[txaggie9307]

Howdy all!

What are your thoughts on 26” barrels for hunting? It seems these are unwanted due to a 28” or 30” barreled gun in the resale market.


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[buster45]

I used 26" barrels for years Quail, Doves and Pheasants. in both semi auto and O/U with great results. I don't hunt any more father time finally caught up with me. I shoot 32" as my clays guns in all disciplines.
Buster

 

[paghoghunter]

I believe you are correct I think that is all driven by marketing some 50 years ago I did my best pheasant hunting using a BSS 20ga with 26 in. Barrels.

 

[senorric]

Fine for hunting. Less weight to carry and faster swinging. Another plus would be cost. As 30" and 32" barrels are currently in vogue, you could find a nice used 26" auto or O/U at a fairly good price.

 

[txaggie9307]

Fine for hunting. Less weight to carry and faster swinging. Another plus would be cost. As 30" and 32" barrels are currently in vogue, you could find a nice used 26" auto or O/U at a fairly good price.

Thanks! I found a beretta silver pigeon (new) for $1700. Might have to jump at it!


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[watrdogil]

I've got a 26" on my beretta A400 unico and my SX4 in 12 gauge. Have a 28 on SX4 in 20 all used for waterfowling. I like the 26 better wish I would have gotten the 20 in a 26". I just like the way the shorter barrel swings better for me.

 

[txaggie9307]

I used 26" barrels for years Quail, Doves and Pheasants. in both semi auto and O/U with great results. I don't hunt any more father time finally caught up with me. I shoot 32" as my clays guns in all disciplines.
Buster

Thank you!


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[yukon_870]

I hunt with an Ithica / SKB 500 20 gauge with 26" barrels choked IC and MOD. I hunt a lot of ruffed grouse, woodcock and pheasant and always in thick brush. The gun is light weight and quick pointing and with the 26" barrels it is ideal for hunting in this type of cover.

 

[superxjeff]

a 26 inch auto is as long as a 28 inch over and under and maybe even longer. I have 26 inch barrels on all my hunting guns. My 10ga autos have 26 inch barrels. No need for anything longer.

 

[pheasantsgalore]

I shoot 26" double guns, never had an issue. Not one bird ever complained that got hit with my 26" side by side. Have taken many pheasant, doves, and decoying ducks with this gun, pass shooting in all cases.

 

[birdk9]

12" GA O/U at 26" is fine. Balance is good, swing is smooth.
In 20 GA O/U I would stick with 28" tubes. The gun gets really light and whippy with 26" tubes.

I prefer 26" barrels for hunting waterfowl and upland birds when using a 12 GA autoloader or O/U

My personal opinion and experience.

Good Luck, Enjoy the new gun.

 

[Chichay]

Howdy all!

What are your thoughts on 26” barrels for hunting? It seems these are unwanted due to a 28” or 30” barreled gun in the resale market.


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Then you have to set what's more important to you: your preference of barrel length or resale value. Asking somebody else gets you THEIR preference.

 

[SecondChance]

My 11-87 Premier in 20ga is wearing a 26" pipe as is my Ithaca Big Mag 10 now. Had it chopped down short for.turkey and coyote hunting. Still swings smooth for honkers due to mass weight.

 

[Big Az Al]

Howdy all!

What are your thoughts on 26” barrels for hunting? It seems these are unwanted due to a 28” or 30” barreled gun in the resale market.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The used gun (guns available in gun stores) market is driven by what walks in the door.
The two things that drive the resale market are
1st I tried it and didn't like it
2nd it was passed down to me and I have no desire to keep it.

That there are not that many 26" shotguns available is either not many have been produced or it works so well that I can't part with it!

The two 26" shotguns that I can put my hands on right now are in the works so well category.

Al

 

[Jase]

I’ve got a 20 ga o/u with 24” barrels for quail an dove hunting. If I am going to be walking a lot and carrying a gun. I sure don’t want to be lugging a heavy one all day.

 

[Jerry TMX]

All 3 of my pheasant guns have 26" barrels. I use a 20 ga Benelli Montefeltro, 12 ga Monetefeltro and my favorite gun a 12 ga. Winchester SX3. I would never buy a shotgun for hunting with any other barrel length.

 

[Hugh 3200]

I shoot trap targets very well using a 24” barrel with a 1” extended choke. Should work just fine on feathered targets. A .270 barreled 21” inches is good for furry targets.

 

[[email protected]]

Nothing wrong with a 26” barrels. They really shine in a duck blind where you are limited on room. The 26” barrels swing faster and handle better in brush for midwest quail hunting. Not to mention it makes for a lighter shotgun which is important when you walk miles each day hunting pheasant.

 

[pudelpointer]

These days I exclusively shoot 26-inch barrels.

I shoot clays to improve my hunting marksmanship as well as for enjoyment. I haven’t ever shot a registered target.

I have [old] 20 gauge O/U’s with both 28-inch and 26 barrels. I shoot better with the 26-inchers. This may be due to the fact that they’re choked IC/MOD (as opposed to FULL/MOD).

Strangely, I also break more clays with the 20 gauge 26 than with my 12 gauge 28 inch SKT/SKT guns.

My belief, heretical though it may be, is that I just need to shoot one gun really, really well. That one gun also needs to fit me as close to perfectly as possible.

This gun happens to be a field model and is just over 6 pounds. The weight really helps in the field, and I don’t mind the recoil when shooting clays.

My observation is that the gun I shoot well also has a great sight picture (which I think is correlated to the stock, rib, and bead(s) dimension).

Nobody may ever want to buy the gun, due to the barrels, but my son will enjoy it, just like I am now with my father’s old 26-inch gun 🙂

 

[BABYSITR]

I left the 28/30" barrels, when I bought my new SX-2 universal hunter in 26" in 2003 ...have never once felt I should have gotten a 28"