Shotguns Barrell lenghts

dathi1

I see there are various sizes in shotgun barrel length. Is this related to what the gun is used for i.e.: clay or hunting?
and another: what roughly is the size is a ball of shot when it leaves the barrel at 50 -80 meters?
I'm on my 3rd clay lesson next week!! yipee!!

Flattop 15

Pretty much,it depends on what type of hunting or clay busting you are doing as well.Trap guns can be heavy long barreld affairs,as you are not doing much moving about and can absorb recoil as well in teir weight as can some wildfowling pieces,as again you are not going to be doing much moving about in a duck blind or boat.However try using either type for skeet or for a long walk of rough shooting in a briar and gorse thicket,and you will see that an entirely different barrel length is required.
Hence most guns around here are mostly a compromise weapon 28ins with a half and three quater choke on either barrel.
By ball of shot I assume you mean the shot pattern?Depends on your choke in the barrel and what load.A choke is a restriction in the barrel that concentrates the shot pattern.
there are ;
Cylinder bore No choke at all also found on sawn off shotguns Huge pattern over a short range
Improved half choke slight restriction
modified 3/4 choke
full choke tight pattern out to30/40 meters
xtra full choke very tight pattern 40 meters plus,used mostly for goose or turkey.

civdef

what roughly is the size is a ball of shot when it leaves the barrel at 50 -80 meters?

The furthest I ever patterned shot was at 40m. At this distance a 28 gram 7.5 shot with full choke was running with about 80% of the shot inside 12", rest inside 18".

Chopperdog

Hi Dathi,

Small question you posed, yet it might need a huge answer!
Standard shotgun barrels range fron 25" (Legal Minimum in Ireland) to the new trend of 34" for clay shooting.
The most commonly used barrels here would be 28" or 30". This is seen to be the best 'all-round' length to allow the shooter use this gun for field or clay target shooting.

Skeet or close range fast whippy targets are made a little bit easier if a shorter barrel is used as there is less inertia to overcome to get the barrels moving onto the target. The shorter barrelled guns are more 're-active' in that they are easy to start moving yet may lead to over-leading of some targets due to their lack of resistance in the hand and running out ahead of the target.
Shorter barrels are preferred for instructing novices as there is less of a weight issue and the gun balance is more centrally located between the hands.

Over the last few years a trend has reoccurred for 32" barrels for sporting.
In my opinion, they are lovely to use as they give the gun much more pointability and will help steady up any erratic swing faults. But be warned that they can be a tad difficult for a novice to master, this is really a big boys gun.

Traditionally, DTL, ABT and OT are shot with 30" or longer guns with choke combinations of 3/4 & full or thereabouts.

As a relatively new man in the sport, ask your instructor if you may try a 30" gun next time you are out. They are the best all rounder and seem to suit most people straight off. The extremes in lengths are really in specialist territory, yet who knows, you may develop a liking for them as you develop your skills.
As for everything it's a matter of horses for courses and what may be one mans food is another mans poison. You may like the longuns or shortuns but I think the 28" or 30" will do almost all you ask of it at the moment.


Shot @ 50 to 80M ?

Grey area here D...
Strictly speaking the effective killing range of a shotgun loaded with standard shells (28 or 30g of no6 or 7 1/2 shot) is 50 metres. Beyond this range shot pattern starts to break down and is in-consistent. A valuable satety note is that standard shot will travel approx 300m retaining enough energy at that range to cause eye injuries.

On the clay range you may see some people breaking targets at 50m plus or even further beyond that again, strictly speaking this is only having a pot at targets, judging the right lead and hoping that luck is on your side that one of your pellets may strike the clay with enough energy to break it, because beyond 50m there may be gaps in your pattern large enough for a target to get through, thats where a bit of luck comes into it !

A rough rule of thumb for pattern density at differing ranges is the 1 inch
to one yard idea.

This will roughly equate that if you fire at a target 10 yards away, you shot will be distributed in a circle of 10 inches diameter, 25 yards away then lead in circle diam. 25 inches.(With a medium to tight degree of Choke)
Not the most scientific of formulas yet it should give you a fair indication of the degree of spread. NOTE; This does not take into account the length of the shot column, and Dathi, that is another days work !

Keep up the lessons and enjoy your sport,


P.S. Are you still coming up to Courtlough or using NewtownMt-Kennedy?

Flattop 15

Standard shotgun barrels range fron 25" (Legal Minimum in Ireland)

You can take another inch off that.It is 24ins
Or if you own an old trench broom [winchester model 1897]from the war of independance/civil war you can legally own a 16in shotgun here

dathi1

Traditionally, DTL, ABT and OT are shot with 30" or longer guns with choke combinations of 3/4 & full or thereabouts.

These chokes I've seen them on some guns like the new Browning Cynergy extending from the tip of the barrel. Does this mean they can be removed for a different type of shoot?

P.S. Are you still coming up to Courtlough or using NewtownMt-Kennedy?

I'm going to rotate between the 2. They both have their pros and cons.
Thanks for the info everyone a ton more than I expected!