Gun Question

[Ace]

Hi all,

Somebody had posted on a different thread about the Remington 887 as a turkey gun. Looking on there HSOforum, it is listed as a 28" barrel. My question is, other than being heavier and getting tangled in the brush, is there any performance related issue that one wouldn't use a 28" gun for Turkeys? Would you need less of a choke seeing as how the barrel is longer? Thanks!

[DonBo]

Ace, it is my understanding that barrel length has little to do with the pattern. "Waterfowl" guns have longer, heavier barrels to help with your follow through on moving targets.

Countless turkeys have been killed with guns that have barrels 28 or even 30 inches long. Haveing said that, if you're looking to buy a new gun to be used for turkey, I would highly suggest a shorter, lighter gun for ease of getting through the woods and swinging inside of blinds.

[Borch]

A lot will depend on what else you'll be using the gun for. It it were a designated turkey gun then a shorter barrle has it's plusses. Then again you do pick up a little velocity with the longer barrel. Most of the listed velocities are shot from 30" barrels to get as mucj ft/sec as they can out of the load.

[paul pachowicz]

Modern powder needs exactly 26 inches of barrel to fully expand internaly. Anything over 26 inches give a person ONLY a longer sighting plane, nothing more. The shorter barrel has the advantage of a quicker swing. Longer barrels DO NOT offer longer shots or velocity.

[Ace]

Thanks for the info, guys...Hope to have a gun bought before the season this year...I drew May 13th-17th, so I have a bit of time to research:-)