barrel length
- Thread starter Brian Varcoe
- Start date
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
If the gun is going to be used as a general purpose arm, I would choose a shorter barrel with threaded chokes. This is mostly a matter of personal preference though, and it is also determined by the end use of your gun. If I carry a gun all day, in heavy cover for upland game, or big game for that matter, the short barrel makes sense. However, if you use the gun mostly for water fowling, some folks seem to shoot better with a longer sighting plane. Your best option may in fact be to have two or more barrels of different lengths, which is easily accomplished with the 870, to provide the maximum versatility to the one gun shooter.
Agree with 26 in. recommendation
A pump has a longer receiver than a break open action. A 26 inch barrel on a pump provides the same length sighting plane as a 30 inch barrel on an O/U. That is long enough for any application, unless you want to become an expert trap shooter. As a field gun, it will be less cumbersome than a longer barrel. The only detriment is potentially an almost negligible drop in velocity at the muzzle. I would not worry about that.
A pump has a longer receiver than a break open action. A 26 inch barrel on a pump provides the same length sighting plane as a 30 inch barrel on an O/U. That is long enough for any application, unless you want to become an expert trap shooter. As a field gun, it will be less cumbersome than a longer barrel. The only detriment is potentially an almost negligible drop in velocity at the muzzle. I would not worry about that.
