It seems that longer barrels of shotguns are standard for hunting or competition. I'm wondering what the longer barrel does for performance beyond increasing muzzle velocity (just as in a rifle.) Does it decrease spread, for instance?

Thanks!

Generally, slower to get it to your shoulder, but smoother once you start swinging.

The choke on the barrel will control the pattern, regardless of length.

If you don't mind me jumping in on this thread, what is a good barrel length for upland game bird hunting? I want to get a new barrel with removable choke tubes for my Mossberg 500. 28" seems most common but I have seen 26" and 24" barrels.

Thanks, Al

If you don't mind me jumping in on this thread, what is a good barrel length for upland game bird hunting? I want to get a new barrel with removable choke tubes for my Mossberg 500. 28" seems most common but I have seen 26" and 24" barrels.

Thanks, Al

There's no easy answer for that, and part of it even depends on how the buttstock fits. It's about balance, and how easily it comes to the shoulder. One gun with a 26" barrel is not going to balance the same as another make/model with a 26" barrel.

You'd just have to try to shoulder as many as you can, in the store, and see what 'feels' right.

I've shot a lot of quail and rabbits and even a few doves with very short (19" - 21") barrels on an 870, and that's my choice for a lot of walking / a little shooting. But I've also cut the buttstock exactly where I want it. I can even shoot skeet respectably with that combination, although I'd be laughed off of the field by any serious competitors.

I like a 26" barrel on an 1100 for sitting and shooting a lot at doves (and that does work a little better for skeet, and OK for trap with a modified or better choke tube).

Those are just personal preferences, and you might not be able to hit the side of a barn, with either.

I shoot the same barrel length on my hunting guns as do I do on my competition guns which is a 30" barrel. I have found through shooting skeet that the longer the barrel is to a point the smoother the and more controlled swing is. Pick the choke that you think is appropriate and have a good time. I hunt with Pheasant hunting- modified, Grouse-improved modified , Doves and Quail-Skeet or IC

Barrel length is a personal prefrence.I have tried 26" 28"and 30" barrels and found the 28" suited my swing tempo and balance the best,I guess it felt the most comfortable too.
As for choke I use 3/4 for everything.It will give full to open patterens depending on the type of load I use,I have found it easier to change the load rather than the choke to suit the hunting situation.
It is a good idea to pattern test your load choke combination before you go out shooting. A modified choke might give a borechoke pattern with the ammo you select and then leave you wondering why you arent getting the desired results.

Good Luck

Regards
Keen1

The choke is the pattern control...length of barrel with modern shotshells isn't going to add many FPS...just too small a powder charge and too large a barrel volume.

Long barrels have inertia...thye keep your swing going even if you tend to hesitate....so are more popular with folks that use a sustained lead or a swing-through lead.

Guess the main point is that the competition type shotguns usually have longer barrens...competitors are serious about winning...so the longer heavier guns are not just a "style", they do help.

I started out duck hunting...so I got use to longer barrels and heavier guns...and that's spilled over into my upland hunting. Rather than learning to snap-shoot, I just duck-hunt-in-a-hurry.

It seems that longer barrels of shotguns are standard for hunting or competition. I'm wondering what the longer barrel does for performance beyond increasing muzzle velocity (just as in a rifle.) Does it decrease spread, for instance?

Thanks!
I'm going along with what everyone here has already said. Standard accepted barrel length for shotguns is 28". Some prefer the longer 30" or even 32" for their trap guns and some (read most) prefer the shorter 26" for skeet shooting. I remember when Marlin produced a 36" 'Goose Gun'. Truth is, barrel length has very little/nothing to do with velosity or pattern in a shotgun. It's biggest influence is on the swing of the gun. Use what you can shoot best.

The current trend or style for Skeet guns is to use a 28" barrel,but, I sure am not gonna get rid of my Browning 4 barrel set with 26" tubes just because 28" are now in vogue. I use a Berreta 390 with 28" for skeet also and I do NO better with it than the 26" tubes. I really can't feel the difference in a 2" difference in barrel length which adds ounces at best. My Trap gun has a 30" barrel and many of my shooting buddies have 32" barrels. I have shot them and see only a small difference in swing, not enough to dump my current Trap gun. There is a noticeable difference between a 26" and a 32" barrel though in swing, but the differences of a 2" barrel is minimal. I also doubt that there is a world of difference between the 26" and 32" as far as velocity goes. Possible some,but again not enough to get excited over. Shotgun powders are among the fastest burning made and most of it is consumed in a couple of inches of barrel so since there in no more powder to accelerate the shot, it is doubtful there will be that much of an increase is speed.

In choosing a barrel length, the length of the action also needs to be considered. A pump or autoloader with a short barrel will have the same length from the eye to the muzzle as a longer barreled O/U or S/S. My experience is that skeet shooters w/ O/Us are moving to even longer barrels (30"), although short statured shooters may do better with shorter barrels. I started trap shooting about 30 years ago with a 30" O/U and then moved to a 32" O/U for the smoother swing and better pointing. Last year I moved to a 34" single shot for the 16 yard and handicap events and my scores dramatically improved. However, I'm considering going back to a 30" O/U for trap doubles because I can get to the 2nd target faster.

My Rem 1187 goose gun, a 3 1/2" 12 ga, wears a 26" barrel because the long action gives sufficient total length for precise pointing while my grouse gun is a 26" S/S 20 ga. for faster handling. I consider an "all around" hunting shotgun for an average size person to be a pump or auto with a 28" barrel or an O/U or S/S with a 30" barrel. Longer barrels help in precise pointing on longer shots and shorter barrels help for quick responsiveness. Velocity and pattern size are the result of shell and choke selection.