When did the increased desirability of longer barrels begin & why is that so?

[Jeff Elder]

I’m leaning towards the decline of upland birds and the popularity of duck gunning and sporting clays.

[6pt-Sika]

You can bet your backside if I had the J Cliff Green skeet set I’d shoot the hell out of them both at skeet and dove/quail . However in the last four or five years I’ve gained an affection for 32” guns and use them at pheasant tower shoots . When I was a younger fellow I thought 26” and possibly 28” were bird length while 30” and above were duck goose length . Now things kinda merge !

[6pt-Sika]

Thirtyfive or so years ago I had a pair of 16 gauge Citori’s I shot A LOT . One was a 24” Upland Special that killed a fair number of grouse and quail . The other was a 28” Lightening that one was my dove and sporting clays gun .

[Double Lab]

All one has to do is handle and shoot a quality smallbore, I'm talking 20 or 28ga, and if you don't understand the attraction for the longer barrels then fine. There aren't enough to go around anyway. I've loved them since the 70's so it's nothing new to me.

[MrBojangles]

Originally Posted by Daryl Corona

All one has to do is handle and shoot a quality smallbore, I'm talking 20 or 28ga, and if you don't understand the attraction for the longer barrels then fine. There aren't enough to go around anyway. I've loved them since the 70's so it's nothing new to me.

Is the implication that a long barreled smallbore shotgun is something to strive for, or is the implication why bother at all with a long barreled 12.gauge as a small bore handles better?

[Double Lab]

Originally Posted by Ian Civco

Is the implication that a long barreled smallbore shotgun is something to strive for, or is the implication why bother at all with a long barreled 12.gauge as a small bore handles better?

Ian, that all depends on the individual. I've got some great handling 12 ga guns but I've always loved the 20 and 28 gauges. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

[MrBojangles]

Originally Posted by Daryl Corona

Ian, that all depends on the individual. I've got some great handling 12 ga guns but I've always loved the 20 and 28 gauges. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Thank you for your response. It was ambiguous with regards to the first post as to what your inclinations are, and I see they are both!

The lowly 12 gauge is the Rodney Dangerfield of the shotgun world. It just doesn’t get any respect! Many nice examples sell very cheaply.

A 28 gauge or .410 side by side Parker definitely is of interest—but they aren’t cheap.