I really don't think barrel length is the correct issue to be concerned about. To me weight, balance, and Moment of Inertia are more important than barrel length. Trouble is, those factors are harder to evaluate than barrel length, especially if you don't have a chance to shoot the gun before buying it.

I like very light guns. That's just my personal preference, and not everyone feels that way. The problem with a light gun is, it can be so light that it becomes "whippy", and hard to swing smoothly. A longer barrel that is light can improve the MOI without adding a lot of weight. That's why I am shooting a Beretta 391 with a 32" barrel that has no rib on it. I had the rib removed to lighten it. A shorter barrel with a rib might weigh the same but not swing as smoothly because of the difference in MOI.

I recently bought a Tristar 28 ga semiautomatic. It is extremely light (5 lb 13 oz) and 28" is the longest barrel available (they used to make a 30" but alas, I couldn't get one of those). It is so light I couldn't swing it smoothly until I put 4 oz of weight in the magazine tube and re-balanced it by adding a slip-on recoil pad (which I like for the LOP anyway). Much smoother swing now, but I would have preferred a 32" barrel.

The bottom line is, IMHO there is no such thing as a barrel that's too long, provided it does not make the gun too heavy or make it balance too far to the muzzle. You might like a heavier gun than I do (most people do).

Remember, the length of the barrel does not affect the weight as much on a SA as it does on an O/U.

 

Think Marlin Goose Gun--THAT'S too long.

 

Think Marlin Goose Gun--THAT'S too long.

Well, I've got one of those, too. Only used it for clays one time. Works great for singles, but that bolt action makes report pairs tough, and you can just forget doubles! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

I seen a nice deal on a Multi-target but it has a 32" barrel and I'm wondering if that's getting too long. At what point does the barrel start getting too long?

Due to the receiver length of an autoloader, a 32 inch barrel on an autoloader makes the gun as long as a 40 inch O/U. With extended chokes, perhaps 41 inches.

It isn't barrel length, as Seamus mentioned, it is also the weight of the barrel and how the entire gun balances, feels, and swings.

It is personal preference. For skeet (and SC), 28 - 30 inch barrels are about right (for me) but it all depends on what you like.

 

I think you might be better off going with a smaller ga., I've found that a 20ga can do just about anything a 12 can in clays. Some of my friends have gone as far as getting a 410, though we shoot Skeet primarily.

 

For shooting skeet, 7/8 oz or 3/4 oz loads will work fine. For sporting clays 1 oz loads work fine. Quite a bit of recoil reduction there. Probably more than you will get from the semi with full loads. I personally have opted just to shoot less shot in my O/U rather than to switch to a semi. A tube set to shoot 20 gauge in your O/U would make a lot of recoil reduction but you can buy the light loads in 12 gauge.

For me, a 28 inch barrel on a semi would be about right. One good think about a semi is you can change the barrel if you decide later it is too short or too long.

 

Due to the receiver length of an autoloader, a 32 inch barrel on an autoloader makes the gun as long as a 40 inch O/U. With extended chokes, perhaps 41 inches.

BS

A 32" autoloader is equivalent to a 35 - 36" O/U, AT MOST

Winchester SX3 Sporting, 32" barrel: OAL 53 1/4"
Winchester 101 Sporting, 32" barrel: OAL 49 5/8"
Only a difference of 3 5/8"

Browning Maxus Sporting, 30" barrel: OAL 51"
Browning 725 Sporting, 30" barrel: OAL 48"
Only a 3" difference

Remington 1100 Trap, 30" barrel: OAL 50 1/2"
Only 2 1/2" longer than a 30" 725

Feel free to look up the manufacturer specs

 

BS

A 32" autoloader is equivalent to a 35 - 36" O/U, AT MOST

Not exactly.

 

...At what point does the barrel start getting too long? I normally only shoot skeet but will also shoot sporting clays once in awhile. I don't hunt at all.

Depends upon the person, the preference and the practacality.

Naturally, as noted, semi-auto receiver lengths vary, which leads to discussion points of little actual importance. Consider avoiding too much such analysis and consider more fit & try with scatterguns.
Have fun doing it and learning what works for you.

On it's face, for a diet primarily composed of Skeet....I would expect a 32" barrel on any action to be unneeded and might tend to bring a reality to the shooting that may not help sore shoulders. Balance and balance over a number of rounds will speak for itself...on which measure will work for you.
28" tho, can be easily found and will simply work a treat for all but the most narrow of scattergun niches.
I would consider that length as a starting point and give it, and any other length, some time to reach past the happy marriage we all experience with most new scatterguns, as focus normally tracks the initial excitement of something new.
My own preference in a SA would be 26" or 24" but I use skeet as hunting practice and hunting scattergun familiarization.
When I used to shoot for score....28" seemed to work well enough for guvmint work....SA or break-open.

Good luck and never miss the fun portion of the process.

 

I really don't think barrel length is the correct issue to be concerned about. To me weight, balance, and Moment of Inertia are more important than barrel length.

I agree with you, Seamus. What is the polar moment of inertia that is "correct"? :shock: A two inch longer barrel gets you two inches closer to the bird.

