The barrel on my turkey gun is 22". I like it for a couple reasons. I shoot an SP-10 so it take a little weight off of my gun and the shorter barrel makes it alot easier to swing or move around when needed. You know those gobblers dont always come straight in. A shorter barrel may make it a little less forgiving when it comes down to aiming especially for a kid, so i would go with a double bead , rifle sights, or a red dot or scope.