What is the deal about shorter barrels, Do they pattern better for turkey loads better than longer ones, Or are they just popular because they are lighter? Im asking this because this summer if i can save the money, i would like to try to get a benelli sbeII, and if the shorter barrels pattern better then i will get the turkey model.

Shorter barrels are lighter and easier to move around with in the woods. Your pattern has more to do with your choke than barrel length. A longer barrel does a few things. It helps the natural aim of the shotgun and lets it swing better I think. It can also increase muzzle volecity, to a point. A shorter barrel on a turkey gun is really not a bad thing then. You are not shooting on the fly and most modern powders reach maximum volecity quick enough that a longer barrel will not make a difference.

So basically it is just more convenient for the hunter.

Paul

Thanks, that helped a lot.

i got a 21 inch barrel on my 870....for turkey hunting i wouldnt have it any other way...lighter and easy to carry and manuver....i love it.....you loose a little velocity...but nothing too major....patterning....some say it helps some say it hurts......i say it doesnt effect it.....a good choke and load combo that it likes will still shoot a tight pattern.......but if i was using the gun for multipurpose id go with 28......i like 28s for my bird hunting....i think they swing better....

Ad. Hunter,

Paul L Mohr has it on the money. If you go to the remington web site, remington.com and go to their section where you can ask questions, you will find where someone ask them that very same question. I believe their answer was, "with todays' powders', they burn completely up within the first 12 to 13 inches", and then they go on to explain what Paul told you.

dog1

I will go a little bit against the grain on this one. I have used a 21 inch for much of my turkey hunting the past three years or so. Maneuvering through timber with a short barrelled gun is a luxury campared to traditional length barrels.

However, I have never got the results that I read about here when it comes to patterning no matter what choke/shot combination I have used. I wouldn't want to shoot past forty yards and even at forty if there is any way to avoid that shot I do. So I thought I would do some experimenting.

This pastwinter and spring I have been playing around with a ridiculously long barrel (see the "If Size Matters..." post). Guess what, the gun patterns better with the longer tube (of course the first twenty one inches is the original barrel) using the same loads and chokes that I used before. I would not call it "earthshattering" but it is noticeable. That said I still don't get those extraordinary patterns that I read about here sometimes. You know; the ones that mow everything down out to fifty, sixty, and even seventy yards. There are some other "benefits" I found with this 57" barrel but that is a story for another day.

The bottom line however is this. Does the better pattern I experience with the longer barrel exceed the convenience of the shorter one?? The answer is simply no.

my 21 inch barrel with the xx full choke shoots a way tighter pattern than with the 28 inch, the 21 inch leaves way more bbs in the target also... just my experience... once u find the right choke load combo ur set,,,,

After reading the 57 inch part, I had to go back and revisit your post with a different browser. That barrel is funny. People must LTAO when they see it for the first time. You cut down 1 yard off each shot you take with that gun.

They claim that a 26" barrel works best for fps and patterning, but the shorter ones do work well for manuvering around in the woods. If you have a 22-24" barrel, by adding a custom extended choke tube, you'll be very close to 26" anyway.