General choke, barrel length question

T

Tahoe

New member
My O/U has a full in top and mod in the bottom and I shot fairly well with it last time out. Dove season is a week from this friday and I'm taking my Benelli with me too. I would assume the barrel is longer on the benelli semi, should I go with a mod choke?

Its a fairly open area. We set up on the railroad tracks with an orchard behind us and the creek in from of us. Its carnage come daylight as they make their way to the creek from the orchard.

So if you have a longer barrel I will need less choke, right?
 
Choke is the same regardless of length, I believe. Longer barrels can be easier to point, but don't really help in terms of velocity either with fast shotgun powders.
 
Agree with Lycan. Choke has nothing to do with legal barrel length. As most shotshells reach their max velocity in 16" - 18" of barrel length, barrels longer than that have increased sighting planes and more muzzle weight for an even swing.
 
Tahoe,
You may be thinking that since a shorter barrel moves quicker, you will be on target faster and therefore can use a more open choke.
In theory, that is true, but only if your bird is flying directly away from you.
Side to side, it will not matter.
So, barrel length has no bearing on choke. Shooting situation does, but that's it.
 
So wouldn't the shot start opening up right out of the barrel? It seems it would and if you projected that out the shorter barrel would be way more open by the time you get to your target range. ???

So one of my home protection guns is a 2ga with a 18" barrel, and that doesn't open up any quicker than...say my old Remington 11-48 32"?

And thanks for the replies...and correcting me on something that I've believed for years.
 
Yeah, but choke patterns are measured in tens of yards and ten inches of barrel length closer to the target won't matter one bit.
 
Tahoe,

you are sort of right in saying that your pattern will be wider for a given distance, but not so much that you could tell a difference. if you were standing 35 yards from your target and shoot your 1148 at a pattern board and the pattern was 26", then your 18" barreled gun would reach that 26" pattern 14" closer to you, because the choke is 14" closer to the target on the other gun. this is something that you will possibly never notice if you couldn't see the barrel to know which was which. so im sumation, YES it makes a difference, NO you will not notice it.

-Scott
 
I've always assumed that the 'angle' out of the barrel would be wider in degrees, thus the pattern would widen exponentially. But now I'm getting it...I think.

I'll have some fun next week after the morning hunt with some cardboard and some different barrels and chokes. Maybe that will help me.

And thanks again.
 
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