Short Vent Rib BBL for 870?

[HMMurdock]

For some godforsaken reason, I am fond of the vent rib style shotgun barrels. I only see them in the extra long, bird hunting lengths. I am curious if anyone makes such a barrel in a shorter, easier to tote length (18", 21". etc) and exactly what the purpose of the vent rib design is over the standard smooth barrels.

I am relatively new to the shotgun market and not an experienced hunter, so please excuse my ignorance!

 

[Fred Fuller]

Remington makes a 21" Turkey barrel that might make you happy. It has a vent rib and twin beads and is set up for RemChokes from the factory.

http://www.remington.com/products/firearms/shotguns/model_870/model_870_express_turkey.asp

I have one I bought used, for a couple of years it was the only shotgun I had available. It was a 'do-it-all' design, with just a pocketful of choke tubes.

lpl/nc

 

[ArmedBear]

The rib helps align your eye quickly when you mount the gun and acquire a target. Your eye follows the rib naturally, and your brain doesn't switch to the other eye unconsciously as you move the gun.

The rib also allows the manufacturer to tweak the elevation of the pattern vs. the outer contour of the barrel.

Supposedly, the vent rib also prevents heat mirage from blurring your sight picture. I've never noticed that this was a problem with my old plain-barrel 1100, and I've used it when it was 117 degrees in the shade, and I've gotten the barrel really hot.

However, I do notice that the first two points are valid. I can hit targets/birds with the ribless gun, but the rib does free my brain and eyes up to do other things. This means more targets, hit faster.