good shotgun for duck hunting?

[fowl smacker]

Ive been a waterfowl hunter for nearly 30 years.  Have owned a few shotguns...pumps and semis.  Having a budget is a good thing.  But in my experience, cheap shotguns turn out to be headaches.  For pumps my faves have been the Benelli Nova and Remington 870.  They will set you back $300 to $500 depending on options.  These days Im a true semi auto believer.  Recently picked up a Franchi Intensity.  Lightweight, inertia system, takes 3.5s.  One full season of shooting this gun and Im hooked.  Favorite gun of mine for waterfowl.  Around $900.  Whatever you chose, get a 28" barrel.  Good luck...its fun to see whats out there.

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Curious why you say whatever you choose, get a 28" barrel?  I switched to a 26" about 4 years ago and wish I would have switched sooner.  I hunt a lot out of ground blinds and pods.  Having a 26" barrel has allowed me to pop up and get on target faster, no loss of anything.  Have you ever shot a 26"?  In my opinion, longer isn't better, it's how you use it!

[drakehntr]

Yes, have shot 26" before, hunt with a guy now with a 26.  If all your birds are less than 20 yds i suppose it doesnt matter.  Beyond 20 yds... energy, accuracy, and a tighter pattern I believe from my experience will come with a 28"

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[JLS]

I've been hunting with a Beretta AL 391 with a 26" barrel for about 12 years now.  I have shot ducks near and far.  It is a 3" magnum.  I've never felt under barreled.  Barrel length will have a lot more to do with the balance of the gun IMO than anything else.  The forcing cone is what dictates pattern.  Barrel length will not affect it.

[wadu1]

You may want to try The Gun Shop in Longview for some used guns.
I shoot autos with long barrels, AL391 with a 30", Biakal with a 31" and a Remington SP10 with a 30", I do have a Beretta Extrema with a 26" that I hardly use because short barrels are too whippy for me. All my target shotguns are 30", 32" or 34" so I'm used to a longer barrel. 

[D-Rock425]

A Winchester sxp would be my choice for a pump gun.

[AWS]

Barrel length past 18" has little to do with pattern or power.  It does impact handling but that is not to say that longer is better what you are comfortable with is the most important thing.

Here's a photo of my old 870 with a 21" barrel that I've killed a ton of ducks with out on the saltwater until I found a couple of sxs's I was willing to hunt salt with.  If you'll notice the gun is almost exactly the same size as my 26" barreled sxs.  It handles very much like the sxs.  I'm smaller in stature 5'7" and shooting a pump or semi shotgun with long barrels is a pain for me 21"-26" on a pump or semi I can deal with.  On a sxs 25"-28" work well with the longer barrels on small gauge gun preferred.  That said my favorite waterfowl gun has 29 1/2" barrels but they are swamped barrels and are very light.

21" pump and 26" sxs. The 21" barrel 870 is my goto coyote gun for shotgun only zones and you need a lot more power for them than ducks.



My long barreled sxs but it is still no longer overall than a pump with a 26" barrel.  I use a very light load 7/8 oz ITX shot at 1200 fps so power has little to do with killing ducks knowing when to shoot so the power you have is lethal is more important.

[JJD]

Personally, I have found the 28" swings better than a 26, but then a 30" swings better for me than a 28".  I hunt out of a layout blind a lot too and have found the 28" works just fine.  SIL has a 26", I have a 28"  we traded one day, I found no appreciable advantage to the shorter gun.

[drakehntr]

A lot of good info on here for you Shorthair.  Good luck on the gun shopping and let us know what you end up with.

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[krout81]

I love my stoeger 3500 in 28in.  2 3/4 up to 3 1/2 for all situations

[TopOfTheFoodChain]

Shorthair - tried to reply to your message but your in box is full. Message me again after you delete a few messages from your in box.