Okay, Just for debate...

[hogdogs]

Lets start this off with a qualifier... The person is a decent shot at targets with all his/her owned firearms.
For just a good ol' boy clay shooting day or for field work on wild doves...
What kind of plusses and minuses would you see witht he following choices...
Most familiar gun is a 20 gauge pump with 18.5 inch barrel and Cyl. Choke.
second choice is a 12 gauge pump with 28 inch barrel vent rib with 2 beads and screw in accu choke in Imp. Mod. currently.
Last gun is an NEF 20 gauge 26 inch barrel in mod. choke.
What gun would you feel would produce better results. What would you see as drawbacks in each choice...
Just a brain teaser so have fun...
Brent

[BigJimP]

It depends on which gun fits them the best - but the longer barrel, 28", in your example will usually give better results because you have a longer sight plane.

Results are all about what fits / so the gun's point of impact is the same as where the shooter is looking - if that is off, then its just a crapshoot. If the point of impact is the same on all 3 guns - then the shooter will be equally sucessful with all 3 guns - and the longer sight plane the better in general ( in my opinion ...).

[L_Killkenny]

Double post......

[L_Killkenny]

The reason most shotgun barrels that are intended for use w/flying targets are 26" and over is that they "swing" much better. The shorter the barrel, the faster the swing. Or should I say perceived swing. Very few shooters shoot very well at flying targets using short barrels. Cylinder choke presents a whole new set of problems. A quail hunter shooting over pointing dogs might use one but with dove hunting your ranges will be farther and your pattern will degrade too much. Either the 12ga pump or the single-shot are your best bets. Which one depends on which one you shoot better and what the chances of needing fast follow up shots are. Save the 18.5" for deer and slugs or SD.

If most people shot 18.5" barrels well, the 28" barrel would be history. You don't gain much, if any, velocity. Pattern size is dictated by choke not barrel length. Why would they continue to make, and people to buy, the 28" barrel that weighs more?

LK

[BigJimP]

The shorter the barrel - in general - the lighter the gun / and it makes the gun swing faster - but it also makes it easier to stop the swing (which is a bad thing ) as you execute the shot.

The shorter, or whippier, a gun is the more a shooter has a tendancy to move the gun too quickly and not really complete the shot by following thru properly - almost like the lighter gun accentuates bad fundamentals. Remember the act of pulling the trigger is the start of the shot - the follow thru is the end of the shot execution - and no follow thru often means a lost target.

Modern shotshells burn all their powder well before the end of the barrel - so the barrel length doesn't usually affect any of the ballistics / but having a comfortable sight plane is pretty significant to success. An Over Under with 30" barrels is roughly the same overall length (from butt to end of barrel ) as a 28" barrel on a pump or semi-automatic shotgun. I'm a big guy at 6'5" and 290# ... and anything from 18" - 26" barrel in my hands feels really short and whippy and that's also true on any shotgun weighing less than 7 lbs to me. In the hands of a smaller person, or a younger kid, a 7lb gun might be just right with a 24" or 26" barrel so some of this depends on your own preference too. But even as big as I am - if I go to a 9 1/2 lb or a 10lb shotgun with 32" barrels - its feels fine for Trap - where there isn't much barrel movement - but it feels like I'm trying to move a big Sewer Pipe around out there when I try and shoot Skeet or Sporting Clays with it. So as little as 2" more on the barrels / an extra 1 lb in weight makes a big difference even to me .......

[oneounceload]

to the OP - all good advice given above...go with the 12 and the 28" barrels - besides the swing, the extra weight will absorb a little more recoil.....always a nice thing

you didn't say what you will be hunting besides dove, but, for me, I use regular target loads for small birds - basic 1200 fps 7-1/2 or 8's for quail, dove, chukar....especially over dogs

[zippy13]

Thus far, good advice from all. Down here, along where there use to be the California-Mexico border, the dove can seem closer that Skeet targets. Under these conditions, I'd go with the 12-ga 28", too; but, I'd want a Skeet or Imp Cyl choke and some 1-oz 8's.