What barrel length 24”, 26” or 28”

[Craig]

Been shooting a 28” barrel. Anyone use a 24” or 26”? Have you noticed any advantages or disadvantages with shorter barrels? Or mostly personal preference?

[kentrek]

Go shorter

This gets over thought... you need bullet x going velocity y to create damage c at your max range youl be shooting... im personally am about a 650-750 yard max guy but would like a little margin for error for my bullet to function

So chop that barrel down until you start hitting a velocity your not comfortable with

[elkaholic123]

Go shorter

This gets over thought... you need bullet x going velocity y to create damage c at your max range youl be shooting... im personally am about a 650-750 yard max guy but would like a little margin for error for my bullet to function

So chop that barrel down until you start hitting a velocity your not comfortable with

That’s quite a poke at a Turkey! 🤣🤣🤣

[kentrek]

Go shorter

This gets over thought... you need bullet x going velocity y to create damage c at your max range youl be shooting... im personally am about a 650-750 yard max guy but would like a little margin for error for my bullet to function

So chop that barrel down until you start hitting a velocity your not comfortable with

That’s quite a poke at a Turkey! 🤣🤣🤣

   friggin turkey hunters.... shows my reading skills !! And how little i think of turkeys !

Carry on....i got nothing to contribute towards turkeys 

[Farmer72]

I went with a 24" as it was nicer to carry and not get caught up on branches/brush. With the chokes today you don't loose much range with the shorter barrels. I have gotten turkeys at 60+ yards with the 24" and XXFull choke. Of course the goal is to get them alot closer but the range is there if needed.

[EnglishSetter]

The ballistic performance loss of shorter barrels is minimal.  The advantage, if you're calling from a blind/stand for an ambush is less likely to get hung up on brush and/or spook the bird as you manipulate the shotgun.

In CA, the turkeys got thick enough, we didn't have to deal with calling/stands.  Instead we shot them on the wing while pheasant hunting.

If not already shooting TSS, I'd likely put my efforts there vs changing barrel/gun.

[actionshooter]

Go shorter

This gets over thought... you need bullet x going velocity y to create damage c at your max range youl be shooting... im personally am about a 650-750 yard max guy but would like a little margin for error for my bullet to function

So chop that barrel down until you start hitting a velocity your not comfortable with

That’s quite a poke at a Turkey! 🤣🤣🤣

   friggin turkey hunters.... shows my reading skills !! And how little i think of turkeys !

Carry on....i got nothing to contribute towards turkeys 

Now now--    I thought turkey hunting was the silliest thing ever... I mean they got now horns right??     Then I went with a buddy.. turkey hunting is some pretty fun s**t..

 Now on the barrel length... I stick with a 28" because I have killed several between 50 and 60yds  and my testing shows barrel length does make a difference for the long range turkey hunter.

[ASHQUACK]

On my sp10 I have a 24", both my browning 12's have 28" mostly because that's what they came with from the factory. My weatherby 20 has a 26". I honestly think it's just a personal preference. I really don't notice much difference. I pattern my guns and choke combos to make sure I'm covering the kill zone out to yards. I think that's really more important than barrel length.

[C-Money]

If I was to buy a designated turkey shotgun, I'd probably look at the shorter barrels. I've always just screwed in a full choke to the "do all" 28" workhorse shotgun I have at the time and gone for it. A short barrel may have an advantage in a pop-up blind. Other than that, 

[birddogdad]

here.....https://www.fieldandstream.com/stories/guns/shotguns/shotgun-barrel-length-tips

pretty much sums up all the discussions.


for the record, i run a 24" 20ga with red dot with TSS and turkeys (about 5# carry) dont stand a chance inside of 60yds but i limit myself to 40ish for the show!  Consider a 28 too.....