26" vs 28"

My cousin was talking about how he was watching "Canadian Tradition" a while ago and they had a little stint on shotgun barrel lengths. The end result was, for a good all around versatile barrel the 28" was the length. Good for everything from goose to rabbits and everything inbetween. So take it from there ^.^b still need to find a longer barrel for my 870 :( having Choppers remorse now ><
 
With a pump or semi you already get a couple of inches head start on those break actions. :D Depends how comfortable you are swinging the gun and the sight plane. If your gonna be in a cramped duck blind or hunting thick bush for grouse the shorter can be better.
 
The longer the barrel usually means nothing for range or patterns. A longer barrel might help a guy swing through smoother and help him hold better. A shorter barrel will swing faster and is great for jump shooting and grouse hunting, but that doesn't mean a 26 and I don't think there's really any difference between a 26 and a 28 inch pipe.
 
"...need to find a longer barrel for my 870..." Goble's in London has 'em. Both Remington branded and aftermarket, last time I looked. Remington branded barrels are a lot more expensive.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that powder in a shotshell is all burnt in about 18" to 20" of barrel, being a fast burning powder, therefore after that length is irrelavent other that for a smooth swing. I have a 30" on my 1100 and boy it sure does swing nice.
 
Hi-Standard said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that powder in a shotshell is all burnt in about 18" to 20" of barrel, being a fast burning powder, therefore after that length is irrelavent other that for a smooth swing.
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That's correct. The exception was (is) black powder shells. The black powder being much slower burning, one needed (needs) full length barrels to allow the powder to burn fully and the shot to accelerate to peak velocity. Even with 30" barrels, you sometimes get an impressive column of flame coming out the end of a black powder gun.
 
Negligable difference in muzzle-velocity - probably about 30fps loss from 28" to 26". I swithched to 26 and found it was a great all-around option - long enough for a good balanced swing on my SX2, short enough for the marsh and turkey - especially considering my extended chokes add almost 2" anyway. Now that I've switched to SX3, I've gone back to 28" because the gun is more rear-balanced than the 2 was, and the longer barrel makes the swing smoother. One of my Belgian A5's has a 32" - love that thing for bustin clays.:rockOn:
 
For a double, I like 28" as with no action length as on a pump or auto it doesn't hinder you and puts the muzzle blast just that little bit farther away. I don't like longer than 28", however, and would shoot a 26" without too much though.

For a pump or auto, I actually prefer 24" barrels, due to the action length adding to the overall length. I'd even like a 22" on an auto or pump, but muzzle blast starts to climb, so I opt for 24". My wife's 21" 20 gauge barks a good bit more from the shooter's perspective than my 26" Bobwhite did.

For range, with any barrels over 18", zero difference. Shotguns are short range, regardless, if there is a difference I can't tell as it would be on the order of a few yards or less.
 
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