32” barrel

[rwade545]

Having had a break ( excuse the pun) from clays for a while I am looking for a gun to get back into it. I used to shoot a 30” with extended chokes, seen a lot of 32” Guns. How many of you use them for sporting clays/ game guns? I use a 30” sxs for most of my game Shooting but due to a broken spring it is away for a while awaiting repair.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

My son and I both use 32" Beretta's for clays.

[besty57]

Yeah 32" miroku 

[Scully]

My 32” Gamba is far too long for trailing round our rough shoot but it’s ok for driven and clays. Am considering having it chopped when I get sorted. 

[MR. BROWN]

I just had to see what all the fuss was about, so I bought a Browning 725 Grade 5 with 32" pipes ( and knockout wood ) ....

 

Much prefer shooting 30s and the extra 2 inches is a bit of a pain regarding squeezing the longer gun into the safe, reducing the choice of gun cases to use ( I usually run an old case and save / store all others to preserve new condition ) and generally fitting the damn thing into 'regulation' spaces, like the rear of friends motor vehicles.

 

Consequently, the Browning has it's own 'special spot' at the REAR of the safe .... at a crazy angle !

 

 

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Blimey we have two safes and no gun has to be stored at a crazy angle!

[klatuveradanikto]

browning 425 32 inch with Teague extended choked 33 inch in total any nearer to the clay I could bat  them with the barrels lol

[Westward]

I pick a gun according to how it feels to me and that can vary noticeably with different barrel lengths. When getting ready to buy my CG, I handled and shot both 30 and 32 inch versions  before deciding on 32. Having said that, most serious sporting clay shooters in my neck of the woods seem to be using 32s and that can only be because they shoot better with them.

[buze]

I shoot 30" -- I also had a choice when I bought my CG, and picked the 30 because it made no difference ultimately. If you want more weight at the front, wear a heavier watch! The perceived advantage on longer birds is balanced by a significant disadvantage on closer ones, so I think 30 or even 28 will do the job perfectly fine.

[Westward]

42 minutes ago, buze said:

. If you want more weight at the front, wear a heavier watch!

It's a bit more subtle than just weight up front.

43 minutes ago, buze said:

 The perceived advantage on longer birds is balanced by a significant disadvantage on closer ones, so I think 30 or even 28 will do the job perfectly fine.

Significant disadvantage on closer ones... Please elaborate.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

50 minutes ago, buze said:

I shoot 30" -- I also had a choice when I bought my CG, and picked the 30 because it made no difference ultimately. If you want more weight at the front, wear a heavier watch! The perceived advantage on longer birds is balanced by a significant disadvantage on closer ones, so I think 30 or even 28 will do the job perfectly fine.

So you wear your watch on the wrong wrist!

Anything that close is covered by using the other chokes.

[grrclark]

1 hour ago, buze said:

The perceived advantage on longer birds is balanced by a significant disadvantage on closer ones, so I think 30 or even 28 will do the job perfectly fine.

Yep, please expand on this.

[Scully]

I prefer 28” barrels because that is what I feel comfortable with; I seriously doubt any has an advantage over any other. 

I like a heavy gun regardless of its length.

[figgy]

I’ve said for a few years after having had three 32” guns still have one, in future if I have a choice I’d go for a 30” with extended chokes your near 32” depending on choke choice could be more. Or internal stay at 30” I don’t feel an advantage with longer tubes. 

Personel choice as to what you prefer and any handling balance issues can soon be sorted. 

I like the wear a heavy watch idea, that could work great when picking up a light gun after being used to long heavy clay gun. Just give you a bit more inertia that your used too. 

[jasper682]

Dt 11 . 32" flavour. Mrs also has Dt11. 32" also. 

[buze]

2 hours ago, grrclark said:

Yep, please expand on this.

Just fast, near crossers.. You need to shift these longer barrels around. Skeet people (with exceptions, obviously) tend to prefer shorter barrels than longer ones for that reason. Might also depends if you shoot swing-thru or maintained lead obviously.

[Westward]

If you're daft enough to try and shoot fast, close crossers using swing through, short barrels aren't going to help; you'll still struggle to hit them. The silly old chestnut about long barrels for long shots and short barrels for close takes no account of weight distribution of either the gun or the shooter and ignores things like technique.

[Walker570]

We are almost all creatures of fashion, aren't we?  I've suffered the same affliction.

 As said above go to a reputable gun dealer and pick up and handle as many guns as you can, choose the one which feels right and is like it was made for you. Then ask what length the barrels are.  Personally I shoot 30 inch on my 410 because the gun is so light anyway I find that extra length just has the gun holding it's swing better. I had the 28imch barrelled version and it was ok but when I picked the 30 inch it just felt perfect.  It is 40yrs since I shot competitive clays, sporting/DTL/BallTrap/Skeet but if I was to start again I would follow the above advice and be happy if it had 28 inch barrels ....you still have to put it in the middle of the pattern.    My guns 40yrs ago where, 30 inch O/U trap 3/4 both barrels fixed, 26 inch Skeet O/U, 28 inch Skeet choke semi auto for sporting.  My last competition was the National Police Championships in 1976 with over 180 entries and I finished fifth overall in all three disciplines. It was laid on at Holland & Holland. 

