happens when you loose your night vision for a few seconds. So that is another thing to consider.

I can say from personal experience that you can see a flash from 28" barrels (every one I've ever shot), and that you won't see very well for a short period after shooting in dawn or dusk times.

[CJH]

I chose a 26in over the 28 because it felt lighter, quicker, and easier to swing. I have a Franchi 12G, and I only hunt pheasants, so that fits what I do.

It sounds like you are doing pretty much everything with it, so I would say whatever feels best to you, is the one you are going to be more confident with and shoot better.

[bigbucks]

I just close my eyes when I shoot...

[TooTallTom]

Genius! Maybe I should start wearing my sunglasses during those low-light times?

[Gordie]

2 inches is the difference thats all.

You can taylor your needs with either of those guns by finding a choke for it.

with todays loads and chokes I think you would never know the differnce between the two.

Best of Luck in what ever you choose for a barrel length

[charliepete]

30 years ago you needed enough barrel length to fully burn the powder from a shell. With modern powders that is not the case.

Barrel length by itself doesn't mean much. Different types of guns have widely varying action lengths that affect the distance between where your face hits the stock and the far end of the barrel. Like some have mentioned o/u's and sxs's have much smaller action lengths. You can shoot a o/u with 28" barrels whose total length is still much less than a pump with 24" barrels.

[Finlander]

I hate hunting next to somebody who is shooting a 26" barrel. They're muzzel blast make me flinch too much!

[delmuts]

Try to shoot both! I had a 26" but couldn't hit a thing with it, but when i went to a 28" i was right on! Turned out with my eye sight and the 26", i wasn't picking up the front bead. With the 2" longer barrel i did.