Practical shotgun barrel length

[Primer]

Been looking at sec1 semi autos over the past couple of weeks and I don't really get the current trend of lots of people having 24" barrels, when I've asked a few about it they say it's easier for manoeuvring around tight courses of fire which I understand but then most of them have had mag tube extensions that stick out a good 2 to 4 inches beyond the end of the barrel so they can load 11-12 rounds, does this not negate the saving on the barrel length, why not just buy a 26 or 28 inch barrel?

Being 6ft 3 I've been told 26 or 28" would suit me which is fine as I can have a hi-cap mag tube the same length as the barrel or am I missing something?

[Mikaveli]

With 24" you may struggle to get a capacity of more than 8 + 1 without going past the end of the barrel.

For PSG you'd usually want a comfortable 9 shot magazine capacity or more. For most, that'll mean a 26" barrel or longer.

You can go longer, but consider the total weight of the gun when it's fully loaded.

[Blackstuff]

My M2 has a 24" barrel and with a Nordic +6 extension tube it had a capacity of 9+1 (using 70mm carts), and the magazine was just short of the end of the barrel. I've since put an extension cap on the extension ( :roll: :lol: ) which now protrudes about .5" beyond the muzzle but it gives me an additional cartridge.

The question you should be asking yourself is; what benefit does having a longer barrel give you? Most shotgun cartridges will produce no more power or accuracy out of a 24" barrel as they would a 28" barrel, in fact i'm sure i've read somewhere that most have used all of their 'oomff' in the first 16-18" of barrel.

Longer barrels IMO only help with your swing, which while good for clays and to a lesser extent game shooting, isn't a concern for PSG, where you want to 'snap' to targets without the guns momentum carrying it off. So having a longer barrel is just lugging extra weight for no advantage, unless you're a gun tart/OCD sufferer and you want to put a longer magazine extension on and want it to be set flush with the muzzle? (i do suffer from both of these afflictions and it did my head in that a +6 mag extension is about 0.5" short of my barrel, and the mag extension is about 0.5" too long :lol: )

If you've got the build to go along with your height the difference between a 24" and 26" barrel is probably going to be negligible and not something to worry about. What i would say is i'm average height and average build and my Supernova which has a 26" barrel 'feels' too long for me

[techguy]

My 26" Supernova barrel feels a little long for me too (I'm 6'1" and not a small chap). I would have preferred a 24" barrel, but it was the only supernova I could find, and I was being impatient as usual. I expect I will get used to the slightly longer barrel eventually..

I have a +5 nordic tube, so have a 9+1 capacity, but I think I might go for a +6 tube instead so it will be flush and my inner gun-tart can stop obsessing that it's not flush

[Blackstuff]

My 26" Supernova barrel feels a little long for me too (I'm 6'1" and not a small chap). I would have preferred a 24" barrel, but it was the only supernova I could find, and I was being impatient as usual. I expect I will get used to the slightly longer barrel eventually..

I have a +5 nordic tube, so have a 9+1 capacity, but I think I might go for a +6 tube instead so it will be flush and my inner gun-tart can stop obsessing that it's not flush

Same here, there was a 3-4 month wait for 24" Supernovas at the time i ordered and that was the GMK estimate so it would've more likely been 6-8 months :roll:

I'm sorry to say you're inner tart won't get satisfaction, i've got a +6 extension on mine and it sticks out beyond the muzzle :lol:

[techguy]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!

[Primer]

My M2 has a 24" barrel and with a Nordic +6 extension tube it had a capacity of 9+1 (using 70mm carts), and the magazine was just short of the end of the barrel. I've since put an extension cap on the extension ( :roll: :lol: ) which now protrudes about .5" beyond the muzzle but it gives me an additional cartridge.

The question you should be asking yourself is; what benefit does having a longer barrel give you? Most shotgun cartridges will produce no more power or accuracy out of a 24" barrel as they would a 28" barrel, in fact i'm sure i've read somewhere that most have used all of their 'oomff' in the first 16-18" of barrel.

Longer barrels IMO only help with your swing, which while good for clays and to a lesser extent game shooting, isn't a concern for PSG, where you want to 'snap' to targets without the guns momentum carrying it off. So having a longer barrel is just lugging extra weight for no advantage, unless you're a gun tart/OCD sufferer and you want to put a longer magazine extension on and want it to be set flush with the muzzle? (i do suffer from both of these afflictions and it did my head in that a +6 mag extension is about 0.5" short of my barrel, and the mag extension is about 0.5" too long :lol: )

If you've got the build to go along with your height the difference between a 24" and 26" barrel is probably goingo to be negligible and not something to worry about. What i would say is i'm average height and average build and my Supernova which has a 26" barrel 'feels' too long for me

Thanks Mark,

My inner tart could live with .5 inche either way but not 3-4 inches.

I've err looked at very closely this week

M1,Versa max and SX3 with a 12+1 that stuck out about 4 inches
M2 and some form of Berreta with 10+1 that was about 3 inches

None of them floated my boat with the big extensions on

[alextwogun]

My M2 has a 24" barrel and with a Nordic +6 extension tube it had a capacity of 9+1 (using 70mm carts), and the magazine was just short of the end of the barrel. I've since put an extension cap on the extension ( :roll: :lol: ) which now protrudes about .5" beyond the muzzle but it gives me an additional cartridge.

The question you should be asking yourself is; what benefit does having a longer barrel give you? Most shotgun cartridges will produce no more power or accuracy out of a 24" barrel as they would a 28" barrel, in fact i'm sure i've read somewhere that most have used all of their 'oomff' in the first 16-18" of barrel.

Longer barrels IMO only help with your swing, which while good for clays and to a lesser extent game shooting, isn't a concern for PSG, where you want to 'snap' to targets without the guns momentum carrying it off. So having a longer barrel is just lugging extra weight for no advantage, unless you're a gun tart/OCD sufferer and you want to put a longer magazine extension on and want it to be set flush with the muzzle? (i do suffer from both of these afflictions and it did my head in that a +6 mag extension is about 0.5" short of my barrel, and the mag extension is about 0.5" too long :lol: )

If you've got the build to go along with your height the difference between a 24" and 26" barrel is probably going to be negligible and not something to worry about. What i would say is i'm average height and average build and my Supernova which has a 26" barrel 'feels' too long for me

Blackstuff,

I'm picking up a Benelli M2 24" field 3 + 1 this week and would like a nordic extension (hard to find at the moment). Is there there a mag extension/cap combo that would make it flush? Might end up just going for a + 6. May have to settle for Bennelli extension also until Nordic stock sorts itself.

A

[phaedra1106]

While you guys are here ......

Looking at a pump for PSG as my Hatsan MPA semi load gate is killing my arthritic thumb!, there's a fairly cheap SXP sec 2 going which I could put onto my FAC and then get a larger/extension tube, do you have any suggestions where to get one and I assume the existing sec 2 tube will have to be removed?

[saddler]

While you guys are here ......

Looking at a pump for PSG as my Hatsan MPA semi load gate is killing my arthritic thumb!, there's a fairly cheap SXP sec 2 going which I could put onto my FAC and then get a larger/extension tube, do you have any suggestions where to get one and I assume the existing sec 2 tube will have to be removed?

...you'll have more problems than a sore arthritic thumb if you try to get more than 2 up the tube if you don't replace it!!

That said...I have ZERO idea whether or not the tube CAN be replaced.
Best have a look on the makers website, find a PDF of said bang-stick and see what that suggests...

Extension tubes: Nordic & others
Original S.1 mag tubes: Winchester, or Brownells, etc.