Hi all, first time posting in this forum.
Quick question, I am interested in buying a Beretta 686 sporting 12 ga. O/U For some trap shooting and clays shooting with our own thrower, probably no skeet or sporting clays. I have held the silver pigeon in the 30 inch barrel and the white onyx in the 32 inch barrel both felt great both same price. Is there an advantage to the 32 inch over the 30 inch? I am 6'3 210, and able to handle either one. Thanks for reading my post and will appreciate your opinions.

all about feel... My .02 is I'd get the pigeon... but only 'cause I already have the other one

Beretta barrels are extremely light, much more so than any other mfg in the same barrel length. Go w/ the 32", and you still might end up needing to add weight to them.

Good one tool man!! Thanks to you both, I also posted this question in the clays forum and so far everyone likes the 32 .

I shoot 32's and will never shoot anything shorter for clay games. Love them. 6'2" 250lbs. You will have no problem handling them.

I have a White Onyx Sporting with 32" barrels and I could not be happier with it, no need to change a thing! I'm 6' 3" and 190lb. FYI I picked it up from the classifieds on this site for $1400.00 like new
Good luck with your search you will love either one!

Kurt

I shoot a DT10L 32" at 5' 11" so you can handle a 32" gun just fine.

I'm not sure where the idea originated that someone's physical size & weight is a factor in choosing barrel length. Anyone within the normal range of size, weight & strength can handle any normal O/U up to 34" so forget about stature.

What matters is handling & feel. The concensus view is most modern Berettas feel better in 32". Some, like the Gold E, have extremely light fully vented barrels but the Pigeon & Onyx sporters have slightly heavier solid ribbed barrels and may, just may, feel better to you in 30".

Go with your senses. Mount and swing each one a few times and chances are one will speak louder to you.

Go 32" with the o/u. I went from a 30" 686 to a 32" 687 and would never go back to the 30" gun.
Gofer

Why? What difference did the 2" made for you that you would never go back?

32" without question.

Also if you ever try to unload the gun, the 32s are much more desirable on the the open market.

Barrel length, it's a pretty controversial topic...

I had a 30 inch 686 Sporting and switched to a 28 inch 682 Gold E and my scores increased a bit. Later I switched to a 32 inch 682 Gold E and my scores never changed. Frankly, I think that I could pick up a 28 inch Gold E today and shoot a round without my scores changing at all...
That's not what most proponents of the long barreled shot guns want to hear, but that's my take on it for what it's worth.
Shoot what ever feels good to you.

Nick,
It's that elusive "feel" that we search for in a shotgun. For me, it was a very noticeable difference in the way the gun handled and pointed when I went to the 32" barrels. I never checked the actual weight of the barrel sets, but I could feel the difference.
Plus, I'm 2" closer to the target...
cheers-Gofer

Before I got my 686 W/O. I shot my friends 30 inch W/O. I liked It. But all my friend's said get the 32 inch barrel W/O. I did and shot a 20 on trap 1st tme useing It. They are both nice gun's.

lol

I believe the newer Optima O/U barrels are lighter than the older Mobil choke barrels. Therefore, the 30" Mobil Choke barrels will feel similar to 32" Optima barrels. At least that was my rationale when purchasing a set of barrels for my 682 skeet gun.

Please feel free to correct me if I am mistaken.

I recently ordered a 30" sporting barrel(Optima) for my 391 from Beretta on sale. It came today and is 32". This is second time Beretta has screwed up an order of mine(2 out of 2). Anyway, I decided to keep it. I put it on the gun and it seems to swing nice. I shoot all the games, so my biggest concern is skeet, which I will try tomorrow. My previous barrel was 28", so seems to be a big jump. Will report back. I was surprised it has a stepped rib, but looks like it will shoot flat.

they sent me the wrong barrel today . Sent it back.

Shot 2 rounds of skeet today in pretty windy conditions here in northern, MI, but in the 50s F. Aside from the 32" barreld 391 not fitting my soft case without removing the extended Victory choke tube I was pleased with the result: 23 - 25. Now this could be the common phenonema where you shoot better the first time with a different gun, but hope not. Anyway, so far the added 4" from my other barrel did not seem to hurt me. I am 6' 2', at least before I started age shrinking, with an armspan more than my heigth, so maybe the extra length is right for me.

Personal preference. If it is possible shoot several brands of guns with different Bbl lengths. Choose the one that you have the most confidence with
Hope this Helps;
Chuck