Posted: 12/29/2015 3:39:18 PM EDT
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Is there a real benefit to a 30" barrel instead of a 28" barrel on a 12 gauge shotgun? The main use would be for turkey and duck hunting and trap shooting.
Also, anybody have opinions on an inertia drive shotgun vs. a traditional semi auto shotgun? Thanks. |
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Just my opinion. Inertia guns are more reliable. They don't have gas ring to deteriorate when you shoot in fowl weather. The 30 Inch barrel will only help on very long shots. At standard trap range of 16 yards they are not needed. If you shoot the Handicap distance of 26 yards they help. If you want a good gun for many hunting and clay sports activities 26 inches is the preferred. They only time I shot a clean round of trap was with a 26in Beretta silver pigeon
Scott NRA Shotgun Instructor. |
| I agree with the above comment. 30" would be fine for long passing shots where you have time to swing a 30" barrel. The duck hunting we do around here won't allow for that though. I prefer 26" barrels and shoot my best with a 24" Beretta 390. Woodies and dove give you little time to "swing" a gun. More of a snap shot than anything. |
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I know that it is not inertia, but both replies have mentioned a Beretta. My personal belief is that the 390 was the best semi-auto ever made. 28" should work just fine.
You can find the synthetic 390s and 3901s used for around $600. At one point, Tom Lowe had a rental 390 with over 100,000 rounds fired through it without ever cleaning the gun. |
| I also like the shorter barrels over the 30in. I do have a 30in barrel for turkey but i am not trying to swing that sucker shooting dove or ducks. I shoot remington 1100's. I dont like the inertia action on the berettas and benellis. I have shot both just like my gas opperated 1100. Its all about what you get used to i guess. I do keep extra orings in my shooting bag just in case but I have shot thousands of rnds through mine and never had a problem just change it at the start of every season and you should be good to go. |
| I was a very active clay pigeon sport shooter. All my 12 gauge autos for clay sports are 30 inch. My O/U is a 32 inch. I used those for Skeet, Trap, and Sporting Clays.Unless things have changed over the last few years, the gas autos were much more popular that the interia (Benelli) type actions. Hunting would probably be best served by 28 inch. |
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I have a well used Benelli M1 Super 90 with a 26" barrel that I use for all shotgun related activities.
It's been a great shotgun and served me well other than the time when the barrel hanger separated from the barrel on a dove field covered with birds in Lee Co a few yrs ago. Benelli fixed it free of charge but they required I send in the whole shotgun rather than just the barrel. Much to my dismay and displeasure they actually fixed my barrel rather than replace it so I was w/o my favorite shotgun for about 12 weeks. td 
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