beretta a400 xcel. 32" or no?

[jfish]

just getting opinions on the long barrrel

 

[bullgator]

Shooting clays?

 

[jfish]

no sir. no clays. optimum distance. just asking due to back in the day we used to want long barreled guns. guess im showing my age.

 

[Big7]

Way to long for me.

Good sight radius always helps but shorter barrels shoot the same as far as pattern nowadays.

It's more about chokes for me than a really long barrel.

 

[Deerhead]

Absolutely love my A400. Not sure if there is any real benefit with a 32" barrel. I have all the barrels for my 1100 21, 28 & 30". I really like the 21 and 28. 30 was just too long. I bought the 30 to shoot buckshot for deer. Never noticed any benefit with the 2 extra inches. JMO

 

[jfish]

i have had numerous 26's that shot "ok" never great for birds. buckshot was also not great. 32" browning fulls back when shot very tight. 80-100yd we patterned them at and felt confident. like you 1100's i have shoot ok not the best in same barrel lengths you mention.

best i have for all around is b80 with 28 inv. birds tight and buckshot at 60yd puts 12 pellets out of 16 pellets of 1 buck inside a 3'widex2'high sq.

 

[bullgator]

Maybe compromise with a 30”

 

[Jester896]

someone once told me that a 28" was about the same as a 32" in an O/U...don't know if there is any truth to it. I have trouble moving a 30" fast enough for my shooting with an O/U but don't have an issue moving a 28" auto loader.

 

[marlin]

I shoot a 26” in the new browning A5. Change the choke for what you are hunting at the time. Swings faster than a 30 or 32. If I couldn’t have gotten the 26 I would have got the 28”.

 

[bullethead]

With replaceable chokes barrel length makes little difference in patterning at longer distances. But barrel length can help with swing and balance.

 

[Jester896]

The A300 I had for a minute was pretty light an whippy to me. Pretty light gun too. I can't remember if it was 26 or 28".

 

[Bobby Bigtime]

In his classic work cartridges of the world, Frank Barnes has an excellent section in the shotgun shells chapter called "shotgunning myths" where he discusses barrel lengths. Well worth the read.

 

[Dub]

beretta a400 xcel. 32" or no?​

Great shotgun....but I personally would go 28".

 

[bullethead]

I like 26"-28" barrels of field guns with semi auto or pump actions. 26"-30" bbls on SxS or O/U shotguns.

For turkey hunting 18.5"- 24" hav never failed to throw phenomenal patterns with Turkey chokes

 

[SC Hunter]

My 870 turkey gun is a youth model Gunn doc special with a 21" barrel. All my dove guns have 28 inch barrels except for an old A5 with a 26 inch barrel but it does just fine when I shoot it. I wouldn't want a 32" barrel on a gun I was hunting with. I had a benelli cordoba with a 30 inch barrel and it was just too long for me.

 

[Gator89]

Newton's First Law: Inertia
Newton's first law states that every object will remain at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force. This tendency to resist changes in a state of motion is inertia.Oct 27, 2022


The longer barrels tend to encourage follow through because of the added weight of the said barrels, and it is why many serious trap, sporting clay, etc. shooters desire the longer barrels.

Turkey shooting rarely involves follow through as the shots are usually aimed at a specific point on the bird, preferably standing still.

Wing shooting requires follow through, but a 30+ inch shotgun barrel in a duck blind might be cumbersome, so a trade off is made.

How you intend to use the shotgun should determine the barrel length needed. A 26 or a 28 may be a good compromise, unless you just want to but multiple guns.