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Does a longer barrel mean tighter patterns?
- Thread starter natman
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Fred Fuller
Moderator Emeritus
If every thing else is equal will a 26" barrel give a tighter pattern than an otherwise identical 20" barrel?
Ah, but there's the rub. It's almost impossible for two production shotgun barrels to have "everything else equal." Shotgun barrels are a law unto themselves. There is a combination of influences caused by minute differences in internal geometry in each individual barrel that makes it perform as it does. And it is impossible to predict how any given barrel will perform unless you pattern it.
As a general rule choke and forcing cone geometry will have FAR more to do with how barrels perform than barrel length does. But it's hard to go beyond generalities where shotgun barrels are concerned. That's why some of us oldpharts yell so much about newbies whacking off barrels they haven't bothered to shoot- they might well be wrecking a gem of a barrel without knowing or caring. Short barrels are easy to come by but a good turkey shoot, duck blind or dove field barrel isn't. With shotgun barrels it's often the luck of the draw as to what you get performance wise. And pretty near impossible to predict- until after you make that trip down to the patterning board enough times. This afternoon for example I had an 18 1/8" factory CYL bore 870 barrel throwing 3" patterns with 00 buck- at 25 yards. Yes, 25 yards. Yes, three inch patterns with nine 00 pellets in them.
But the buckshot load was Federal LE127 00 with the FilteControl wad- which is famous for parlor tricks like that. I've spent more money than a barrel originally cost getting forcing cones extended and choke tubes installed, trying to get that kind of performance out of other barrels in years gone by. And here comes this old parkerized Police gun takeoff barrel that got a good cleaning when I got it home and that's it, turning in this kind of performance with this particular load. I haven't tried it with any other buckshot load yet- but then, why bother 8^).
hth,
lpl/nc
Ah, but there's the rub. It's almost impossible for two production shotgun barrels to have "everything else equal." Shotgun barrels are a law unto themselves. There is a combination of influences caused by minute differences in internal geometry in each individual barrel that makes it perform as it does. And it is impossible to predict how any given barrel will perform unless you pattern it.
As a general rule choke and forcing cone geometry will have FAR more to do with how barrels perform than barrel length does. But it's hard to go beyond generalities where shotgun barrels are concerned. That's why some of us oldpharts yell so much about newbies whacking off barrels they haven't bothered to shoot- they might well be wrecking a gem of a barrel without knowing or caring. Short barrels are easy to come by but a good turkey shoot, duck blind or dove field barrel isn't. With shotgun barrels it's often the luck of the draw as to what you get performance wise. And pretty near impossible to predict- until after you make that trip down to the patterning board enough times. This afternoon for example I had an 18 1/8" factory CYL bore 870 barrel throwing 3" patterns with 00 buck- at 25 yards. Yes, 25 yards. Yes, three inch patterns with nine 00 pellets in them.
But the buckshot load was Federal LE127 00 with the FilteControl wad- which is famous for parlor tricks like that. I've spent more money than a barrel originally cost getting forcing cones extended and choke tubes installed, trying to get that kind of performance out of other barrels in years gone by. And here comes this old parkerized Police gun takeoff barrel that got a good cleaning when I got it home and that's it, turning in this kind of performance with this particular load. I haven't tried it with any other buckshot load yet- but then, why bother 8^).
hth,
lpl/nc
Jeff F
Member
Nope, length has little to do with how tight a pattern a shotgun will throw. Its choke and load that governs how tight a pattern will be. Every once in awhile I will go shoot trap with an 870 that has a plus 3 mag extension and a 20 inch rem choke barrel with a full tube in it. Get some weird looks but I brake some major clay with it and that usually shuts them up. Makes for good practice with the HD slug gun.
Going from 20" to 26", no. Looks like pattern isn't affected much by barrel length until you get to 12" and below. http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=4178027&postcount=54
Snarlingiron
Member
But the buckshot load was Federal LE127 00 with the FilteControl wad- which is famous for parlor tricks like that. I've spent more money than a barrel originally cost getting forcing cones extended and choke tubes installed, trying to get that kind of performance out of other barrels in years gone by. And here comes this old parkerized Police gun takeoff barrel that got a good cleaning when I got it home and that's it, turning in this kind of performance with this particular load. I haven't tried it with any other buckshot load yet- but then, why bother 8^).
I did extensive patterning with my 20" cylinder bore 870. The exact load that you describe i.e. LE127 00, patterned only so, so with my gun. However, I patterned Remington Reduced Recoil 00 and got performance similar to what you report with the Federal. Go figure. But I traded my Federal for Remington with one of the guys that I was shooting with. You have to pattern the gun. And as Lee Lapin says, when you find the Holy Grail, why bother going on?
Snarlingiron
Member
Ok, Ok, I got it. I misspelled "Shakespear" in my signature. Fixed it now.
RNB65
Member
No, barrel length only affects the handling and feel of the gun.
Shot pattern is a function of choke constriction, shot size, and shot velocity.
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Shot pattern is a function of choke constriction, shot size, and shot velocity.
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