23" Barrel Too Short???
 

Well I've used my 28" barrel for 5 years now with the Super mag and I was thinking about a shorter barrel for turkeys. Though with the price of barrels, it might be easier to buy a designated turkey gun BUT....will a 23" barrel and a high quality choke such as an Indian Creek pattern well?

I guess I am wandering if besides the actual size of the gun and weight, will there be an advantage to a turkey barrel?


thank you!!

For the ranges turkeys are shot at, the 23" barrel will be fine. The benefits of a shorter barrel are weight and maneuvering through thick brush. My first bird buster has a 28" barrel and it felt like it stuck up a mile high behind my shoulder while walking.

23" is plenty...chokes are amazing things. A buddy of mine shoots a Mossberg tactical turkey with a 20" barrel and he knocked one down at 52 yards last week...thru a little brush. Choke and load combinations do more for range than barrel length.

No that's not too short. In fact many turkey hunters prefer a shorter barrel because it makes the gun lighter to carry and is more manueverable in some of the brush they have to set up in. Besides with some of the after market chokes and shells available out there now you can typically get a 23 inch barreled turkey gun to shoot some impressive patterns at 40 yards.

I have 23" barrels on both my SP-10 and 870 SuperMag. They both have devastating patterns at 40 yds, and killing patterns way beyond.

Gman

20 inch barrel on my turkey gun. Indian Creek .650 + Hevi-13 #6 in 1 3/4 oz (old white shells) = 50 yd turkey gun.

EDIT... that is a total lie...



That is easily a 60+ yard turkey gun.

That 23" barrel will be about perfect for your turkey killer. I use a 24" barrel with an Indian Creek custom choke and it shoots amazing patterns with Hevi-13 Magnum Blend!

I would recommend the 23" barrel it is easier to get around with in the woods. I have 2 10 ga shotguns for turkey a browning bps and a remington sp-10. The bps has a 28" barrel and the sp-10 has a 23" barrel with a thumbhole stock and this is my primary gun. Look into just getting a dedicated turkey gun with a barrel like my sp-10.

Ya but i don't want to get the "call'em in close" folks worked up. lol (really I like 'em close too)

I'm 5'9" and my barrel is same height as my head when my gun is shouldered. Nice to know if I can walk under it then my gun will go under too.

Sweet! Now I just need to find one that doesnt cost almost as much as a whole new gun! haha

I've got a 20" barrel and it patterns pretty good out to 40, never really tried patterning past that. Almost identical patterns with jelly head and pure gold chokes, both better than 190 hits in a 10" circle at 40 with 3.5" 2.25 oz #6 hevi-13s.

I bought a Super X2 a few years back in 3 1/2" to use for turkey and waterfowl. I debated between the turkey gun and the duck gun. I got the 28" waterfowl edition because I figured the longer barrel would be better for wingshooting geese and ducks. It was a great wingshooting gun, and it patterned turkey loads awesome. But when I got it into the woods in the spring, I was really wishing that I'd gone with the shorter barrel. That long gun snagged every branch I walked under. I killed birds with it, but it was not what I would have called a perfect gobbler gun.

My new gun is a 535 Mossberg with a 22" barrel. Much nicer in the woods, short enough for the blind, and it patterns awesome with the Indian Creek/Hevi-13 combo.

rw

Doesn't the muzzle blast bother you guys with those short barrels??? Or do you wear hearing protection???

I've got a Remington 1100 with a deer slug barrel, I believe it's 23 inches long and the muzzle blast makes my ears ring...

My Browning B-80 has a 28 inch barrel and I'm fine with it...But...
I'm 6ft 5 inches and weigh about 245, so it ain't like I'm worried about another 5-6 inches of barrel...:)

If I'm at the range, hearing protection is a must. I've got a Simms limbsaver pad to keep my shoulder from getting purple too. In the field, I don't feel a thing and the sound doesn't bother me at all. I'm focused on that bird 100%. I don't take enough shots at birds in a season for muzzle blast or recoil to be a discomfort.

The short barrel combined with a ported choke make an ear-ringer for sure. I always ALWAYS use ear plugs when I'm at the range.

rw

Does this happen to be a Mossberg 535?


What Hevi-13 load are you using with your 535?

I've used a 21" barrel for years.No complaints.The only down side to switchin to a shorter barrel is I've seen more than 1 guy have a tendancy to shoot high.Ascope,sights or just rememberin to bury your cheek will solve that problem.