doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 26" barrels

Cold Iron,
I kick around most of the state, hit Lake of the Woods county and see cover similar to what you have pictured. I have been closer to home, lately, working on Sherburn,Chisago, and Anoka, counties, believe it or not, looking for spots I can hit in 2-3 hours, there and back.
That actually is working OK. I don�t need more than a bird or two per trip.
Red phase grouse seem to be more common in the closer counties. I have never deliberately shot at a Spruce grouse. I�ve seen them around Orr and the Red Lake WMA, but, don�t pursue them.
I suspect we are going to discover West Nile is hitting the birds harder then we ever imagined.
Have a great season.

Best,
Ted

No buzz, haven't added any weight. The buttstock is fairly dense, it seems, and the GraCoil prolly adds some weight, too. The gun handles plenty lively enough for me, tho'. There are no rabbits, or fast crossers, that I can't kill if my technique is right. Tell you one thing tho', there's absolutely no recoil issues. I've used it for flyers with 3 3/4 - 1 1/4 loads and never noticed any excessive recoil.

Best to you, SRH

I hope that the PRP injection works for you. My insurance does not cover it so I am stuck with cortisone shots at least in my left ankle. Does usually help me but there are a lot of other areas of my body that needs it and they limit how much you can get a year and in a lifetime. Usually get one right before hunting season and last year they told me that they didn't know if they could do anymore as there was so much damage it was hard to guide the needle into the joint even with ultrasound guidance. My mother was right, golden years my arse they should be called rust years. Good luck and hope you find relief!

You are on the right track the A400 20 ga. with KO is likely the softest shooting gun you will find, despite the light weight. I am not there yet but if I had to go there it would be at the top of my list.

Another option is fitting an ISIS recoil reduction system on one of your existing guns. Not a fan of most stock recoil reducers largely based on looks. But am pleased with the ISIS on my Dickinson. The ISIS is common with sporting clay shooters and doesn't alter the looks of the gun as much as most of them. I used Joe Bowles at Tronspace Stockworks He is very good and has a fast turn around time, usually 2 weeks or less. And the lowest cost for the ISIS he is $600 installed.

If you do go the A400 route picking up hulls is a pain with a shell shucker and most clubs I shoot at require you to do so. If you have arthritis in your shoulder good chance you have it in your spine also and bending down to pick up hulls is not fun. Because I shoot pump guns from time to time at clays along with a Sweet 16 I picked up a magnetic pick up stick MOJO shotgun stick It works great and use it as a walking stick on the course. With a heavy duty zinger to keep it by my side when I shoot.

+1 to Miller.

Note that a gun's handling is composed of weight, tetter-totter balance point, unmounted swing effort, and mounted swing effort. This set of numbers is to handling as a set of stock dimensions is to fit.

To know the influence of the barrel set you must know weight, balance point, and moment of inertia at balance point (center of gravity). MOI requires a more sophisticated measurement than weight and balance point. MOI is basically a measure of weight distribution. Note that the barrel length does not directly enter into the factors.

It is quite possible to have a short, heavy barrel with higher MOI than a long, light barrel. While barrel length is not a direct measure of the barrel's influence on swing effort, it is the most commonly considered measure.

It is quite possible to spec a gun for handling just as it is to spec fit.

DDA

I shoot sporting clays pretty much every Monday and Wednesday with a group of guys...the group ranges from 6 or 8 to 10 to 12 people.
Most retired and of all statue and varying ages most between 50 to 75.

When shooting I watch people...I most likely won't say anything about their mount, stance, swing, choice of gun or even how much lead like most will.

There's a newer shooter of smaller statue about 5'8"....when he started shooting he was shooting an older 26" Remington O/U. I noticed he was really fast and accurate with the gun most every day out. A real contender in our group with his short barreled gun.

I know he had some re-thinking their lOng barrel mOnkey see choices.

Wasn't long that he went to a shooting school put on by one of the worlds greatest English shots....shortly there after he came out to the club with a really pretty Ceasar Gureni 30" O/Ur(eYe bet I miss spelled that).

Back to observing....bOy that's a pretty gun (even had a little gun envy going on for a brief minute or two).

Now he's turned into more of a hit or totally miss shooter. He's on one station totally off at another.

I asked him the other day if he didn't think he shot his old 26" gun more consistent. He said he thought he did but his potential was greater with the longer gun.

Thinking about getting me an old golf bag on wheels...put my 32" and my 28" gun in the bag.

Kinda like having a driver and a putter.

cold iron, thanks for advise and input...

One argument in favor of short barreled guns for grouse and woodcock is that you're less likely to hit a tree with your barrels. I've hit plenty of trees when trying to get off a shot at grouse or woodcock, but seldom with the last couple inches of the barrels. The extra weight you add when going from a 25" double to a 28" double isn't more than maybe 3 or 4 ounces (depending on gauge), which isn't much. I'd expect one reason short barreled guns have been popular with grouse and woodcock hunters goes back to the pre-choke tube days. If you wanted an open choked gun, it came with 26" (or, far less frequently, 25") barrels. 28" gave you M/F. Talking what the manufacturers gave us, unless you ordered something special. And IC/M (or something even more open, although that was the very typical combination offered) is indeed an advantage for woods birds over M/F.

I recently acquired a Brit 28ga (Wilkes) with 28" barrels and very little choke. Had to add a slip-on pad to give me a little longer LOP. Tried a few rounds of skeet, figuring that at just over 4 3/4# she wouldn't be real good on targets. Have surprised myself with a couple 23's. Doubt she'll end up my go-to grouse and woodcock gun, but I expect she'll be with me more often in the woods than I'd anticipated. Lovely thing for one-handed carry in the thick places.

Ed: I have a 28 gauge A400 and I love it. I shoot it better than just about anything else I have. Enough heft to swing well. Very well balanced. Soft shooting. I like it much better than my benelli in same gauge.

And I handled but didn't shoot a 32" barreled 28 gauge Browning 725 at the Grand. Kicking myself for not buying it. It handled much better than I thought it would. Yes Would be just the ticket for doves, preserve pheasants, and informal sporting clays and trap.

Larry, Good post. Like you I recently acquired a 28� lightweight Brit game gun (20ga, 5lbs 4ozs.) and have been impressed with its handling and accuracy. I am looking forward to testing it on grouse this winter. There will definitely be some thick cover one hand carry places. I also purchased a 28ga 30� boxlock from Birmingham which I wound up giving to a close family member and it has been fun to compare the dynamics of the two. Both are stocked to 15� with wood extensions.