# Looking for a new shotgun



## dc_tx (May 9, 2007)

I am looking to purchase a new shotgun. I have not shot in many years so I am a bit out of touch on the new products. However, I have come down to picking up a Benelli M2 synthetic.

I plan on using it for some skeet and trap shooting as well as duck and quail hunting.

What size barrel(26" or 28") is a good all around?


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## iwantabuggy (Feb 15, 2005)

As I understand it, there is no performance gain on a longer barrel on a shotgun, so I guess I'd go with the 26" since it would be quicker and easier to swing on those quick darting quail. 8)


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## scottjes000 (Jan 26, 2007)

26in


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## usmarine0352 (Nov 26, 2005)

26 inch.

Better for hunting b/c it's shorter and more manueverable in brush and blind and 2 inches won't help too much in skeet or trap.

If you were only hunting, I'd go 24 inch.

:sniper:


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## always_outdoors (Dec 17, 2002)

IMHO I would stay away from the M2. We have a guy who shoots pretty religously out at the club and has nothing but problems with his M2. My father recently bought an M2 and uses only for hunting and has had the same "sticking" issues with his.

Both have said they either selling or trading them in.

I guess if you are set on it, I would go with the 26" barrel.

Personally I think you should look at the Beretta 391 or Remington 11-87 for what you want to use it for.


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

If you are stuck on the benelli get it. Good guns. But if I would look at the beretta extrema 2, 391's and the remington 11-87's. They all shoot the 3 1/2 in to the light trap loads. I have the extrema 2 and love it. I have put about 200 rounds through it so far and all have been the 3 1/2" goose loads. I will start shooting some light traps loads soon. But gun is light and not alot of recoil.

But with barrel length....26 in. Is perfect for all around gun. good luck


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## TexIndian (May 8, 2007)

I can't help much with Benelli since I'm pretty much an O/U guy. I've heard folks praise them and curse them bitterly - depending on who you talk to.

I fired over 500,000 rounds through two Brownings during 10 years in the Skeet/Trap/Sporting Clays games. They still shoot like they were brand new - never had a repair. They cost more, but it's a gun to pass down to the kids 'cause I guarantee you're not gonna wear it out. Believe me, I tried. It's the difference between a gun whose parts are stamped out on an assembly line, and a gun that is machined from a billet and hand-fitted.

Probably as a result of the Trap and Sporting Clays, I prefer a longer barrel. My main hunting gun is a Sporting Clays Special with 30" barrels (that's less than the trap gun at 34"). If nothing else, it gives you a better sight picture at those faraway targets. A rifle is easier to aim with than a pistol isn't it? Same deal here.

I have friends who like light guns because they 'swing better' and are more responsive to a quick change. OTOH, the heavy guns have a momentum of their own and aren't as sensitive to having their swing interrupted by a twitch of some muscle somewhere. It's whatever you get used to.

As for velocity, that depends mostly on the profile of your barrel. Around the early 90's, the tournament guns started coming out with 'back-bored' barrels - meaning mainly that the inside diameter is larger than the traditional. These barrels will give you a boost in velocity - the longer the faster. They pretty much abandoned the old notion that a barrel had to be tight to keep gas from leaking around the wad. Browning incorporated this change into all it's O/U guns, but I can't say about anybody else.

Here's my Browning stable, mostly resting in recent years since all those rounds gave me a couple partially-detached retinas as an extra added bonus.  From l to r, 
Citori Lightning - 28" bbls (20 ga for the wife)
Citori field grade - 26" bbls - my first
Citori Sporting Clays Special - 30"
BT-99 Plus - 34" bbl - dedicated trap gun


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