28" vs 26" barrel

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foxbat

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I have settled my choice of my 'do it all' shotgun, on one of the new Beretta
A400 Unico, with Kick Off, and the only question is .....barrel length.
I'm unlikely to do any hunting , and will use it for trap, skeet and clays.
I have chosen it as it claims to be one of the softest shooting shotguns around.
The only question is.....26" or 28".
Thanks for the input.
 
For clay targets only, I prefer a longer barrel, and would go with a 28", but is comes down to each persons preference as to how a gun swings and balances for them.
 
I prefer the 26" barrel as it can be swung faster and is a shade lighter. I like the balance point. If you are shooting skeet then you may prefer the shorter barrel for fast target acquisition. Many people who shoot only trap prefer the long barrel for smooth, even swinging, and slight barrel heaviness. It's all your personal preference. If you don't have experience with either barrel length then try some out at the range and see what you like. The flip side is that if you have no experience buy either and become good with it. You won't know the difference if you don't know what your missing, in a short time you will become just as comfortable with either size and then it won't matter.
 
I have a 28" barrel, I wish I'd gotten a 26" one due to the fact that the only way I can fit my shotgun in my safe is to remove the barrel(or I could get rid of my second shelf, but I need it for other things). With a 26" barrel I could just squeeze the gun in the safe below the second, lower shelf without having to remove the barrel. At least removing the barrel is dead simple and quick to do.
 
The trend in shotgunning is to longer barrels. Get the 28" because it will be in greater demand if you want to sell the gun at some future point.
 
No competition just out with friends.
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Actual skeet, trap or sporting clays at a proper facility, or targets thrown with a hand thrower, or a small portable thrower, other than actual skeet, trap or sporting clays.?

Hand thrown targets, or the cheap mechanical throwers that most people purchase, are not at all comparable to shooting actual trap, skeet, or sporting clays.
 
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sledman8002002 said:
My vote goes towards a longer barrel, the 30". Shoulder one if you get the chance foxbat, you may change your mind on the 28".
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I'll take your advice.
I'm also tempted to save a few $, and go with the considerably cheaper AL391 Urika 2 Sporting, which comes with a 30" barrel....
 
foxbat said:
I'll take your advice.
I'm also tempted to save a few $, and go with the considerably cheaper AL391 Urika 2 Sporting, which comes with a 30" barrel....
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That's a temptation worth giving in to. I've shot the A400 and it didn't convince me to even think about giving up my 391 Sporting. It is the best clay target semi-automatic on the market IMO.
 
Claybuster said:
That's a temptation worth giving in to. I've shot the A400 and it didn't convince me to even think about giving up my 391 Sporting. It is the best clay target semi-automatic on the market IMO.
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Done and done!
That's what I love about this site...being able to 'mine' the combined experience and to (sometimes!) avoid the old ' good judgement is the product of prior poor judgement'.
 
Thats what I shoot Urika 391 sporting with a 30in barrel for sporting clays there is a reason for it being popular (I shoot a ll the clay sports with it).
 
I went through the same thing a few years ago and went the other route and bought a 26", only because they didn't produce the SBE II with a 24" smoothbore at the time.

I studied lots of articles on shotgunworld dot com and learned 3 things from all the tests people have done:

1- no matter how long the barrel (18-32), the same choke will produce the same size pattern at a certain yardage.
2- after 24", the shot is no longer beng pushed out of the barrel and is coasting. Max fps is out of 24" barrels.
3- and my conclusion, is that it doesn't matter how long the barrel is in regards to performance, barrel length matters in what you like or prefer in regards to sight picture and feel for swinging the gun.

*this is all info I've read, I didn't do the actual testing. I have since tested the choke size theory and have found it to be true.
 
foxbat said:
Done and done!
That's what I love about this site...being able to 'mine' the combined experience and to (sometimes!) avoid the old ' good judgement is the product of prior poor judgement'.
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391 Urika II Sporting ... good choice !

Your "Trader Rating" of 318 gives me pause to consider ... hope you'll hang on to this one long enough to learn to shoot it well ! ;)
 
I'm not 100% sure but I have a 26" barrel I believe on my 870 express magnum. The best I've shot was a 24 out of 25 but I haven't shot trap in a couple years now however when I did shoot regularly I consistently shot above 20 out of 25. When I did though I was outshooting a lot of the older gentlemen with their couple thousand dollar fancy shotguns. Just goes to show that you just need a gun that fits you right.
 
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