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12 Gauge Shotgun
bigoutside
Member Posts: 19,443 ✭
What's an appropriate barrel length for shooting pheasant?
Comments
You expected this kind of answer when you posted it, right?[:o)]
Short if up close, longer if farther away.
You expected this kind of answer when you posted it, right?[:o)]
Well yes, I did![;)]
[:D][:D][:D]
Any length will work especially with 00 buck, aim for the ones with the torches and pitchforks first.
Not peasants!!!
[:D][:D]
Any length will work especially with 00 buck, aim for the ones with the torches and pitchforks first.
[:D]
If you are walking - beating - driving game and working with dogs in scrub brush or agricultural fields I would recommend 26" bbl's with a good set of interchangeable choke tubes and ammo
The need to maneuver the gun and bring it up quick for snap shots on off angles means light and short is preferred
A browning citori lightning in 12 gauge with 26" o/a bbls is almost optimal as a template for consideration
Jmho
Mike
So Mike, I bot a 26" Browning BPS at a Gander Mountain going out of business sale two weeks ago. Under $400 out the door. Had to have it at that price. Browning for Mossberg price? Sold.
My first shotgun ever.
It seems HUGELY long to me!
Steel Modified and Steel Full chokes were included (there are "lead" notations. But that is only confusing to me.)
I understand I'll need to go pattern it at some point. But I'm in the ballpark. Right?
It's a good start.
You will need some practice - some rounds of trap shooting on a regular basis with it to get it right.
I have always found the citori lightnings to be light and live guns in the field
But you have a good product at a good price that is suitable under most circumstances.
Mike
When I won the pheasant trip at auction, I was hoping it would require a Citori. [;)]
What I'm hearing you say... is that this would be perfect for my wife who will be on the trip with us. And a Citori would be great for someone who was traveling with her on this expedition?[;)][:D]
We have some time, and some resources to get us on trap to practice.
But it still seems like I'm swinging a telephone pole at 26"!
That being said modern shotgun shells are made for 22-24" barrels. Anything less or more will give you very slightly less than the velocities published on the boxes. The length of barrel also has little to do with pattern density, as someone else said the choke does probably 60% and the shotgun shell itself probably 40%. It just so happens that the two most common lengths are 26" or 28" barrels. There are some 24" and 30" too but not nearly as common.
So in summary get what you can afford and what feels good to quickly shoulder and point, they all work nearly the same.
My main pheasant gun is an Ithaca 37 with 26" vent rib barrel and choke tubes. I recently bought a Beretta White Wing O/U with 26" barrels and choke tubes I am going to give a try.
Any length will work especially with 00 buck, aim for the ones with the torches and pitchforks first.
Match the choke and the shell and hit the bird.
Any length will work especially with 00 buck, aim for the ones with the torches and pitchforks first.
Well played
as someone stated before barrel length is not nearly as important as he choke selection. with pheasants you have a tad longer aiming time than say a covey of quail. a pheasant will fly up first before he takes off horizontal from decent field cover.
if i am not mistaken, that BPS takes Invector PLUS choke tubes
and there is a wide variety of choke tubes. for most pheasant country a light modified would be ideal out to 35 -40 yards
whether from a 30-28-26 barrel, whatever you feel comfortable with, your buddies will let you know NOT to bring that short/ported barrel along ever again because of the increased report. quote:Originally posted by bigoutside
quote:Originally posted by mrmike08075
If you are walking - beating - driving game and working with dogs in scrub brush or agricultural fields I would recommend 26" bbl's with a good set of interchangeable choke tubes and ammo
The need to maneuver the gun and bring it up quick for snap shots on off angles means light and short is preferred
A browning citori lightning in 12 gauge with 26" o/a bbls is almost optimal as a template for consideration
Jmho
Mike
So Mike, I bot a 26" Browning BPS at a Gander Mountain going out of business sale two weeks ago. Under $400 out the door. Had to have it at that price. Browning for Mossberg price? Sold.
My first shotgun ever.
It seems HUGELY long to me!
Steel Modified and Steel Full chokes were included (there are "lead" notations. But that is only confusing to me.)
I understand I'll need to go pattern it at some point. But I'm in the ballpark. Right?
You could go retro. This was my pheasant shooter for many years. Model 12 20" riot gun with a Weaver choke. I even took it to the trap range, there were a few chuckles. But it did well.
Love it !!!![^][^][^][^][^]