Who hunts with 30" parker tubes?

[John Nagel]

Just looking for some insight on hunting grouse and woodcock with 30" tubes. Do any of you do this? Is it ever a hinderance?

[Michael Murphy]

I've done it. I've even gone with 32" barrels. However, I wouldn't recommend either. I did it "Just because"! Not that you can't hit birds with them because of weight. The issue, as you'd expect, is maneuvering through cover and swinging on a bird without hitting a sapling or branch.

[Rick Losey]

i hunt with 30" barrels- the issue is the choke not the length

most of my 30-32 guns have full or fuller chokes - those are not suitable for upland work

but if they are open- they work

really - when you catch a sapling with the barrels - is it the last two inches of tubes?

[Jeff Christie]

I like them (30 inchers) in grass, stubble, etc.. In the woods, not so much. Not for being too long, but for agility and quickness.

[Jeff Davis]

Yes and I have no issues in the grouse woods. If I have a full a choke gun I put spreaders in both barrels when the leaves are still on the trees, only in the right barrel later season. I prefer longer barrels

[James L. Martin]

I have hunted Grouse & Woodcock my entire life, I have used 26" to 30". One gun I have is a Beretta 303 auto with a 30" Stan Baker barrel which has been backbored , its a deadly grouse gun that would be the same barrel length as a 34" S/S. I also use a 20ga VHE with 30" barrels, my favorite gun the last few years has been a 12ga DH with 26" with cyl & mod Damascus barrels that is just under 7 lbs. All that being said the most important thing is that it shoots where you are looking and you can carry it all day. Being in my late 60's I like a gun between 6 and 7 lbs . More important than barrel length is the chokes and the shells. I would say to use cyl in the first barrel and mod in the second. If your gun is choked tight use spreaders. My 30" 20ga VHE has full chokes and I use RST spreaders and home made Poly-wad spreaders. The last thing I would do is once the Woodcock have moved south is only shoot #6 shot, you will kill more birds .

[chris dawe]

I do ,I look at it this way ...generally a guy 5'6 is going to find a 30 inch gun lousy for poke and shoot leaning more towards a shorter lighter gun,
and all things being equal a 6'2 guy will find a 26 inch gun (well I do for sure ) a very conscience effort to shoot well ,I find a 30 inch gun no hindrance at all as long as mentioned before that the chokes are appropriate for the game being chased.

Most trees I've contacted bbls with grouse hunting have struck mid tube ,like everywhere at the moment of the shot we try to maneuver to the best position and yes Newfoundland while known mostly for barrens has woods ,thick snarly crap... just ask Brian Hornacek.

All boils down to what you as an individual shoot well IMHO ...and that is worth just what it cost;)

[Kirk Potter]

This made me think of this article Grays had a couple of years ago:

http://www.grayssportingjournal.com/the-grouse-gun/

[Rich Anderson]

My preference is 26 and no longer than 28.

[Kirk Potter]

I just ordered 4 boxes of the RST paper spreader shells for my 30" GH choked full/full, so I'll give it a try. I've never hunted with anything besides 26" barrels.

[Jay Gardner]

I've hunted grouse and woodcock with 30" barrels on numerous occasions and I don't ever recall clipping a tree because of the length of the barrels. The challenge can be choke which can be remedied by shooting spreader loads in one or both barrels.