28 inch barrels vs 30 inch barrels

[Shawn Wayment]

I've hunted with 29 inch barrels and really enjoyed them on an AYA. I hunt mostly on the wide open prairie...anyone have an opinion on hunting with 30 inch barrels on the open prairie?

[Harold Lee Pickens]

yes, I love the longer barrels, seem to shoot them better, but I dont want a heavy gun if I'm walking all day. I have a couple hammer guns (not Parkers), a 16 and a 20, that are sub 6 lbs with 30" barrels.

[Daryl Corona]

That's just about all I carry out west Shawn. Two of my go-to favorites are a 30" 20ga Sterlingworth and a Parker 30" 28ga. Both are right at or a tad under 6lb.

Also in play at times is a VH Parker 16 at 30" which is the heavyweight in the group at 6lb 8oz.

[Jerry Parise]

30" barrels are my favorite barrel length. Whether I shoot clays or birds 12 ga. or 28 ga. the barrels are 30". The 30s just swing well for me.

[Garry L Gordon]

I like a more weight-forward balance for longer, more open shots like we get on the prairie, so the 30 inch barrels seem to promote a better follow through for me. I have a CSMC Fox XE with 29 inch barrels that weighs just under 6 lbs., but has enough weight ahead of the hinge pin to keep moving. It worked very well for me on early season sharptails and huns in Montana. My DHE 20 with 30 inch barrels is my go-to open field quail gun in my Missouri home covers. For dove, I like a heavier, long barreled gun. For ducks, it doesn't matter -- I can't hit them unless they are on top of me.:crying:

In brushy cover, I find 26 inch barrels work nicely.

[Randy G Roberts]

anyone have an opinion on hunting with 30 inch barrels on the open prairie?

Nope, never used anything that short:) My go to Phez-Sharpie gun is a 32" 16 gauge VHE that weighs something like 6-11 if I recall correctly. I really like the long barrels in the open country and never felt them to be an issue to carry, opinions will vary greatly on that.

[Reggie Bishop]

I have three 30" guns and if I had to choose one barrel length it would probably by 30". I would love to add another 30" gun or two to the mix.

[John Allen]

It wasn't that long ago that you could not give a 30" or 32" double gun away. A 26" gun brought a premium price. The rise of sporting clays has really changed the market. Personally, I shoot a 28" barreled gun best. I have found that the longer barrels slow me down.

[Stan Hillis]

Color me a long barrel man. The only double I use hunting, that is under 30", is a 28" Sterlingworth Ejector 20 gauge quail and woodcock gun. I have not a clue what prairie hunting is like but i have used 30" barrels, in 20 and in 28 gauge, for quail and shot them very well.

I recently shot a round of sporting clays with a Valmet O/U that has 36" barrels. I shot well enough with it to win my class, AA, and Sr. Veteran concurrent. Most of the birds I missed was because I was ahead of them ......... too much lead. It was surreal. How could you get too far out in front of clays with a 36" barreled double? The barrels are so finely struck that it moved faster than my 31 1/2" barreled Perazzi MX-8.

Strange, but true.

It's not always the length of the barrels that matters in how the gun moves. How the barrels are struck is supremely important.

[Dave Noreen]

My go to bird gun for over fifty years has been a straight-grip 28-inch barrel A-Grade Ansley H. Fox 12-gauge shooting everything from Sharptails in Saskatchewan to Quail along the Mexican border and a lot of Pheasants in between. Also a lot of jump shooting ducks out of irrigation ditches incidental to those Pheasants in my college years. My favorite side-by-side skeet gun is virtually the same thing, a 28-inch barrel Fox-Sterlingworth Ejector Skeet & Upland Game Gun.

[Kevin McCormack]

For prarie birds (e.g., no trees!) , 30" SxSs or O/Us choked IC/IM; for close work on grouse or woodcock in the densely-choked alders and aspens, 26" SxSs with SK/CYL. When the doves get "cute", a nice 32" 20 gauge bored M/F sure gets their attention.

