doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 26" v 28" Bbls on SxS Game Guns

I have a 5 lb 13 Oz 12 gauge with 26", and a 6 lb 12 Oz 12 gauge with 28" barrels. Not quite an apples to apples comparison as I like heavier guns, but I don't notice a ton of difference. It feels a bit more whippy, but that could be the weight

Whats trendy this year ? thats the real question . 25 years or so back You Americans wanted 26" guns by the bucket load . We sleeved loads of older guns to 26" to be sold over there as 30" were old fashioned and bad sellers .
But now you have followed the trend for long barrels , the longer the better as it is impossible to hit a barn at 10 paces unless you have a 34 inch multi choke .

Absolute rubbish . What length barrels you like is what YOU like and are happy with , not what has been written in some book or magazine .

What gunman said...and what I said earlier...

Frankly I believe it to be as much a matter of fashion as function. I have and use 26 and 30" guns and shoot them equally well (or badly). It is a matter of balance and practice. I know a guy who wanted a 32" skeet gun. I found him a 26" 28 ga.. He didn't have a 28. Guess what, it still broke as many birds as the 32" gun he had borrowed to try before. People worry too much about choke and barrel length, just shoot the gun a bunch.YMMV

There is a lot more to overall gun dynamics than barrel length.

You can't tell how long the barrels are once the gun is on your shoulder.

My opinion is that one should carry the lightest weight gun that one can actually shoot well when the time comes.

Presumably, that's why you're going to all the effort.

The most important aspect is familiarity with the gun which means burning some powder preseason.

We all thought you were talking about food and eating again.

And 26" guns are discounted substantially below 28"and have been for quite awhile. It's unlikely the price spread between the two will increase more. So, they are comparative bargains. I shoot a lot of both lengths and can't tell a nickels difference between the two. I do really like the shorter barrels in the field though, especially for quick flushing shots. The fad for longer and longer barrels has been brought on by clay shooters who are somewhat mechanical in their shooting. Few upland game hunters have followed the fad. My guess is in the years (or decades ahead) the trend will be back to shorter barrels.

I agree with what Tut said.

I have a 6 lb 4 oz 12ga 26" W&S 700 that has exceptionally nice & dense wood & I had the butt drilled & plugged to lighten it & move the balance a bit more forward. Most of the 700 series guns I've seen do not have the butt drilled to adjust balance so you generally have some latitude in making a adjustment in balance.

I like it very well for a grouse & woodcock gun. Nothing wrong with 26" bbls if the gun balances properly but all else being equal I prefer 28" bbls. for reasons I can't logically explain & I don't buy into the theory that 26" bbls are less likely to hang up in the thick popple.

I have shot barrels from 26" to 32" length & there are places & conditions where I like each. My all time favorite length is 28". This is mostly a matter of aesthetics. I am between 5"8" & 5"9" & well fitted by a 14" LOP. Aesthetically I think a shotgun looks nice when the barrels are around twice the LOP.
Much longer & it looks like something for a pole vaulter & much shorter it looks like a Coach Gun. With very, very few exceptions I "Personally" have little use for anything outside the 26"-30" range.
The 32" guns I have shot were 10lb + 10 gauges. For uses this type gun would be put to the 32" is fine, I "Personally" would not want a 32" or longer barrel in the uplands, Period.

I guess I am a disciple of Michael Mcintosh on the subject of gun barrel length. Barrel length for me is something that adds to the intangible "handling quality" of a shotgun. For upland game, as a general rule, 28" is my minimum, 29" my preference (esp. for 12 bore), and 30" my top end. I find a 26" gun to be a "quick starter/fast stopper" and 28"-30" more of a "slow starter/slow stopper" providing the follow through I desire to achieve forward allowance. These barrel lengths are generalizations that don't always hold, but they can be a decent starting assumption.

Getting down to brass tacks, the balance point is perhaps more important than the barrel length, although of course barrel length can affect the balance point. I prefer a balance point forward of the hinge pin by an inch or more in my upland game SxS.