22 inch barrel for hunting

[anthonyv]

gday all to introduce myself i am from australia

our gun laws suck and we are restricted to choice when it comes to shotguns

i am interested in buying a chiappa 1887 lever action shotgun for abit of fun ( already have 2 beretta O/U with 30 inch barrels)

i have a choice between 28 inch and 22 inch barrels

what should i pick?

i want to use it for shooting pigs out the back of a ute ( pick up truck) on the move and probably the same with foxes ( keep in mind i already have two 30 inches)

let me know what you guys think

cheers, anthony

 

[jaguarxk120]

Just remember two things, first you won't be in the ute all the time, and second the muzzle blast from a 22 inch barrel is much greater than a 28 inch barrel.

 

[Blacksmoke]

what is a "ute"?

 

[anthonyv]

haha sorry mate forgot it was an australian term, a ute is a utility or i guess you guys call it a pick up truck?

sorry for any confusion

 

[Fred Fuller]

Welcome aboard, anthonyv...

The main considerations as I see it will be the range at which your shots will be taken, and the choke (if any) in the shotgun's barrel. Not to mention how big/tough the pigs are.

What loads do you have available/plan to use?

In general a shorter barrel will pattern as well as a longer one, all else being equal. The shorter barrel won't swing as well as a longer one in wingshooting etc., but you'll be shooting at slower moving less predictable targets. I can't see that the shorter barrel will be a handicap there.

The shorter barrel will be an advantage in tight quarters, but will require a commensurate increase in muzzle awareness as it's easier to unintentionally cover something close by with the shorter shotgun.

Is this the same data you're seeing? http://www.chiappafirearms.com/product/831

 

[bannockburn]

anthonyv

I have always liked using a short barreled shotgun (22" or 24" barrel), when hunting for upland game in the Northeast section of the U.S. Typically the landscape is wooded and uneven and features moderate to heavy undergrowth with dense, close-in tight areas. Just moving around in this kind of terrain is made somewhat more difficult with a longer barreled shotgun. It's a bit easier, and faster, to get a shorter barrel into action and on target in such situations.

 

[stressed]

Ute is a modern Australian version of the el-camino/ranchero.

I would use the 22" barrel.

 

[anthonyv]

Thanks for the responses guys

I don't think any shots should be attempted past 40 yards

I plan on using 00 buck( 9 pellets) loads for pigs and also BB shot for foxes

The gun comes with 3 chokes. Open, half and full

Fred fuller, that is the same gun. Abit silly I know and I wish I could just get a remington 870 but I think it'll still be fun

 

[rcmodel]

Another point worth considering.

The Winchester Lever-Action shotgun was an interesting point in repeating shotgun history that lasted only a few brief years until the pump shotgun was perfected by John Browning & sold by Winchester.

Only about 95,000 Winchester lever-action shotguns were made & sold over the course of their production history.

They were found to be inferior for any use the more modern 1893 & 1897 pump shotguns couldn't do easier, faster, and better.

Fun to look at, but not so much to use.

rc

 

[jmr40]

You already have 2 guns with longer barrels. A 22" barrel will fill a different role. They are not ideal for flying or running game, but work better than many purists want to admit. Sometimes a shorter gun is more important.

 

[ugaarguy]

RC, Anthony is in the land of Oz. I'm pretty sure all pump shotguns are banned there as "riot guns". So, the choices are a lever action or a break action.

 

[anthonyv]

That's my thinking but I'm still unsure

Most shots will be on running animals but they'll be foxes and pigs

Have been back and forward and can't decide

 

[ZVP]

Hello Austrailia! Welcome aboard!
I made a Pawn Shop find into a Home Defense arm by cutting the barel down to 19 1/2" and just last week it dawned on me how great it'd be for quick hunting shots! I pity a Jackrabbit hit by a load of #8 from this short barreled gun!
Sure the Cy;inder Bore barrel is intended to fire slugs and Buckshot but by changing loads and shot sizes you can vary the preformance at various ranges.
I train with light Target loads intended for the clays but it helps me familiarise myself with the gun and saves the sholder a LOT!'
I too have a sweet 20 ga side by side with 28" BBL's for hunting. The 20 ga is capable of taking all the usual Game species with ease,
JMHO
ZVP

 

[Fred Fuller]

I'm one of those ol' boys Bocephus sang about, raised on shotguns. Most of my shotgun use in the earlier years was on game, often doves and quail. My experience is that, while a longer barrel is indeed more useful for moving targets on a predictable course (doves), a shorter barrel is no handicap on targets likely to 'jink' (quail, rabbits) but is indeed an advantage. I recall a couple of quail hunts where as an experiment I carried my grandfather's US ordnance marked Savage 720 (Browning A-5/Rem Model 11 clone) with its issue riot barrel. That thing was so murderous on Gentleman Bob that I went back to my SXS.

