What does the length of the barrel have to do with anything?

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huntingfish

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Howdy,
I have a suspicion that barrel length in a shotgun will directly influence patterns depending on the range (farther away == pattern opens up). Is this the only difference that a, say, 28" long barrel will make versus a 20" barrel?

I'm wondering if most ammo will be able to attain their max velocity in a 20" barrel as well.

Just trying to understand how barrel length affects everything else. Also, for what applications are various barrel length good for (eg: 26-28": Duck hunting, or something like that) ?

Cheers!

Fish
 
It increases your sighting plane.
simple answer I know.
max velocity should be reached in the 26inch barrels, but I am sure others will diss agree.
fish, when I was duck hunting I liked my Wingmaster with a 28'' barrel, it was a fast pointing gun for jump shooting, pass shooting and spectacular for shooting over decoys.
Again that has been my experience in the past and others will agree and more will disagree.
What are you trying to do with a 20 inch barrel?
More info you will give, the more info that will be replied to specific to your quest.
btw, a Mod. choke will suffice for 90% of your duck hunting needs ;)
Tight Groups and Smoked Clays,
Rob
 
A longer barrel will swing better for things like trap shooting or pass shooting, a shorter barrel comes up and points quicker for fast targets like upland game. Very short barrels may adversely affect the pattern, but that is mostly a function of the forcing cone and choke, not the actual length of the barrel. Your 20" barrel should work fine with anything.

Mark
 
Barrel length directly influences pellet velocity, shotgun balance, and dynamic properties. And I think barrel length / optimum velocity may possibly change with ammunition.

Patterns are affected by choke, powder charge (velocity), wad type, pellet size and hardness (and material), forcing cone length, barrel diameter, gauge, etc.

You can use any barrel length you wish for anything, they'll all work reasonably well. You won't much notice a two inch difference in barrel length. But others can notice it and appreciate that difference for various reasons. A 32" barrel would make for an awkward ruffed grouse gun, for example, but would be fine for shooting trap or geese in the field. If you find a gun with a 26 or 28" barrel, you can do pretty much anything with it.
 
There is almost no practical difference in muzzle velocity between an 18" barrel and a 28" or longer barrel. Pattern is a function of choke, not length.

As mentioned above, the practical advantages of a long barrel are that they swing better and provide a longer sighting plane. Also, keep in mind that a repeater doesn't need as long a barrel as a break action gun to give the same sight plane length; A 26" barreled repeater and a 30" barreled double are often about the same in OAL.
 
Choke is what changes patterns.

The same choke in different length barrels should produce pretty much the same size pattern.

Velocity is different, the optimum (from what I've studied) was 24 inches. Never personally tested it though, just read an article that tested various lengths. They said less than 24 loses speed from pressure loss, and more than 24 loses speed because the shot is coasting out of the barrel.
 
Thanks a lot for all the replies.

To answer a question that was asked: I basically know I'd like to have a shotty, but I'm not exactly sure what I'll hunt with it (it IS for hunting though, make no mistake hehe).

I already hunt grouse with a .22LR as they're not afraid of humans where I hunt. If they ever wisen up or if I go hunting somewhere where they are more afraid of humans, I could use my 12ga on them. I could see myself hunting rabbits or ducks or other birds as well though.

It would be interesting to have the possibility to be able to shoot slugs accurately @ 100 yd: My definition of accurate is 6" groups...definately not MOA lol, but it would be a good backup in case of a malfunction of my main moose rifle. My hunting spot allows for 100 yd max shots anyways.

Would need to also have the possibility to use steel shots if I ever want to hunt migratory birds. I realize I'd probably need a pump for those, although, I'm not limiting myself to a pump. Not too keen on a semi or a single-shot. I'd like one of the stoeger SxS or O/U. I'll just use 1 less shot for migratory birds than if I had a pump (limit is 3 shots anyways, right?)...big whoop.

My original question was mostly asked because I saw some 20" barrel condor outbacks or coach guns from Stoeger that I found were really nice. And I wanted to compare them to the Uplander.

Cheers,
 
huntingfish said:
Thanks a lot for all the replies.

To answer a question that was asked: I basically know I'd like to have a shotty, but I'm not exactly sure what I'll hunt with it (it IS for hunting though, make no mistake hehe).
Click to expand...

From your description you are looking for a 12ga. pump with a couple of barrels, one around 28" with screw in chokes and a rifled slug barrel around 20" with either a cantilever scope mount or a set of iron sights. I would say get an 870, but really there are a number of decent options for something like this.

Mark
 
choke will change pattern but other things come into play . it is possible to get a different pattern out of the same choke be it better or worse by changing powder volume ,shot size and the type of shot .having a good pattern in my opinion is better than having high velocity and a poor pattern .
 
Skeet and Trap and even Sporting Clays shooters all seem to gravitate to 30 or 32" bls. and sometimes 34" in trap, must be a reason!!
 
The only thing I would suggest if you plan on waterfowling is don't go to a short barrel. Not much difference in patterns or velocity above 18 inches in length but longer barrels swing smoother and your blindmates will not appreciate the big increase in LOUD.
 
That "Sighting plane" is nonsense. When you look down a line (or the top of a barrel), it doesn't matter how long it is - all you see is a point.

Longer barrels on trap guns also provide momentum and help balance out those heavy actions and stocks. They shoot quieter too.
 
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I agree with Grouse Man. Momentum, pointing, move the noise out, balance. There's down sides also though. Weight and length can be cumbersome in some situations.
 
I totally agree with Mike Webb. Short barrels in a duck blind are a quick way to muzzle blast out your bddies in the blind.

I tend to like longer barrels for duck and goose hunting much for the same reasons trap shooter like them. My upland guns tend to have shorter barrels from 28 down to 24. I wouldn't pick a shotgun for max velocity, I pick mine for what I will do with it.

Alberta Al
 
I agree with the shorter barrel, is just as good performance wise. But I tried my buddies 24 inch barrel and I find it more difficult to aim. Could be, because I did'nt have practise with it. If I used it for a couple weeks straight in duck season, it might be a different story. It was'nt that drastic of a difference from my 28 inch barrel to his 24 inch barrel, but it just felt different. They were the same guns also, just different barrels. In the small amount of time I was trading my buddy guns, I was still able to drop ducks though when I used the shorter barrel. It made me actually look long and hard at a 24 inch barrel shotgun that I found for a good deal.
 
There is something like a 10 fold reduction in measured decibel level between an 18" bbl and a 28" bbl. Seeing as my 12.5" is considerably louder than my 18.5"er, I'd be curious to see how much louder it is than a 28" tube?
 
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