Back in the day (at least some of my days) it wasn't at all unusual to pick up several extra barrels for an autoloader, for they were plentiful and cheap. It was also a matter of necessity in the case of B-80s, 303s, B2000s, etc., if you wanted to shoot 3 inch unfolded length shells.

Today, the poor fellow that thinks it might be fun to try a different barrel on his A400 is in for a rude awakening: http://www.berettausa.com/en-us/beretta ... jb400bf30/ . There goes a quick $800.

Things aren't always what they seem. A Browning Double Auto doesn't have a particularly long receiver, but it is a 2-3/4 inch gun only. Compare it to a 3-1/2 inch chambered inertia gun, and the difference is substantial.

That's one of the considerations with receivers designed for 3-1/2 inch shells, for it moves weight forward: the lead in the chamber, the lead in the magazine . . . it just got farther away. What used to be neutrally balanced might now be undesirably front-heavy.

Browning suggests that this is now somehow a tremendous advantage.

 

BS

A 32" autoloader is equivalent to a 35 - 36" O/U, AT MOST

Not exactly.

Well, a context-less photo of the last few inches of some barrels laying on a table is conclusive proof!

The court appointed expert witness has spoken.

Act like a man and admit when you don't know what you're talking about instead of resorting to childish insults.

 

BS

Your charisma bypass seems to be kicking in again. You might want to get that checked out. It is hard to tell if you are a part-time anonymous troll, or a professional. Keep striving.

 

I currently have a Browning 725 32" with a custom comb and bump buster installed. I haven't shot in the last couple of years but decided to take it out yesterday and now my shoulder is killing me.

Have you tried the really light loads, 3/4 oz. / 7/8 oz. loads? If you otherwise like the gun, the light payload / moderate to low velocity ammo might be the ticket to get some of the fun back into shooting and remove some of the discomfort. Bumpbusterd do work well, with target ammo, so you can probably lighten the loads.

The "Evo-Shield" will kill shoulder discomfort immediately. http://www.evoshield.com/shop/sports/outdoors

They work and work very well. You'll be surprised.

 

Federal makes a 7/8 oz light target load that is loaded with Extra Lite powder. Those shells are a delight to shoot. Randy is giving you very good advise.

 

Herter's has low recoil ammo running about 1075 fps that can help. I reload a 3/4 oz load for my A400 Xcel and it functions flawlessly

 

Take a look at an older but great condition Beretta 390 or 391 before buying the A400. When compared, the 39x guns are just much nicer (less plastic, too).

 

I appreciate everyones feedback. I plan on taking my 725 out today or tomorrow and give it a second go. I should be able to pick up some lighter loads around here I would think.

 

The lighter loads will make a big difference. One ounce at 1180 is nice. I've been shooting the Herter's shells from Cabela's, they are 1-1/8th @1050 and light, too. Both still cycle in the semi autos, too.

 

The op could consider 20 gauge tubes in the 725.
The combination of added weight and the slightly softer shooting 20 gauge should do the trick.
For skeet 28 gauge would be even better.

 

I currently have a Browning 725 32" with a custom comb and bump buster installed. I haven't shot in the last couple of years but decided to take it out yesterday and now my shoulder is killing me.

Have you tried the really light loads, 3/4 oz. / 7/8 oz. loads? If you otherwise like the gun, the light payload / moderate to low velocity ammo might be the ticket to get some of the fun back into shooting and remove some of the discomfort. Bumpbusterd do work well, with target ammo, so you can probably lighten the loads.

The "Evo-Shield" will kill shoulder discomfort immediately. http://www.evoshield.com/shop/sports/outdoors

They work and work very well. You'll be surprised.

I have the Evo-Shield, it works.

 

Ok I had an unexpected turn of events. Thursday I took my bump buster apart and changed the dampening setting from 5 to 6. After that I shot 3 rounds of skeet and it felt considerably better. Yesterday I moved the butt pad over to the left about 1/4 inch and shot 4 rounds of skeet and it was totally pain free (95% anyway). At this point I'm pretty confident I can make this work but I guess time will tell. Thanks again for everyone input. I still plan on purchasing some lighter loads though.

 

Curious, what loads are you shooting today?

 

I had a couple flats leftover from a couple years ago that were Winchester Super X game loads @ 1oz, #8, 3 1/4 dram so I was using those. Yesterday I picked up 4 flats of Winchester Super Target 1 1/8oz, #8, 3 dram but won't have a chance to use them until next weekend. I plan on buying some lighter target loads down the road though.

 

This is a quick recoil calculator. Leaving the weight of wad and power grains at the default, a 1oz load at 1290 in a 7.0 lb gun has 21.7 ft.lbs of energy. A 1-1/8th oz load at 1200 is 23.2 ft.lbs. I think that estimates your loads.

I've read before that 300fps of shot speed, 1/8th oz of lead, and 1 lb of gun weight are all about equal in resulting recoil.

http://www.omahamarian.org/trap/shotshellenergy.html

 

While the reasons your shoulder hurts can be several, when my shoulder hurts the reason is the stock is too long. The stock should fit into the pocket of your shoulder and close to your neck. While I shoot all kinds of shotguns auto's kick less for me, specially if they fit (shorter stock). I need a 14" to 14 1/4" stock. Lots are longer than that. If they are, I suffer.