barrel length

[chads]

Hi all. New to this forum and fairly new to waterfowl hunting. I need some advise. I was using a Mossberg 535 with 28" barrel for canada goose hunting the last 3 years. My wife knowing how I longed for an autoloader surprised me with a new Mossberg 935 for my b-day. It has a 24" barrel with front and rear sights. Is this ok for canada and snow goose hunting over decoys? For some reason in my head I am having issues with the barrel having a rear sight for waterfowl hunting. Should I try to find a 26" or 28" barrel or just pick up some good chokes and work out a good load? Any advise would be great. Thanks

[Fox_hunter42]

when you say rear sight do you mean a smaller bead farther back or do you mean rifle type sights? Alot of guns come with a second bead about half way back. If you have rifle type sights, it sounds like you have a slug barrel.

as far as barrel length it is personal preference. 24 sounds short, I thought the shortest bb barrel was 26. 28 and 30 are the most common.

[chads]

It is a simple riffle type sight but not a slug barrel. I think they consider it a turkey barrel.

[DSM16428]

Barrel length after about 20 inches is really only going to improve your patterns with turkey loads and maybe htl waterfowl loads. It won't do much for velocity as most of that is gained in about the first 18-20" or so of a shotgun barrel. What it WILL give you is a longer sight plane, more weight up front to help with swing through and generally a bit less recoil, again due to the added weight. I use a Benelli SBE II with a 24 barrel and it flat SHOOTS. I do use extended chokes for turkey and waterfowl, giving it about an extra inch or two at the muzzle. The big thing with short barrels is if you hunt with other folks, especially in pits or layouts where you're close together...MAKE SURE YOU STAY IN YOUR SHOOTING LANE!!! While you can ring some ears with any length barrel, the muzzle blast from a short one swung too far to the left or right might just get some empties thrown at you...or something heavier. Also, is your barrel ported? I assume it is if it is a newer model. That is another thing to worry about. The porting will ring the guys ears sitting next to you far worse than the short barrel. The 935s are seriously good shooting guns and can out pattern guns costing many times as much. As far as the rear sight, (is this the turkey model?), I would just take it off if you are going to use it for waterfowl. You'll just have to pattern it and find the best load and choke for whatever application you use it for. Oh yeah...welcome to the site!

[Fox_hunter42]

I think Mossberg barrels are fairly cheap, maybe just pickup a longer one and be safe

[chads]

Thanks for the advice. Yes they are not that expensive but trying to find one is becoming a challenge, even through Mossberg. Think I will look into a couple extended chokes. Any brand that is recommended?

[Big AL]

Sounds like you got a turkey barrel on that gun...I'd go with a 26" barrel w/ choke tubes for waterfowl. You will get on birds a bot quicker with the 26"/ than a 28" with no performance difference. You can also use an extended choke tube...Good Luck!

[tornadochaser]

Point shot gun at bird, pull trigger. Don't worry about barrel length, sights, or beads. I only have one gun I even think about using the bead on, and thats because it doesn't fit me quite right and I have a hooded fiber on it to force me to keep my head down on the stock.

[cut_un]

I tend to like a longer sight plain for wingshooting. My 28 " barrel works for me. Also have a 26 " barrel I tend to shhot my longer barrel a lit better.Just sayin I agree, longer barrel, performance wise is not a real advantage

[Lonegoose]

I have a 28'' barrel. Next year I was thinking about a 26'' barrel with my extended choke. I think I would be able to get on birds faster. My buddy was shooting geese for years with basically a turkey gun barrel. If your on em... your on em. Doesn't matter what barrel length. Maybe could throw a slighty diferent pattern from a 28" barrel compared to a 24". Just my .02

[suddenthunder]

Have you taken it out and shot it yet? You may just feel good about shooting it like this because it will work just fine and you will kill birds of all types and maybe just maybe you will not make your wife feel like she fubared you and she will buy you another gun some day . All shot powder is burned up in the first 18 " of the barrel so being 24 " is just fine (if ) it shoots ok for you , Give it a go and see first before you buy another barrel you realy don't need . look at extended chokes ie:trulock.com, ect. It will work just fine !

[Fowl'in up NORTH]

Thanks for the advice. Yes they are not that expensive but trying to find one is becoming a challenge, even through Mossberg. Think I will look into a couple extended chokes. Any brand that is recommended?

I just got A 835 for X-mas. Even though i have an sbe2 i wanted a pump. I bought the carlsons choke tube set and just roll some reloads to throw on paper this weekend. I patterned the X-full it came with ( for up to T shot ) and Remington sportsman's 3.5
1 3/8 oz @1550fps BB i had a center dense pattern with 77 out of 99 pellets in a 30in circle at 50yrd ( paced so more around 60yrds ). I was amazed on the pattern it threw for being a $250 gun i got from gander mnt.

[chads]

I am going to pattern it today or tomorrow. Going to pick up two carlson tubes for it today. I have asked the barrel length question for two reasons. 1) I do not want my wife to get dissapointed when she sees me putting a new barrel on it. I am very lucky I have a wife that listened to me complaining about wanting an autoloader and what brand and then went and got it on her own. 2) I do like how the gun handles and fits me.
I will get this shooting good patterns and have it out dropping geese soon. Thanks to all for the advise and the great forum.

[DSM16428]

Chads, make sure you clean the bejesus out of that gun before you even put a single round through it. Mossbergs come drenched in kosmoline (packing grease) and if you run it without de-gunking it first you can run into cycling issues. Gun scrubber and a brush are your best friends here! Then, lube her up with a spray on dry lube type lubricant like liquid wrench or PB Blaster. Trust me...you'll thank me later if you do, plus, you'll get to know the inner workings of the gun a little better. You might also want to SUper-Clean the barrel before you pattern her too. It will help get all the crud out of the pores of the metal and smooth it out a bit. You'll know she's CLEAN when the bore is as shiny as a mirror. If you have any questions, feel free to pm me. Good luck and let us know how she shoots.

[wing seeker]

Barrel length is a dilemma I seem to fight with before purchasing every new gun. Here is
my rational. The 28" barrel keeps your shot together longer and is PROBABLY easier
to point but the 26" is so much easier to handle from a pit blind (where most of my shots
come from when waterfowling).