HELP! 20in. vs. 18.5

R

rugerdude

New member
I need to know if there will be any change balistically between a 20.in open cylinder barrel and an 18.5in. open cylinder barrel. I shoot skeet with a mossberg 590 (I average about a 22-23 and have gone 25 straight with it) however, the gun belongs to my uncle and I need to give it back. I have shot skeet with a mossberg 500 and a stoeger over/under and I don't do as well with longer barrels and vent ribs (both had skeet chokes and 28in. barrels) I would love to get a 590 but I can only afford the mossberg persuader (mossy 500 with 18.5in. barrel) and I was looking at buying one but my dad was worried about changes ballistically (both guns fit me equally well and by shouldering them and looking down the barrel, they could be the same gun because there is very little-no difference in what I see.)

Would the pattern open up more? Or would it pretty much be the same?

Thanks in advance,
rugerdude
 
I would get

the shorter barrel and later when you have the money you can buy a long barrel and then you will have the best of both worlds. you can have accuracy or speed. :) :) :)
 
I have a maverick 88 (mossy 500 knockoff that takes the same parts) and it has a 28" barrel buth the stock is thinner and kinda uncomfortable whereas the 590 and 500 persuader have thicker stocks that I like better.I COULD just order an 18.5 inch barrel for the maverick, but I like the idea of a new gun, with a better fitting stock. I also have a stoeger over/under with 26" barrel and I use either the maverick or the stoeger for trap (I kinda like having more than one gun for one purpose so that a friend can come with me to the gun club and we won't have to share guns)
 
18" is the shortest allowed by Federal law and the shorter the better for close range SD. For hunting or skeet, give your ears a break and go with a 22" bbl, or better yet, a 23 or 24". Those are short (for hunting), and you get a little more precise pointing. An 18" bbl gets most of what there is to get out of a barrel ballistically, and degree of choke is the difference between the inside barrel diameter and the choke diameter, and has no relation to barrel length. Before choke tubes came along, longer barrels (28 to 30") tended to be intentionally choked tighter than shorter barrels (26").
 
Consider the magazine difference between the two. If I remember right, the 18.5" barrell holds 5+1 while the 20" version (Persuader?) holds 8+1. Difference in weight is about 8 ounces, unloaded.
 
I have held both the 590 and the persuader (the box said persuader and they called it the persuader and it had an 18.5 in. barrel and 5+1 capacity) I don't care about mag capacity (as long as it has room for two shells) and I am not going to notice a weight difference....and if I do, I can always add a flashlight as a barrel weight and play "tactical skeet"!

This is not a hunting gun, and skeet fields require hearing protection, so noise is not a problem (hell, I'm 15, it's more like a bonus!) This is pureley for skeet and it just so happens to be a good HD gun too. It is a little odd, but short barrels help me shoot better and pump-guns are so much fun.

thanks for your replies
 
I bought the persuader today and I am pleased with it so far. I need to shoot it but from handling it with the full stock and the pistol grip, I must say that I like it a lot.
 
You will do okay with that Mossberg. Mine has taken geese, ducks, pheasant, prairie chickens, sharptails, turkeys and quail and has had both the stock and forend replaced. It looks like H*ll, so much so that I would be embarrassed to take it to the range, but it was the best firearm money I ever spent.

Anyhow, if you are shooting in the 22 range at Skeet, you sure don't need any advice from the likes of me!
 
Haha thanks, for the compliment (I think thats what it was) It is a very nice gun and I am glad I purchased it.

The change from a 20 to an 18.5 inch barrel was simply no change at all. It handles just the same as the 590 (which I can now give back to my uncle) If anyone else is considering one, I would say go for it. Very nice gun.

BTW, I just got back from the national youth skeet tournament in Detroit, Michigan (one hell of a drive). People were fairly confused to see a kid with a riot shotgun shooting skeet! :eek:

For the record, my team was invited to the tournament because it was the first year for our shooting program NOT because we were that good. We got our hindparts handed to us in the senior novice devision but we did still beat 8-10 (not that that was the point) other squads and had a whole lot of fun! Most of the people were very kind (one kid got a little too upset when he missed though) and I even got an Indiana pin because I helped the Indiana coach fix a problem with one of his shooter's guns!
 
I would love to get a 590 but I can only afford the mossberg persuader
Click to expand...

I have a 500 converted to 590-spec on my rack. You can get the mag tube, mag spring and barrel nut from Brownells. They don't list the 590 barrel nut specifically, but it's the same nut as the Mossberg 835 (around $14).

The barrel is the hard part. I bought mine on Gunbroker for $64 and carried over the bead sight from my original 18.5" barrel. (Have a Trijicon sight; have to machine a washer so it indexes correctly though.)
 
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