doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 26" Doubleguns--Are they making a comeback?

Little-by-little, inch-by-inch, it sure seems to me that 26" doubleguns are gaining in acceptance from where they've been the past 30 years or so. I kinda like 'em, particularly the subgauges. Are you seeing this trend, too?

Personally I didn't know that they had gone away. I haven't used a small gauge side by side with barrels over 28 inches until the past two years. In fact I just bought my first Fox 16 gauge with 30 inch barrels in the past two weeks. I haven't shot it much yet but too my taste it seems a bit slow to get into action on flushing birds. Perhaps I will get used to it as time passes.

My little Boss 20 O/U looks, swings, and feels just right with 26" tubes. The majority of the 20 O/U's had that barrel length. With its diminuative size, longer tubes look almost silly on it.

As for 12 Bore and especially SxS's 26" tubes make them look like a coach gun, I think its all about scale

The clay target OU crowd continues to move in the other direction - 30" barrels on a used gun are now a liability, as new guns are being offered with 34" barrels, even for sporting clays. Kinda makes you wonder where it will end?

I couldn't be happier with my 26" 16 ga sxs - it is a great bird shooter (well past my limited abilities) and does better than I ever expected on 5-stand. I think how a gun is a balanced affects its handling more than barrel length.

I don't know if it is because that is what I started out with, but I have always preferred 26 inch barrels. I have LC Smith guns 26,28,30,32 and the stubby barrels still feel "right."
CHAZ

My 12ga Francotte and 20ga SKB are 26 and I really like them where it's quick bam-bam on disappearing grouse and ducks over decoys. My longer barrels are for more practised and deliberate shots late in season. I suspect the Francotte, bought by the captain of the US Olympic trap team 100 years ago, was intended for New England grouse.

I just like the way a shotgun with 28" barrels looks and feels. Getting longer barrels in and out of the truck seems like a PITA, shorter barrels just look wrong (except on my old Stevens .410, the only gun I have with 26" barrels). Just my opinion, of course.

Comeback? Where'd they go?

I've favored 26" guns for a long time, especially for quail.

Never paid much attention to barrel length just to gun handling/gun balance and choke combo trying to avoid "Germanic full und fuller combos" or truncated/"for ball" cyl-cyl stuff. I recon 28"+/-1" for doubles or 25"+/-1" for repeater is about right for well rounded game shooter.

The mighty little Boss O/U with 26" barrels at Julia's just cracked off a 165k plus juice bid, so I'd say 26" barrels not dead yet