What length of shotgun barrel?

F

FairChase93

Active member
I'm in the market for a new shotgun, planning on it being mostly a turkey and coyote calling gun with the occasional waterfowl hunt thrown in as well. My question is, in your opinion what length of barrel would be the best suited to cover all three applications, 24",26", 28"?

I currently own an o/u with 28" barrel that I use for upland birds and a single shot with 26" barrel that I use for turkeys.

This gun will be either a pump or a semi auto I haven't decided which yet. I also have no experience with anything shorter than 26". Some claim that barrel length has little to do with patterning and velocity and others say it affects it a great deal. The more I research the more confused I become.
 
Since I assume you will want to switch back and forth between the shotgun and a rifle I would want to keep it as short as possible. Since you want to use it for turkey, I'd say the limit is 24 inches. I use a Rem 870 with 18.5 inch barrel and a .665 choke with a red dot sight.

If we're talking ideal, I would prefer a semiauto with a pistol grip stock, 18.5 in barrel and a long magazine tube to where I would have at least 6 rounds in case I had a chance at a double. Most of the home defense shotguns fill the bill except for having fixed cylinder or modified choke for using buckshot at close range as opposed to screw in chokes.
 
When coyote hunting I do plan on switching off with a rifle. I hunt a lot of contests and a lot of the country I currently have access to hunt varies greatly. One stand the longest shot is 40 yards or less and the next stand your open to a 1000 yards. I've missed out on so many close quarters coyotes (potential contest winners) over the last few years and I believe a shotgun would have been the answer in those situations.
I also do a lot of turkey hunting and my single shot has always done alright but it is a modified fixed choke which has its limitations.
As for waterfowl my o/u does the job ok but I like the speed of reloading offered by a semi auto.
Right now im looking at the Stoeger 3500 line. The shortest barrel they offer is 24". I know Stoeger has a less than stellar reputation but ive always had really good performance from Stoeger.
I am thinking for 600 bucks or less I can fill three needs and have more money for my long range build im just getting started on.
 
Any inertia action is about 2" longer than a gas action. So a 24" stoeger 3500 is the same as a 26" beretta or remington. For all around an overall length of 48" is what I like. However, its a bit long on a coyote or turkey stand in which case 44" OAL would be better. Short guns don't swing as well on the ducks though.
 
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I like my shotguns to have 26" long barrels or longer. When I sit or lay down while coyote calling the 26" or longer barrels are long enough to be sticking out past my feet.

Not many of the coyotes I shoot are standing still like a turkey. The way I hunt coyotes with a shotgun a waterfowl shotgun is much better for me than a turkey shotgun would be.
 
Of the hunting I mentioned, turkey hunting is the least of my concern as far as length goes. I've been an avid turkey hunter for about 7 years and in that time I've hunted with many others and never seen a turkey took with anything shorter than a 26" barrel. In my experience a longer barrel has never been a disadvantage in the turkey woods.

It sounds to me like the biggest reason so many predator and turkey guns are short is for faster handling and less weight. Is this correct?
 
I prefer pump shotguns just due to if the gun gets dirty or frozen you you can force a round to cycle manually. I've seen many autos jam just shooting skeet. As far as length goes, I'm still new to coyote hunting so I don't have a lot of experience with different lengths. My 870 has the 28 vent rib with a carlson's .660 turkey choke that adds another inch. There have been plenty of times I wish I had a shorter barrel. Or an adjustable/sliding stock to shorten the gun overall while moving through thick brush. Just my two cents though.
 
I agree with Derby on the barrel length. 26" at the least if you plan on doing any shooting on a running target-hence a shotgun I presume. The longer barrel swings way better than the shorter ones.
 
Frozen , dirty and jamming semi-autos .... I'll run my SBE2 against any 870 . I'm an 870 fan ,eps it it's a Wingmaster.

26" is a good all around lenght.
 
