If a 26" barrel on a shotgun is considered PERFECT for hunting woodcock, quail and such in heavy timber/brush, why would you NEED anything shorter than that for a big bore? I'm not trying to start anything or flame anyone I just would like to know why anyone would NEED a rifle(any caliber in my opinion) like I saw one guy wanting a .458 Lott with a 20" barrel. Lawdog

The reason that long barrels are common on shotguns is something that I don't understand.

My favorite shotguns have 23.5" and 24" barrels one is a drilling and the other a Ithaka 37.

What with the expansion ratio's of shotguns and 458's for that matter short barrels are just fine ballistics wise.

It used to be common for 22's to have long barrels also. I think the unitiated customer thinks they are getting more for the money.

I personally like my shotgun barrels short also.

I had my 24" Win 70 .375 H&H shortened to 22" because it seems handier to me. My next big bore will be a .458 Lott....it will also sport a 22" barrel as maximum. DG rifles just 'look better' to me with barrels 22" or less.

Just personal preference

Just my opinion but.......
I really don't care what my rifles look like as long as they are balanced and handle and point quickly. I'm 6'4" and short barrels on rifles don't work for me. 22" is a minimum but I prefer 24". I can't tell the difference in the bush 2" or 4" make as far as hanging up in brush or weight but I can feel the difference in pointability and target acquisition!

The use of long barrels on shotguns, mostly over/unders is the extended sight radius. I find it much easier to pop clays with my 28in that with a friends 24in.
They are also a lot lighter barrels for a given length than any rifle barrel.

All my big bores except one are 26"s, the other is 24"s.....I like a long barrel for shooting off hand and over the years have found the extra 4 to 6 inches makes no difference in hunting situations...I agree with the mountain men of yesteryear and the elephant hunters of old Africa, they knew a thing or two..

A very good article in the newest issue of RifleShooter Magazine on the velocity drop in shortning barrels. On standard calibers it is not nearly as much as some people would have you believe.

I think that I read somewhere that a .22 shoot fastest at 16 inches. Longer than that and friction slows down the bullet faster than the reduced pressure can push it.

Long 30" barrels on shotguns started with break-open doubles, and continue with break-open over/unders. Compare the total lengths with the total lengths of a bolt action rifle with 24" barrel, and they aren't much different. Action length makes a big difference, and a bolt-action adds 6" to the length of the gun that a break-open action just doesn't have. That's why a good 16 gauge upland gun with 26" barrels (or a good double rifle with 26" barrels) handles so nicely - just like a bolt action with a 20" barrel - they're the same overall length. Use a 30" barrel on a semi-auto or pump shotgun and it just gets in the way - because it makes the overall length of the gun too much. Between the extra weight of the action, and the extra length of the action, semi-auto and pump shotguns need to have the same length barrels as rifles, but manufacturers just keep putting the long barrels made traditional by break-open actions on them.

I have a 26 inch barrel on my .460 And I want a 28-30 inch barrel on my "in future" .600 Overkill or a .700 BMG IMP

I happen to prefer shorter barrels. My .458 is 23" and I doubt that I would lose that much in velocity that I didn't gain back in handiness and feel. Sean

Short barrels in the thick bush is a preceived myth manifested by otherwise intelligent men!

Ray Atkinson 8-01-03

I think it may have been Jeff Cooper that said if you find that an extra few inches on the barrel gets in the way...just take a step back before you shoot!

No short barrels for me.The stuff I been shooting needs barrel length to use the powder.And 2 lbs
or a lot more wt of barrel for recoil.If you have a big bore with longer barrel that seems hard to point, for heavens sakes wt the butt, then it will
kick less and POINT BETTER.And balance better.Ed.

Anything between 22" and 26" is handy for me. Anything shorter looks funny, and anything longer begins to get in the way in some positions in the gun safe. I'm not really picky, but prefer 23" or 25" depending on the cartridge.

I have had two Encore barrels made up by Fox Ridge the first is a 16 1/4" .250 Savage barrel, the second is a 20" .350 Rem Mag barrel. Both are in the Heavy Taper configuration. I really like the way these heavy barrels point and swing. For me the balance is just about perfect. The other neat thing, especially with the .250 barrel, is that if I need to sling it over my shoulder to climb a steep bank or such, the barrel only reaches to the base of my neck so it doesn't get hung up in anything. Someday I will try to post pictures. I really like the way they look. Sean

24" barrels feel the best to me and that's all the reason I need.

Can someone recall what Finn Aaguard had to say about the barrel on his pet 375? He cut it from 25" to 22" and somehow I think he regretted it?

Long before I read that I owned a 26" 378 and still have a 25" M 70 and when I ordered by custom 375 AI barrel I chose 22" and I would do the same today.

In 1955 when Wincester offered the M 70 in the Featherweight version with it's light 22" barrel and we finally got relief from the Whelan/Springfield pattern of the stout 24" barrel I felt it was one of the best things that ever happened to rifles. Of course some want or need long range rifles and they are best with longer barrels.

Since I started shooting with a Ruger 10/22 and shoot a lot of pistols, I guess I am by default a carbine guy. The only barrels I have over 21" are on a 12 gauge sxs and on a .270. It is purely a personal preference, but why bind yourself to the conventions of black powder if you don't have any other reason to want a long barrel? I have great respect for Cooper, but H.W.M. McBride (A Rifleman Went to War) seems to like short rifles just fine. I personally think it is a matter of taste except for where the real advantage of the preference comes into play, whether thick brush for us carbine shooters, or long shots (with iron sights?) for you long barrel shooters.

[ 08-03-2003, 06:33: Message edited by: 45LCshooter ]

On shotguns it's easier to follow through a moving target with long (heavy) barrels that short ones.

Shorter barrels feels more flimsi and you'll need more practise. Long barrels also moves the blast a bit longer from your ears. I think 71cm barrels are minumum for a shotgun. I don't think the differns betwin a 75cm barrel and a 65cm barel will do much differns in the woods. I have never had problems with my 71cm barrels. If it to much plants to swing the gun, I can't se the animal anyway.

But shorter barrels are lighter and if you have to save grams, a shorter barrel might be something for you.

Johan

Gentlemen,

I don't like short barrels, on either a rifle or a shotgun. May be because I have always shot guns with long barrels.

As the 22 rim fire was mentioned as having the best velocity at around 16 inches - I heard it was 18 sometimes in the past.

I will sacrifice a 22 barrel to find this out when we come back from our hunt in September.

I will start with a BRNO CZ 452 2E, which I think has a 24-inch barrel. I will cut off 1 inch at a time and see how it works out, with different ammo.

The result will posted on our website.

I like a short barrel on my shotgun for hunting grouse in the thick swamps, and through the thick edges, and vines, in the woods. I have found my short barrel hangs up much less.

It looks like once again.....people like different things for different reasons....there is no right or wrong sometimes. Very good points were made on each side of the fence on this one.