I have to edit that, just remembered I was invited to shoot a 'Turkey Shoot' at a range near Rugby the day after the towers got hit. It was on the TV screen in the clubhouse. Borrowed a Remington semi auto from a friend, 28 inch barrels,  haven't a clue what chokes and shot the Rs of them. It ain't always the gun, it's where you put it. It does need to be an extension of your body for sure.   Whatever, have fun.

 

Edited November 25, 2017 by Walker570

[buze]

29 minutes ago, Westward said:

If you're daft enough to try and shoot fast, close crossers using swing through, short barrels aren't going to help; you'll still struggle to hit them. The silly old chestnut about long barrels for long shots and short barrels for close takes no account of weight distribution of either the gun or the shooter and ignores things like technique.

I've re-read this about 3 times, and I can't if there is a point to this paragraph. Is there? :-)

To me, the only reason to get 32" barrels is because of the potential re-sell of the gun -- 32 is very trendy, therefore 30 (or worse, 28) will sell for less, and it'll take longer. I shoot FITASC with a guy who has 33.5" barrels (with, or w/o extended chokes, not sure!) who was rubbishing my 30" and CompX 28g fiber combo until.... why wife was breaking that super long 40 yarder mega-crosser of doom with her 28"/21g fiber combo, and he wasn't :-)

 

 

[rwade545]

Well thanks for the opinions. Went to local rfd and tried few out. Was surprised as just how light new Guns with 32” barrels are, feel far more lively then I remember. 

Think I will go b725 with 32” sporter. 

[bornfree]

2 hours ago, buze said:

Just fast, near crossers.. You need to shift these longer barrels around. Skeet people (with exceptions, obviously) tend to prefer shorter barrels than longer ones for that reason. Might also depends if you shoot swing-thru or maintained lead obviously.

Most top skeet shooters are using 30 or 32" barrels these days. Modern guns with lighter barrels move really well but still offer the better pointability that only longer barrels give.

[grrclark]

3 hours ago, buze said:

Just fast, near crossers.. You need to shift these longer barrels around. Skeet people (with exceptions, obviously) tend to prefer shorter barrels than longer ones for that reason. Might also depends if you shoot swing-thru or maintained lead obviously.

It is a myth that short barrels are better for near fast crossers, it is 100% about technique and setup to the target.  If you watch anybody who is very good (AA) at skeet you will see there is only a small gun movement and it is very controlled.  If you are having a big shove at skeet targets then the barrel length is not the problem for your missing.

For the sake of completeness, national skeet targets are not particularly fast either.  Olympic skeet birds are motoring along a bit more.

Edited November 25, 2017 by grrclark

[Westward]

20 hours ago, buze said:

I've re-read this about 3 times, and I can't if there is a point to this paragraph. Is there? :-)

To me, the only reason to get 32" barrels is because of the potential re-sell of the gun -- 32 is very trendy, therefore 30 (or worse, 28) will sell for less, and it'll take longer. I shoot FITASC with a guy who has 33.5" barrels (with, or w/o extended chokes, not sure!) who was rubbishing my 30" and CompX 28g fiber combo until.... why wife was breaking that super long 40 yarder mega-crosser of doom with her 28"/21g fiber combo, and he wasn't :-)

 

I was commenting on your point about swing through, that's all.  But do bear in mind that 32s aren't 'very trendy'; they've been around for many years and most of us don't pick them because of resale value.

You strike me as being quite defensive about your own decision not to go with 32s so, just for the record, I can honestly say that I've never rubbished anyone's choice of gun or barrel length. I compared 30 and 32 on several occasions before making my choice and if I'd preferred the feel of the 30s I'd have bought them. But then I try to avoid swinging the gun too much anyway. If you spent even one day reffing a registered sporting competition you'd soon realise that, in general, the best scores come from those who shoot with the least gun movement. Of course many of the 'swingers' do hit targets - they just don't hit so many.

I do though recommend that you read grrclark's last post very thoroughly because he has it absolutely spot on, not just for skeet but also for many sporting clays targets.

[miroku_fan]

32” barrels on a modern sporting shotgun are light and extremely pointable, making them eminently suitable for sporting as well as skeet. If the gun is well balanced then the 32” barrels are an absolute boon. I don’t buy 32” barrels because of their strong resale value. I buy them because I am of the opinion that they are the optimum length of barrel, based on over 30 years shooting experience.

[welshwarrior]

Each to his own however most will benifit from longer modern barrels be that 30" or 32" but the 32s shot by someone who can drive them is good to watch.