Upland gun barrel lengths

Not as fancy as a lot of you guys, but I started hunting grouse with my stoeger 20 gauge sxs 20” and I rather like it. Light and handy. See a lot of grouse while driving around early season and it’s a ##### to pull a 28” pump gun out of a Jeep :) plus I just like it. I grew up hunting them with a 20 gauge single shot.
 
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stubblejumper said:
People don't shoot the going away target past the opposite house, because it is against the rules. As for station 8, the closest that the target gets to the station is 6 yards, so even a 2 yard long gun puts the muzzle 4 yards away. However, since a target is lost once it passes the stake, nobody tries to shoot them at the stake, with most shots being in the 5-10 yard range. We used to walk up closer to the house on station 8, and I had no issues breaking the target from 5 yards forward , using 32" barrels, with Muller extended stainless chokes that add another 1-1/2" or so to the barrels. By 10 yards forward, I was no longer consistently breaking the targets.
In the field , I don't find the 29" barrels on my 16 gauge SxS to be an issue, and that is the gun I use for shooting birds during our NAVHDA tests, where shooting can sometimes be very close when a bird flushes at me, instead of away from me.
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We talking about two different things. I'm saying that the target passes 2 to 3 yards from the muzzle of the gun at station 8, that's when it's over the post and the closest it will get to your muzzle. Your saying most people shoot it before it gets to the post, at 5 to 10 yards. Never did I say that it's always shot at the stake. Besides, if most people shoot it 5 - 10 yards then how can it get no closer than 6 yards?????? And I'd venture to say that you haven't shot much skeet when you say that "nobody ties to shoot them at the stake", maybe nobody tries to but a lot of people do!
I know it's against the rules to shoot a target past the house but again, many people do! Glad to see that you've read the rules though, I probably should too, it's probably been over 20 years for me.
We used to walk forward from post 8 as well, it's fun and I agree it can be done with a 32 inch gun, it's just probably not the right tool for the job for some one serious about skeet.
But I think we've hijacked this thread enough!
 
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I've never found 30" barrels on my sxs to be a handicap in thick cover. Very different balance though from my 28" gun, both 12-bores. The 28" is lighter, snappier, and lighter at the muzzle, and has a swamped rib. The 30" has a straight, flat rib and has a lot more weight forward. I think fit and balance should be more of a concern than barrel length.

If I were forced to use a pump, I would probably go with 26". After using a sxs for grouse for so many years, nothing else feels quite right.
 
riversrest said:
Of what the OP has listed I would not use any.
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I don't think the OP asked us which, if any, of his guns/barrel length/choke assortments we would like to use.....I think he asked us what we like for ourselves? Do you have a shotgun? More than one? Do you know how it/they are choked or how long the barrels are? Do you like it/them? Would you care to share that information?

Or do you just want to crap on the OP's guns?
 
For many years I used a Savage 22/410. The barrels are very short but they did the trick, easy to pack in the heavy cover when scrambling around. Not exactly skeet shooting conditions. No bird dog then, so not much time to get ready for a shot. Lot of chicken dinners fell to that gun. I use a 16 ga and 20 ga most of the time now (the Savage resides in the truck for hunting season) and shooting over a dog is a different game. Way more opportunity and more time to get set up for a shot. I have never paid much attention to chokes and probably should, it can only help. My 20 is a L.C. Smith Featherlight, the 16 is a Spanish mid grade shotgun. Never measured the barrels, pretty much go by feel. That 20 is fairly new to me (1926) and is a pretty sweet little gun to handle in the bush.
 
Just got back from holidays in Maine and New Hampshire.

I love going into gunshops down there and checking out used birdguns. There are lots of 16s and 20s SxS guns down there and lots with proper chokes. Grouse hunting in NH just went onto my bucket list.
 
The SKB 28 inch is the one. My first real shotgun purchased in 1980. Hooked on doubles ever since. It still has a satisfying clunk when I close it. Not a tinny Turkish sound.
 
SuperCub said:
Just got back from holidays in Maine and New Hampshire.

I love going into gunshops down there and checking out used birdguns. There are lots of 16s and 20s SxS guns down there and lots with proper chokes. Grouse hunting in NH just went onto my bucket list.
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Yes sir there is nothing like a visit to a US gun store to put a smile on one's face. :) Unfortunately for me depression after I have to leave with nothing in my hands :(
Cheers
 
Londonshooter said:
So SC, what do you like?
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See quote below from the OP. :)

SuperCub said:
Here's what I have on hand .......

SKB M100 20ga IC/M 28" bbls
Winchester 101 12ga IC/IC 26" bbls
Ithaca M37 12ga cut to 24"w/Polychoke
Fox Sterlingworth 12ga IC/LM 30"
Mossberg M500 .410 25"
Cooey single shot 20ga 28"

I haven't used the Fox yet and anticipate that it will be a tad long and muzzle heavy. The SKB is my favourite. I had one before that was 25" but found that the 28" handles better for me.
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My 16ga auto loader has a 28” barrel but needs the barrel length to keep from being too “whippy”. I have a 26” barreled 28ga Citori to try out for preserve birds this year as well. A friend talked me out of an SKB 280 20ga with 25” barrels and I am hoping to liberate it from him some time soon. The majority of my upland birds were taken with a 12ga O/u with 28” barrels chokes skeet and light mod. I once shot 120 chukar over pointers in one weekend with that gun, I was using 7/8 7.5s and only needed the second barrel once.

For serious all around upland work I think 26” is the magic number with the stock profile you shoot best.
 
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