What is the best barrel length for duck hunting?

What is the best barrel length for duck hunting?

Shots at ducks and geese tend to be long. A 28- or even 30-inch barrel smooths your swing and encourages a positive follow-through. Twenty-six-inch barrels will do, but anything shorter is too light in the muzzle, and deafening to the guy sitting next to you.

What is a 20 inch shotgun barrel good for?

20″-24″ barrels: These short barrels are best left to turkey hunters, who are taking careful aim at standing-still birds. They are generally too short for wingshooting, as accuracy suffers.

Is a 26 inch barrel OK for duck hunting?

As far as ballistics go, barrel length doesn’t play as big a part in it anymore. You can swing a 26″ faster! It allows you to get on the Duck faster. The longer barrel will give you much better pass shooting than the shorter one.

Does a longer shotgun barrel increase accuracy?

Longer barrels have their advantages, but they do not “shoot harder” than shorter ones. Well, not much harder, anyway. There is a slight increase in velocity with longer barrels, on the order of 5 or 6 fps per inch of barrel with most loads. You’ll read, too, that longer barrels offer a lengthened sighting plane.

Can you duck hunt with a 24 inch barrel?

I like the short barrels for general hunting, 24″ is fine for me but some of the guys in the duck boat complain about the muzzle blast. I take a longer barreled gun when I’m with them. For jumping ducks and upland birds the 24″ is very handy on an auto loader.

Can you hunt with a 20 inch shotgun?

20 Gauge – Of all the smaller shotguns, the 20 gauge is the most common, ranking right behind the 12 gauge in popularity. With lighter weight and less recoil than a 12 gauge, the 20 gauge shotgun excels at upland and small game hunting. You’ll have your pick of gun types and ammunition.

What length of shotgun barrel is best?

Shooters with a standard length of pull will likely find that a 30-inch gun is optimal, while reduced-length stocks may balance best with a 28-inch barrel.

How long of a shotgun barrel do I need?

If you’re a small-statured shooter with a short length of pull, then you’ll probably find your firearm balances better with a 26-inch barrel. If you have long arms and a correspondingly long length of pull, then a 30-inch barrel will work best. The odds-on favorite for 12-gauge shooters is a 28-inch barrel.

Why are hunting shotguns so long?

In shotguns, barrels have more to do with pointability, swing and follow through than power or reach. Long shotgun barrels do not shoot appreciably farther or “harder” than short ones, but they’re easier to keep moving.

Are 20 gauge shotguns good for duck hunting?

For ducks, though, the 20-gauge is nearly perfect, especially in the early season when smaller, fast-flying ducks, like teal, are numerous and before the regular goose season has begun. The 20-gauge shotguns are light, usually weighing one or even two pounds less than their 12-gauge counterparts.