3- gun barrel lenght

[theEclipse]

Hi all!
done a lot of reading but nothing definitive. heard of people shooting 18" - 30" barrels. i thought i had settled on a 24" for my benelli m2. currently it has a 28".

then i start reading about shorter barrels not having the velocity to knock down targets farther out so a longer barrel is better because it has highter velocity and punch. (magazine size comes into question later w/ regards for regulations for certain classes?)

I don't want to go to short but not keep it too long, so i guess i guess if i average out the responses i've heard 24" and 26" are the most popular (at the moment).

this is my first shotgun so i'm not really sure what to expect. i want manuverabilty but also the force to reach out and know down metal targets w/ birdshot. wondering if i should just enter a few competitions first and see how it feels(?)

i read that Taran Butler was moved into "open" clas b/c his magazine tube was too long.....but i don't know what his barrel length., more intersted in his barrel than his tube (if anyone knows?) something about how many rounds you can have loaded b4 the buzzer (8+1 or 9+1, but not the over all capacity)...

anyhow, if you have any experiece and advice i'd like to hear it. don't want to throw away $500 for each new barrel just to get it right. that gets expensive and takes $$ away from customizing it.

thanks!
theEclipse

[HKAllTheThings]

[anthracite]

How do you like the 1301 in the competitions you participated in? Would like to eventually do 3-Gun as well and heard nothing but amazing things about the 1301.

[deadcoyote]

From my own limited 3 gun experience what I ran into was using a cylinder bore 18 or 20” shotgun it didn’t have the knockdown power. As much as the length helps the chokes on the longer barrel is a huge contributor.

[naz]

[HKAllTheThings]

How do you like the 1301 in the competitions you participated in? Would like to eventually do 3-Gun as well and heard nothing but amazing things about the 1301.

Fantastic shotgun. It’s been very reliable and shoots accurately with slugs.

From my own limited 3 gun experience what I ran into was using a cylinder bore 18 or 20” shotgun it didn’t have the knockdown power. As much as the length helps the chokes on the longer barrel is a huge contributor.

Cylinder is a very open choke and if you have very small steel out at 15 yards or more, you should be using IC or tighter

[k1dude]

Most 3-gun shotguns are either 22 or 24 inch. I don't think I'd ever use anything past 26 inch. Swing speed for target transition is more important than load velocity. If you see a stage with a target requiring extra power to spin or knock down, use a heavier load for that target or stage. Or swap your choke for that stage. Do both if you have to.

[sirgrumps]

I would make sure the barrel is longer than the magazine tube.
About 20”

[TempleKnight]