Others may have different experiences, but for me a short(er) barrel is no handicap on a shotgun likely to be used for unpredictably moving targets. If anything it is an advantage IMHO.

 

[jmr40]

Fred you are right with most hunters. The longer barrels are being driven by the clay games where they are an advantage on predictable shots. All of the best hunters I've ever known gravitate toward shorter 26" and less barrels. Especially on repeaters. A 26" pump or semi has about the same overall length and balance as a 30" double.

 

[eastbank]

after shooting several rounds to see where it shot(very flat), i shot a round of trap for the first time with my new to me browning citori upland special 12ga with 24 'barrels and shot a 23-25 at the 17 yd line, i do shoot my browning BT-100 with a 34 'barrel at trap, but not that much better. eastbank.

 

[anthonyv]

thanks for the responses guys, i think im going to go with the 22 inch model, between me and my father we have 1 28 inch shotgun and 2 30 inch shotguns, i feel like ill be getting the same thing if i get another long gun so will give the shorty a try

 

[Virginian]

I'm with rcmodel; it's not the barrel length bothering me but the choice of gun. I think you will be sorry if you get the copy of a lever action shotgun that never was a big hit.

 

[MJD]

If anyone isn't familiar with Australia's gun laws, a pump action shotgun is not in the picture for him. At a basic level, he is restricted to either a double barrel or single barrel break-open, or a lever action shotgun. Make sense? Nope, considering that it is quite legal to have a Remington 7615 pump action with a 30 round magazine, but I digress. Those are the confines in which he must live.

I have done a fair bit of time in the outback with that exact gun. It shot well and maneuvered very well in the bush and vehicle both. I really enjoyed shooting it. As with most lever actions, it didn't like to be babied; when you work the lever, work it like you mean it! I was packing the 18.5 inch version, I believe.

Aussies are some of the finest on Earth. Happy shooting and hunting, mate.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Hope it works well for you, anthonyv... this might help:

http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/topic/233403-review-of-the-chiappa-1887-lever-action-shotgun/

Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erC-cNQ52zM

 

[Pete D.]

SG

after shooting several rounds to see where it shot(very flat), i shot a round of trap for the first time with my new to me browning citori upland special 12ga with 24 'barrels and shot a 23-25 at the 17 yd line, i do shoot my browning BT-100 with a 34 'barrel at trap, but not that much better. eastbank

I have had a similar experience using a Baikal IZH-43 SXS with 26" barrels. I am perhaps a bird better with the BT-99.
Pete

 

[MattShlock]

Hi Anthony V;
I'd say 22". "Why Matt," you ask. Well mate, because a 22" barrel is a lot faster swinging. The longer barrels on a shotgun are to aid in follow-through, swing, for the most part. They add leverage to the momentum once you are swinging on or through the target as you normally hunt/shoot. Pigs can be quite different.

Wild hogs, the devils, take more "aiming" and sometimes snap shooting in a pinch. My BIL nailed one that attacked him from behind in the woods and he snap shot it with a .44 Mag. rifle. It died at his feet and he never hunted the things again.

Note also that most shotgun ammo is designed to get optimal (not quite necessarily maximum) power in an 18" barrel so you aren't losing anything but a little sight radius and 22" is just fine.

Oh, and it's differenter and cooler...

She'll be Apples!

 

[hentown]

I shoot a 22" Invector barrel, when shooting doves with my A5. My father, who was one of the best shotgunners I've ever observed, disdained barrels longer than about 24".

I recently inherited an Ithaca Mod 37 with 28" modified barrel. I might try it, but am prejudiced against such a long barrel. I'm inclined to have the barrel shortened to about 24" and threaded for choke tubes.

I don't shoot skeet, trap, etc., where a longer barrel might prove to be more effective. I have been shotgunning since I was 6-yrs-old, when I was presented with a Win .410 pump.

If I HAD to live in Australia, or anywhere else so limited in personal freedoms, I probably wouldn't need but one round...for myself.

 

[eastbank]

i will use the 24" barreled browning upland special to shoot a round of sporting clays. eastbank.

 

[MICHAEL T]

The shot has reached full velocity by around 20" with modern powder. The long barrels were from black powder days . Every one learned on long barrel and they just stayed around. For most shooting 22 will be fine . Ive used a Rossi coach gun with 20" since 1973 for hunting pheasant, rabbits ,dove, and so on . I have mod choke .

Years back Remington went to short barrel field guns It takes a little practice because of the difference in length.