doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 26" v 28" Bbls on SxS Game Guns

My go-to has 26" barrels.

All of my (way too many) sxs except two have 28, 29 or 30 inch barrels. But the one I seem shoot the best is the Dakin Arms imported Zoli 20 gauge with 26 inch barrels. It's been desert quail hunting in Arizona and gets a regular workout at the skeet range.

Oddly enough, it's probably the least expensive (and least valuable) sxs I own.

I have an FE grade Lefever with both its original 30" Damascus barrels & a set of 26 " Bohler Steel barrels fitted in Italy. The 26" ones have thicker walls & weigh virtually identical to the 30" originals. Total gun weight is 7� lbs. It has been my main gun since around 1970/71 with the 26" barrels. I shoot it as well as I shoot most any other gun. Chokes are .012"/.024".
Over these years I have used it to kill quail, woodcock, dove, duck & Turkey as well as rabbits & a few squirrels, though I always did the bulk of my squirrel hunting with a Standard Velocity .22 LR. It was not "Ideal" for all of these uses but was/is a very versatile gun. Until fairly recent times carrying a 7�lb gun was not a big deal for me. Just walking empty handed over the terrain I spent a lot of time hunting then would indeed be a Big deal today.

For a few seasons I did a considerable amount of my shotgun hunting with a J P Clabrough, 28" Damascus back action sidelock. (plates look like a bar action but internals are back action) This gun weighed 6lb 14oz & was choked about .010" in both barrels. I shot this gun as well as any I ever shot & better than most. This was in the late 70's & I was still not fully convinced it was "Alright" to be shooting Damascus so I sold it. Later it came back home to roost, but was late enough I haven't put it to a lot of use since.

A discussion of barrel length without consideration of barrel weight and weight distribution is rather vague (almost pointless).

The weight is for carry and lift effort. Balance is for how the weight is distributed between the hands. The swing efforts are for the effort to point the gun in a differing direction. Note that neither barrel length nor LOP is a factor.

The further increments of weight are from the CG/balance point the more effect they have on swing effort. For those who do do math, the effect is 4X for double the length. Think of rifle bullet energy vs velocity, subing swing effort vs length.

DDA

R'Man;
I would suppose that if the Lefever I mentioned with the two sets of barrels were given your Swing Test that the 26" would show just a bit faster. As the two barrel sets have identical weight though from a practical standpoint there is little noticeable difference in the feel & swing effort in shooting each even though there ios 4" difference in their lengths. Same weights, just a bit more concentrated in the shorter barrels.

As mentioned above, how the gun feels and swings is one of the determining factors when selecting barrel length. I prefer 28-29 inch barrels on SxS's and find 26" barrels a little whippy for lightweight SxS's, even though I shoot my 28 Ga. Parker' two barrel set (26" & 28") equally.

2-p, I expect you are, as usual, right. BUT, where that weight is does matter and we could be wrong. However, if you can't tell the difference, we can say with considerable assurance that it doesn't matter.

I can easily agree that barrel length is an aesthetic issue and is a handling issue only in a most general way.

DDA

I have (and have had) a number of sub gauge boxlocks that weighed under 6 lbs. All of mine are 28" (well, ONE is 27"). I like my guns to balance to neutral. If the barrels are too light, take some weight out of the butt.

Longer barrels do not necessarily mean a heavier gun. Just sold a C grade Fox 16 with 28" tubes tht weighs 5/10. I have another graded Fox 16 that is 5/15 and a Daly 20 that weighs 5-1/2 lbs.

If you go on guntrader.uk you will find lots of lightweight sub gauge boxlocks that are within your specifications. I was looking at them this afternoon...

I have recently acquired an Alex Martin Sidelock 12, with 30" barrels and 25" ribless barrels. It is two totally different guns - the 30" are very smooth and steady, but the 25" very fast handling and will be great for snap shooting at woodcock.

The one downside with 30" barrels is walking with them in the crook of your arm. I am 6ft and conscious the the barrels are getting a bit close to the ground. But they are so nice to shoot.

R'Man;
I think the big thing here is the breeches being fit to the same frame start out the same size. the taper of the OD is very similar, in fact they same forend fits. Its sort of like you took all the metal of that last 4" from the original 30" set & spread over the front half of the 26" set. As such there is just very little difference in the feel of the gun with either bbl.
One thing I could do I suppose is to check it with each barrel on for the balance point. I realize this does not give the same results as your machine, but might tell a little bit.