barrell length ?
 

i have the option of using a 26" or 30" barrell on my 870. does the longer, heavier barrell give me any noticable velocity advantages?

RE: barrell length ?
 

Not much if any, the shorter barrel will be the best choice if you want it for mainly turkey hunting.

RE: barrell length ?
 

I think i read somewhere that after 26" you don`t get much more velocity. It does make a difference if your barrel is real short 21" versus 26" etc.

RE: barrell length ?
 

FYI...the idea that longer barrels equates more range/speed/power comes from the days when it really did make a difference. The powder used today is different from the powder your grandfather shot. Back then the powder didn' t burn as fast as it does today, so they needed the longer barrels to contain the explosion for a longer period of time. It was especially important to the waterfowlers back then.
Like Strut & Turk-man said not much. The biggest effect barrel length will have on your gun its balance & handling. Maybe something to consider if you plan on using the gun for wingshooting in addition to turkeys. Then there' s the weight issue. If you don' t need the extra weight, don' t get it. Bottomline...26" will do fine.

RE: barrell length ?
 

I use a Rem 870 exp mag 12ga pump w/20" barrel w/extra full turkey choke. Using 3" magnum shells.

RE: barrell length ?
 

The shorter barrels are much easier to manuver around brush when set-up, also when your gun is slung over your shoulder it won' t catch the branches or brush as your walking through the woods as a longer barreled gun would!! Like mentioned above, modern shotshells burn up their powder completely within the first 18-20" of barrel length!! So by shooting a much longer barrel your really not gaining anything. A long barrel is better suited for duck or geese shooting where wing shooting mandates a longer sight plain and balance for that kind of shooting. I prefer a barrel length of 21-24" tops!!;)

RE: barrell length ?
 

I' d go with the 26" barrel

RE: barrell length ?
 

The longer the barrel the more velocity you will have. I would go with 30" barrel.
wernerjd

RE: barrell length ?
 

If I am not mistaken most major shotgun ammo manufacturers test and report their velocity figures after firing from a 30" barrel. If they in fact do this and you are shooting a shorter barrel you will not achieve their published velocity. Read this link from Nitro ammo : http://www.nitrocompany.com/pattern.htm


I' m not going to repost their actual numbers because you can go to the link I provided and read for yourself. I personally use a 28" barrel and it works well for me. It can be a little more cumbersome to move around but I do not mind it.

RE: barrell length ?
 

26 inch is a good length. Right in the middle. You have a longer sighting plane than a 20 inch barrel. 30 inch is a bit long.

RE: barrell length ?
 

Va huntr, good point, but exactly how much are you loosing going to a 24" barrel from a 30" ? If you loose 7 fps per inch, you lost 42 fps. If shooting a 1,300fps turkey load based on this info, your now shooting 1,258fps, do you think that makes a really big difference to a turkeys head at 35 yards? Or if you agree with wernerjd, would a 40" barrel be that much better? I realize that some people just use what ever shotgun they own with what ever barrel they have on it. Hey, no problem with that at all. But if your going with a shotgun set-up just for turkey hunting, again a barrel in the 21-24" length is best in this situation for the reasons I gave above. Just my two cents on it. I think BossTom has a barrel 36" long, bayonet mount and all!!;)

RE: barrell length ?
 

My buddies and I did some testing years ago on barrel lengths for scatterguns, and with the same model guns, with the same chokes (extra full) using the same loads, the 30 inch barrels delivered much more energy downrange than the 26 inch barrels. Say what you will, I much prefer a 28" or 30" barrel over a " shortie" for turks. I want ALL the good cards in my hand when I go for a possible trophy gobbler.

RE: barrell length ?
 

I like Remington' s current barrel length of 23" on their turkey shotguns. They seem to hug your back and go through anything you go through. That being said, my Dad still shoots an 870 Special Purpose turkey gun he bought back in the early 80' s with a 26" barrel and when we hunt side by side he seems to have no problem with the extra barrel length.

PBB

RE: barrell length ?
 

I got to respond again because a moderately short barrel i.e. 24" does not give up any significant velocity over a 30" barrel. As far as energy is concerned, energy is a result of weight of projectile and velocity. So if a #5 pellet is moving at 1200 fps it has the same energy regardless of the length of the barrel it was fired from. As Maytom already pointed out the loss of velocity between a 24" barrell and a 30" barrell is marginal at best.

RE: barrell length ?
 

Do yourself a favor and go with the 26" ..... Take a look around the next time you see some pro' s on video. I think you will see that they all shoot a short barrel!!!! There is a reason for this..... And if you put a 30" barrel on your turkey gun you will find out....

RE: barrell length ?
 

Squid,choose whats most comfortable to ya and what you have the most confidence in!!Both will kill turkeys no doubt,heck I haul a 32 incher around the woods and beleive me barrel length is probably the last thing on my mind in the turkey woods!!;)

RE: barrell length ?
 

It boils down to a matter of what you feel comfortable with. I would like to know what people are considering a long barrel? Personally I consider anything over 30" long, but others may differ. I shoot a 3.5" Browning BPS with a 28" barrel and a 2" extended choke tube. The difference in velocity between my 28" barrel BPS and a 24" barrel BPS may be marginal but the difference is there. Another difference, my longer barrel does shoot a better pattern than the 24" barrel BPS shotguns. I have seen this with my own eyes and I have friends who own the 24" BPS shotguns and as much as they try when patterning our guns, they can not put as many pellets in the target as I can. Sometimes the differnce has only been 5 or 10 pellets but other times it has been as much as 35 and 40 pellets. I can' t speak for other brands of shotguns but I would imagine that any brand of shotgun would have similar results.

Shoot both the 26" barrel and the 30" barrel and see what you like the best and which patterns the best.

RE: barrell length ?
 

Hey guys, remember that the custom turkey chokes add another 2-3" of length to your barrels!! So figure that in as well!! Example: A 21" becomes 23" or 24" !! So if your shooting a 30" barrel now look how much longer that would be!! To each his own here, personal preference comes into play!! But I much prefer 24" max, and that' s including the choke tube!!;)

RE: barrell length ?
 

what u guys think of this gun i was interested in this, it has a 18in barrel here is a link for specs on it.

http://www.winchester-guns.com/prodi...d=902&cat=012C