I’ve got a couple different o/u and sxs and was wondering what the deal is with the different barrel lengths and why some sell while others sit. Mainly why a 26” on an o/u is not as desirable as a 28 or 30. And what would you use a 26” for if most use a 28 or longer for skeet and whatnot.
Barrel lengths
- Thread starter sookie_69
- Start date
26 was always the standard for skeet for many many years
- Location
- Ft. Mac. Alberta
The trend these days is for longer barrels on the skeet range, but in filed guns back in the day a 28" or 26" barrel was the norm for an upland or skeet gun and 30" for a trap gun or a waterfowl .
I have seen and shot several 26" barreled guns and they swing very quickly for me,, my main pheasant gun has 26" barrels.
28 works well for me as well.
Cat
I have seen and shot several 26" barreled guns and they swing very quickly for me,, my main pheasant gun has 26" barrels.
28 works well for me as well.
Cat
In today's world the advantage of a longer barrel is a longer sight radius and increased pointing accuracy. That is why trap shooters usually use barrels longer than 28 inches... Longer barrels may swing a bit smoother too...
Skeet shooting is fast moving and short distances and has been dominated with 26 inch barrels.
Skeet shooting is fast moving and short distances and has been dominated with 26 inch barrels.
Way way back, 26" was common for skeet, but 30" seems to be the most common these days.
Last edited:
the spank
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Planet Earth Wearing My Tinfoil Hat
It is a RARE occasion to see a barrel on any type of gun being used for trap under 30”. In fact the sport has been dominated for years since the pump and auto fell out of favor with break actions sporting 34” single barrels and 30”-32” doubles barrels.
26” barrels are even rarely seen on skeet fields any longer except usually in the hands of some of the fellows shooting skeet guns of yesteryear out of nostalgia or to kick it old school, like me!!
Last edited:
People won world skeet championships using 26" guns, funny that. Barrel length is only part of the components of balance on a gun. One size does not fit all. A 6'3" shooter with a 15" LOP has different needs than a 5'8" guy with a 13.75" lop. The top shooters all use longer barrels now, 20 years ago the top shooters didn't. Hmm. What I would like to know is have the skeet scores at the national levels actually improved? For hunting grouse and woodcock in the jungle like cover they love I see no advantage in a 28 over a 26. For open grounds like preserves or waterfowl the longer length will be more useful.
Last edited:
All depends on where in this country you shoot. Most here are old guys shooting like me who still use our 26" guns. I would say only 10% are longer here if that
Are the guys with the longer barrels any better shots NOPE
Cheers
So the essence of it is laid out for you. Longer barrels are in vogue, but shorter barrels used to fill the bill for fast swinging shotgun sports like skeet and thick cover upland hunting.
My taste has evolved from the very short barrels of a Churchill XXV for upland hunting, to mostly 27 or 28 inch barreled, light weight shotguns. Your taste could be different.
Shotgun fit, so that you are naturally aligned with where the gun shoots, is much more important than the length of the barrels. These days, longer barrels are definitely helpful where resale value is being considered.
My taste has evolved from the very short barrels of a Churchill XXV for upland hunting, to mostly 27 or 28 inch barreled, light weight shotguns. Your taste could be different.
Shotgun fit, so that you are naturally aligned with where the gun shoots, is much more important than the length of the barrels. These days, longer barrels are definitely helpful where resale value is being considered.
Longer barrels sell faster and for more money because that’s what is in fashion these days. Not any more complicated than that.
People will always have rationals for why something is in fashion, but those are exactly that...rationals. This is true for many things, not just guns.
Wasn’t always this way and won’t always be this way. But it’s what is hot now.
People will always have rationals for why something is in fashion, but those are exactly that...rationals. This is true for many things, not just guns.
Wasn’t always this way and won’t always be this way. But it’s what is hot now.
I still like a 26 " barrel for hunting tight cover. But on the sporting clay courses shorter barrels cost me targets. what drives me nuts is, with longer barrels I seem to know what I did wrong when I miss. With 26" barrel, I sometimes have no idea why the target didn't break.
Don't agree. It all depends on the make and model and choking
Some models I can get almost the same money for a shorter barrel ( pending choke) than an entire gun with a longer barrel
Cheers
Last edited:
We have many older shooters here as well, but 26" guns are not common here. Of the new O/U shotguns purchased to shoot skeet, I don't recall any with 26" barrels. There are a few 28" newer guns, but 30" seems to be the most common. It doesn't matter whether people shoot better with longer barrels or not, longer barrels are what people are buying.
It is the opposite here but not a lot of new guns either. There is just not the disposable income here you guys have in western canada
Shooters out west probally pay more in income taxes than people make here
There are still old rem 32's superx1's and vintage browning and winchester 4 barrel sets used here
Cheers
Well of course make model and choking are important determinants. That wasn't the question. Take the same gun, same model, same choke, on average, across Canada and the US, the longer barreled gun will sell faster for more money.
Are there exceptions? Of course there are. But that doesn't negate the overall position of the marketplace.
Interesting since I have not seen it with any I have sold. In fact have had people walk away from shotguns with 30" barrels saying they find them too long for hunting
As far as more money I seem to always get what I am looking for regardless of barrel length and other than screw ins sell for more than fixed barrels in most cases that is about it
Then again 99% of what I sell is vintage which cannot be had easily had in many cases so buyers may have a different mind set
Cheers
I think we're talking apples and oranges here. On over/unders the trend for the last 10-15 years has been to longer barrels for clay targets, many switched to 32" for trap and sporting clays and 30" for skeet. This was partly driven by world champions such as George Digweed winning with 32'' and even 34" barrels. His is a very large man and wields these guns like a toy, not that great for everybody. However on pumps and autoloaders the long 30" and longer barrels aren't popular because with the added 4-5" receiver length the gun becomes clumsy and cumbersome. I think 28" is still the most popular barrel length for both new and used FIELD gun sales, completely different than competition gun preferences. They all work fine if they fit you and balance correctly for the purpose. This barrel length swing from short to long and long to short has happened numerous times over the last 100+ years and will change again.