Originally Posted By: Cbrown6I prefer pump shotguns just due to if the gun gets dirty or frozen you you can force a round to cycle manually. I've seen many autos jam just shooting skeet. As far as length goes, I'm still new to coyote hunting so I don't have a lot of experience with different lengths. My 870 has the 28 vent rib with a carlson's .660 turkey choke that adds another inch. There have been plenty of times I wish I had a shorter barrel. Or an adjustable/sliding stock to shorten the gun overall while moving through thick brush. Just my two cents though.

Many autos jam during skeet because of the loads. Most semi autos are not designed to be shot with 7/8 ounce loads.

To the OP I have a 3500 with a 24" barrel. I got it because my duck guns get used, hard, and I did not want to have a gun I'd be afraid to beat up due to cost. I've run this gun through its paces pretty hard and no issues yet. Stick to 1 1/8 ounce loads and heavier and you will be happy. For turkeys, try some of the new Longbeard XRs through a choke you like. I bet you'll be shocked at the numbers.
 
I just went trough this. I ended up with a Mossberg 930 24 inch turkey model. I too wanted a short barrel around 20 inches but went with a little longer, thanks GC. I ran 50 rounds of 1 1/8 oz game loads yesterday and a few heavy Hornady chrom plated BB rounds just for fun. If I use a flush mounted choke I am right around the same length as a 22 inch barrel with an extended choke.

Over the next couple of weeks I plan on pattern testing with the extended XX Tky choke, Carlson flush fit X full , and full. Hopefully one will throw a decent pattern at 50 yards.
 
I'd use that long barrel O/U for that "occasional waterfowl trip" and get a 20-24" tube for coyotes and turkeys. Two of my coyote shotguns are Benelli Supernovas, one is a 26" factory barrel, the other is an 18.5" Carlson's aftermarket tube. I carry the 26" when I'm ONLY carrying a shotgun, the 18.5" when I'm carrying a rifle, or have a calling partner on the rifle (I run the calls).

As others have mentioned, the short barrels will be more handy and just as potent, but won't swing on game as accurately. I can't think of any greater difference in designs I would want between an "ideal waterfowl shotgun" and an "ideal turkey and coyote shotgun".
 
I'd go 26" if you want to be able to use it on waterfowl also. I have a 26" and have taken plenty of everthing that has wings with it and never saw a disadvantage.
 
For turkey length doesn't matter much but I think a shorter barrel helps some with coyote/predators.Length is a plus for waterfowl and most all wing shooting along with busting clays.My gun has a 24" barrel which is pretty good overall but IMO for a do it all length 26" is probably best.
 
For shooting at stationary objects = whichever barrel length you like.
For shooting at moving objects = shorter barrels for quicker point shooting and longer barrels for wing/pass shooting as the length and the slightly additional forward weight help to smooth your swing.

FYI keep the short barrels out of my duck blind. Too easy to point in the wrong direction and LOUD. My buddy brought a 24" ported Mossberg to the blind once. It almost blew out my ears and the hat off my head. After the first shot, I had to tell him in not so uncertain terms, to leave the *&*$@ Mossberg at home next time as it WAS NOT coming back into the blind.

I prefer a 28" in a pump (870 Rem) and use it for everything. KISS principle.

rth1959rth
 
FairChase93's question: "I'm in the market for a new shotgun, planning on it being mostly a turkey and coyote calling gun"

Darby's quote:

"I like my shotguns to have 26" long barrels or longer. When I sit or lay down while coyote calling the 26" or longer barrels are long enough to be sticking out past my feet.

Not many of the coyotes I shoot are standing still like a turkey. The way I hunt coyotes with a shotgun a waterfowl shotgun is much better for me than a turkey shotgun would be."

Good advise here.

 
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Thanks for all the advise your replies are appreciated.

I have decided on 26" barrel I believe. I held a Winchester SXP water fowl addition the other night and it felt like the gun was made for me. My own experience hunting turkeys there has never been a situation where I thought a short barrel would be an advantage. I would consider 26" to be a good water fowl length. Like Ackleyman and Darby said I tend to feel the longer barrel will be better suited for close ( about 40 yards) up running coyotes which is the whole point of me carrying a shotgun. The situations I'm thinking of involve coyotes coming in full bore where swinging on one won't be much different then a fast flying teal or a clay other than target size anyways.
 


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