Shotgun BBL and accuracy..does it make a difference?

[Lavid2002]

Alright....Now I know a mossberg with an 18"bbl with a cylender bore fixed choke will throw a large pattern because this firearm is meant to be short for home defence and what have you. But does the length of the barrel really matter? Aside from weight and having a steady swing....what does the barrel really do.
Lets say an 18" barrel VS a 22" or 24"...Would velocities be amazingly different? How about patterns. Could I slap a full choke on a 19" BBL and get tight patterns like I do with my 24"BBL now? If not how different would they be...How great would velocity differ?
Thanks!
Dave
P.S. Im asking because I want a saiga 12 and I want to go duck hunting with it

 

[classic095]

Barrels

Length of barrel doesnt mean that much, its the choke in the end of it.. Many people that shoot trap need or want a heavier gun with longer barrel for stability and smooth swing,, there wont be much difference in pattern from a 14 inch full choke or a 30 inch full choke.. (this has been a debate with shotgunners for a long time) but proven on pattern boards at 35 yards,,You would not notice a great volocity difference from 18 to 24 inch either, the volocity is determined by the grains of powder and weight of shot..Most boxes of shot shells have the volocity of the shells written on the box.. A shorter barrel with cylinder or skeet choke is desirable when shooting skeet as you need a quicker swing than at trap..

 

[skeeter1]

Choke, not barrel length

I've got two SxS doubles, one with 28" barrels (M & F) for trap, and one with 26" barrels (I/C & M) for the field. The only significant difference is the chokes. That full-choke barrel throws a really tight pattern. The modified-choke barrels are pretty much good for most things. The improved-cylinder barrel is great for grouse hunting.

You can't pick just one load for everything from grouse (7-1/2s) to geese (2s). The same thing goes for chokes.

Best advice I could give you is to pick up some pattern targets and test them out. I/C and open cylinder are probably best for HD. I certainly wouldn't recommend a full-choke for that.

 

[Lavid2002]

Thats what I figured

I thought the pattern would be the same....
As for velocity im guessing shotguns have a quick burning powder....Unlike something like an AR15 where a 16" BBL does differ from a 24" quite a bit.
Thanks for the help guys : D
Dave

 

[UniversalFrost]

I have noticed that barrel length only makes a difference at extreme distance for a shotgun. The choke makes all the difference under say 15 to 40 yards.

For an excellent choke get a pattern master brand choke from cabelas or the big outdoor stores. They run on the high end of 90 bucks, but you can toss all your other chokes. I bought a mossy 835 that the previous owner had put one of these on (othewise would have never spent that much on a choke). The choke is pretty much universal and does the role of all chokes at all distances and you either hit (and kill) the target or completely miss. I have used this choke on everything from rabbits in the field to big canadian geese flying really high in the fall. I have also found that the range of my shotgun was exteneded about 20 yards over the factory choke tubes.