26" vs 28" Shotgun Barrel

Mine was a 28", then I shot out the coke tube a few years ago. Now it's a 26"

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more fluent follow-through on the shot

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practicing correctly can fix this. i'm a lanky 6'-2" as well and have both 26" and 28". 26" feels more responsive on buzz-by birds.

Apparently in the shotgun world, 2" is quite a difference.

26-28-30, etc.

Your guess is as good as mine, I might be overthinking it.

I like to sky bust with a 28".

I need every inch on 95 yard shots...

I'd say the difference is very minimal. 28" keeps the boom out of your buds ear. Mine is close to 30" with my choke.

I got a 32 in mine that work real good for high flyers

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26" is louder in the blind than the 28" for your hunting partners

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This, I have had my ears rung with someone duck hunting with a turkey gun

as far as performance, for all practical purposes they will be close to the same, hunt with what you are comfortable with

While I am sure that there is some difference between the two and some science to back it up. But the fact of the matter is, and will always be, shot placement matters most. As long as your shot placement is good, you'll bring down the bird.

if you shoot the 26 well and like the gun stick w/ it. In the past 30 yrs I have gone from a 26 to 28 and now use 30” barrels on my duck and skeet/sporting guns. I changed barrel length when I changed guns after guns broke and I traded them. Its all about swing for me, I find the 30” barrel swing much smoother and better than shorter barrel guns. I doubt you would notice much diff going from 26 to 28 but you would notice 30. I don’t shoot many teal so a quick pointing gun is not an issue and it is nice in the blind when the report is a little farther out.
I find I get ahead of birds w 26” barrels and then stop my swing then play catch up then I miss …… its probably the Indian not the arrow but I like the longer barrels better. Its not uncommon to see 32 or 34” barrels now esp at sporting clays
Some knucklehead had an extended ported choke this yr in a 4 man blind – we asked he not bring it out again, ya its extended but the porting directs the blast back ….. ya ya ya it’s a high dollar patternmaster etc and holds the pattern together better for 3 more yards but I cant hear a fn thing for 20 seconds after you shoot ……
I have 30" barrels and non ported extended choke

Thank you, OB. You have eased my mind on the issue.

I guess if I ever really "want" a 28" barrel, I can just throw in an extended choke tube to make up the difference.