Best barrel length for Saiga 12

[Cal-gun Fan]

Hey guys,
What do you think is the best barrel length for a Saiga 12? The shotgun would be primarily for clay pigeons, bird hunting, and small game. I'm no zombie hunter or SHTF nut, so I don't need it for those purposes

 

[6x6pinz]

I use the 24" barrel with a polychoke on it for my hunting needs. It does great and on occasion I will go out and bust some clays with it. My S12 is unconverted. Funny that some will say it is off balanced but they must have never swung a double barrel.
IMHO if you are a decent shotgunner you can hit with anything on a regular basis, some just take a little more practice.

 

[CAOxInfinity]

Mine has the 18" barrel. I love it for clays and foul hunting, but +1 for polychoke!!

Sent from my Incredible 2 using Tapatalk

 

[paintballdude902]

not legal for bird hunting in the US unless you get a 2rd mag. the gun must not be able to hold more than 3 rounds (2+1) while hunting migratory birds. the only exceptions i know of are for snow geese in some states

18.5 is a little short for birds i find something in the lower to mid 20s works well. so 24ish

 

[Girodin]

not legal for bird hunting in the US unless you get a 2rd mag.

I believe in some state one can have more than 3 rounds for upland game. One needs to check his or her local regulations of course.

The mag limit makes a box fed gun a pain in the field versus a tube fed gun IMHO. And I say that as someone who really loves his S12.

If my purpose was wing shooting I'd skip the S12 for a number of reasons. My preference in an S12 is the 19" barrel. However, were I buying one with wing shooting in mind I would likely opt for the longer barrel and then use some form of choke. Options include, screw on choke sets, screw on choke adapters, poly choke, having the barrel threaded internal (either for thin wall chokes or cutting the existing external threads and threading internally below that).

 

[6x6pinz]

It is not a very hard task to add magazine blocks in a 5 round magazine. I don't know of any state that allows more than 3 rounds for migratory birds. I hear the complaint about reloading a bunch from my fellow hunters. Yes it is a little more work and you have to use your brain more which is why most don't like the box magazine. I can't recall being in a situation where reloading a tube gun fast got me another bird. Once shots start flying so do the birds. They don't seem to come back very quickly. It only takes a second to switch magazines. I usually have plenty of time to top off or reload the used magazines. I take five mags into the field with me. That gives me 11 loaded rounds and a bag limit of only 7 birds(waterfowl). I don't normally have to reload too many magazines.
The S12 is not my first go to waterfowl shotgun but is fun to take out a few times a year just to use it. I prefer a pump gun but will also take an auto out. I like a variety of actions. Keeps me on my toes and gives me an excuse to use different shotguns.

 

[Navy87Guy]

The three-round limit for migratory birds is Federal -- not state. And yes, a simple wire block limits the mag capacity to 2 rounds (plus one in the chamber, for a total of 3) to make it legal for migratory bird hunting.

 

[paintballdude902]

I believe in some state one can have more than 3 rounds for upland game. One needs to check his or her local regulations of course.

maybe for some upland but im pretty sure the 3rd rule is federal for all migratory game birds

 

[Cal-gun Fan]

The magazine limit is fine; there are 2 round magazines available for 5-10 bucks.