length of barrel on shotguns?
- Thread starter -sro-
- Start date
James R. Burke
New member
I try to get the bead on the object or close to it, and I am looking at both of them.
ebutler462
New member
Barrel length over legal length of 18" makes no difference in velocity.
Dfariswheel
New member
Some years ago, the NRA Technical Staff did a test on what effect barrel length had on shotguns.
They bought a Marlin Goose Gun with a 36" barrel and mounted a choke on the end.
They fired the gun for pattern and velocity, then cut the barrel off one inch and re-mounted the choke.
They continued this in one inch increments until they got the barrel down to about 12 inches.
Their results:
Anything that is going to happen inside a shotgun barrel will happen within 18".
Anything over about 28" and you actually start to lose velocity due to friction.
Barrel length has no effect at all on patterns. An 18" barrel can shoot the same patterns as a 36" barrel. Patterns are determined mostly by the choke.
Things didn't "get out of hand" until the barrel was down to around 12".
The idea that a longer barrel will shoot "harder" or "farther" is a left-over from the days of black powder when longer barrels burned the black powder more effectively.
They bought a Marlin Goose Gun with a 36" barrel and mounted a choke on the end.
They fired the gun for pattern and velocity, then cut the barrel off one inch and re-mounted the choke.
They continued this in one inch increments until they got the barrel down to about 12 inches.
Their results:
Anything that is going to happen inside a shotgun barrel will happen within 18".
Anything over about 28" and you actually start to lose velocity due to friction.
Barrel length has no effect at all on patterns. An 18" barrel can shoot the same patterns as a 36" barrel. Patterns are determined mostly by the choke.
Things didn't "get out of hand" until the barrel was down to around 12".
The idea that a longer barrel will shoot "harder" or "farther" is a left-over from the days of black powder when longer barrels burned the black powder more effectively.