[Tom Flanigan]

Most of my sharptail and Hun shooting in Saskatchewan is with a 12 bore DHE bored modified and full with 28” barrels. I use that gun because it is a light gun of just under 7 lbs. and is easy to carry all afternoon. I really like 30” barrels but my 30” 12 bore guns are a tad to heavy to carry for a long time. I’ve also shot a 34” DHE on occasion when I didn’t feel like going back after duck hunting to change guns. It did well but is a tad too heavy to carry long distances, but I did like the longer barrels for those birds.

My grandfather’s 28” open bored 20 gauge VH is perfect for grouse shooting in the East. I never did like 26” barrels. Maybe its because I shot so well with the 28” barrel VH since I was a kid. I have a Holland and Holland 28 bore with factory 27” barrels that I shoot well with on grouse. If I could order a grouse gun today from Parker, it would be a 28 bore with 30” barrels.

[Dean Romig]

In my opinion, the perceived difference in barrel length of a scant two inches in how a gun might shoot, choked identically, is purely psychological.





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[David Noble]

In my opinion, the perceived difference in barrel length of a scant two inches in how a gun might shoot, choked identically, is purely psychological.
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you may be right, but a psychological advantage is a good thing!

[Tom Flanigan]

In my opinion, the perceived difference in barrel length of a scant two inches in how a gun might shoot, choked identically, is purely psychological.

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I agree completely, but psychology does play a part in how we shoot. But a change from 26" barrels to 30" does have a practical difference. I like long barrels, especially on a small bore. In my mind, 30" barrels on an open bored 28 gauge would be perfect for grouse. I wish I had one.

[Dean Romig]

All true but, psychological disadvantages can be overcome.





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[Tom Flanigan]

All true but, psychological disadvantages can be overcome.

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For sure.....

[Randy G Roberts]

I always enjoy reading and rereading Guachos writing on the topic of barrel length, it appears he had a definite opinion as per the following excerpt from his writings:

"Some day I hope to test my 34-inch gun for velocity against one having only 28-inch barrels, but whatever may be the result, I for one have yet to find a first-class thoroughly well versed man shooting a double gun with barrels less than 30 inches in length."

His words not mine. I chuckle every time I read that :)

[Harold Lee Pickens]

Tom, I agree, I am looking into buying a Dickinson or Fair Iside 28 ga, and it will have 30" barrels.

[Jerry Parise]

I have to respectfully disagree with a two inch difference in barrel length being purely psychological. I think that a two inch difference in barrel length would yield a measurable difference in inertia. After all, inertia is why we opt for the longer barrel. Especially in a light sub gauge gun where the longer barrel helps our swing in preventing our checking the swing on crossing or quartering birds or targets.

[Dean Romig]

I have to respectfully disagree with a two inch difference in barrel length being purely psychological. I think that a two inch difference in barrel length would yield a measurable difference in inertia. After all, inertia is why we opt for the longer barrel. Especially in a light sub gauge gun where the longer barrel helps our swing in prevent checking the swing on crossing or quartering birds or targets.


Respectfully, it’s hard to agree with the theory that 2” of barrel length, at what something less than 2 ounces, especially whan Parker Brothers balanced their guns perfectly, would account for a better swing through...? I still think it’s psychological.

But we each havr our own opinions and can respect each other’s position.





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[Harold Lee Pickens]

:):)For me it is not psychological, it's just all in my head.

[John Dallas]

"I always enjoy reading and rereading Guachos writing on the topic of barrel length, it appears he had a definite opinion as per the following excerpt from his writings:

"Some day I hope to test my 34-inch gun for velocity against one having only 28-inch barrels, but whatever may be the result, I for one have yet to find a first-class thoroughly well versed man shooting a double gun with barrels less than 30 inches in length."

His words not mine. I chuckle every time I read that :)

Wouldn't it have been interesting to see Guachos and Churchhill (Mr XXV) sitting down over several glasses of their favorite adult bevvies?

[Dean Romig]

Now THAT would be a spirited (no pun intended) conversation!!





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