28" or 30" barrel...what's the difference?

Amphibious said:
if I was looking for a double for open country upland, 28-30" wouldn't make much difference to me. the shots can be long, and you have lots of space to swing a long pipe.

Although, I truely love my BPS Upland 22", and so far haven't wanted much more. yes it's harder to swing, being so light and fast, but it just takes practice.
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I have a friend who has a BPS Upland and he just loves it. But at 7 1/2 pounds for the 12ga. even with the short barrel I find it kind of sluggish.
 
strider007 said:
Hello everyone, I'm in the midst of purchasing a new 12ga shotgun, but I'm having a bit of a barrel selection dilemma. I have a choice between a 28" barrel and a 30" barrel...so basically my question is, "which barrel do I choose, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of both barrels?" The gun is a Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon S, and will be used mainly for upland bird hunting. If anyone can give me some insight on barrel selection, I would greatly appreciate it.

Cheers,
Dan.
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In case you haven't had an opportunity to compare....

1) If that 686 SP has 3 1/2in chambers it will be comparatively heavier to begin with than it's 3in peer (I have used both).

2) From personal experience, if the intent is to use the O/U exclusively for Upland (only in ON) with some Game Farm birds thrown into the mix then you may also wish to inspect a 20ga 686 SP with 28in bbls.

3) For Ruffed Grouse/Woodcock scenarios going with the 28in bbls will be better when the choice is just between 28/30, IMO.

4) Should you need to use the shotgun for Upland + the occasional Clay shoots then I would recommend either a 12ga 686 SP or a 686 White Onyx with 3in chamber and 28in bbls. This may be the best option if a 12ga 686 fits better.

I noticed that Epps has somewhat reduced prices for both 12/20ga 686s SP and WO. Best of luck in your quest.
 
Just want to thank everyone for their input/advice/opinions...I must say, it's been pretty interesting up until now, and I hope that feedback continues...with that said, I'm gonna' try to "fit-in" to both guns, and see which of the two feels better. It seems that the 28"/30" debate pretty much comes down to personal preference, which in my opinion, is probably the most important factor in making a $2500-$3000 decision.

Thanks again to everyone.
 
strider007 said:
It seems that the 28"/30" debate pretty much comes down to personal preference,
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It will always be a personal preference issue, more so on a feld model - much like the the SST, pistol grip/beavertail fore end vs the DT, straight grip/splinter affair :)
 
So, I eneded up buying the 30" 686 SP. I had a chance to handle both the 28", and ofcourse the 30", and the 30" just felt better. When I was swinging/bringing both guns up, as if to prepare to fire, it seemed that the 30" came up a little smoother, and also more leveled/balanced...if that makes any sense. The 28" felt good as well, but came up just a bit more aggressively...not that there's anything wrong with that, but it just felt that with the 30", I was able to handle it as quickly and aggressively as I wanted, and it always hit me in the same spot, whereas with the 28", I found myself making very minor adjustments to properly fit in to it. Although the 30" felt slightly heavier than the 28", it actually felt eaiser to handle, and had a smoother all-around feel.

Thanks again to everyone who replied...I appreciate all of the info and opinions that you've given me.

Cheers,
Dan.
 
With a o/u personally I would choose the 30'' better swing capabilities, it is still quite short as there is no receiver like an auto or a pump 8''-10'' The longer bbl"s help as the distance increases smother swing.
 
strider007 said:
So, I eneded up buying the 30" 686 SP. I had a chance to handle both the 28", and ofcourse the 30", and the 30" just felt better. When I was swinging/bringing both guns up, as if to prepare to fire, it seemed that the 30" came up a little smoother, and also more leveled/balanced...if that makes any sense. The 28" felt good as well, but came up just a bit more aggressively...not that there's anything wrong with that, but it just felt that with the 30", I was able to handle it as quickly and aggressively as I wanted, and it always hit me in the same spot, whereas with the 28", I found myself making very minor adjustments to properly fit in to it. Although the 30" felt slightly heavier than the 28", it actually felt eaiser to handle, and had a smoother all-around feel.

Thanks again to everyone who replied...I appreciate all of the info and opinions that you've given me.

Cheers,
Dan.
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As you mentioned earlier about personal pref. that is what it boils down to.
A $3000.00 +/- a few $$ is a hard pill to swallow.
In my experience in O/U's a 30inch barrel is close to a 28 inch barreled pump gun in overall length.
The swing of the 28inch gun as you mentioned was fast and that may have ment the difference between more misses than more hits.
In the blind or on the Sporting Clays Field is where you will see the difference.
Congrats on your choice of firearm,
Rob
 
I've been using a Browning BPS Upland Special with 22" barrel for several years now, and every time I go out someone likes to comment on how I must be robbing banks in my spare time. 9 out of 10 times I end up out shooting them, so no it's definitely not too short. I find the shorter the better personally for hunting upland game.
 
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