Sight plane on a short barrel - is not optimal for hunting ...even stationary targets ( in my opinion ). The longer sight plane - gives your eyes a better platform to be sucessful. Same thing on handguns - most of us don't shoot 2 1/2" barrels as well as we shoot 4" - and we shoot 5" or 6" barrels a little better than 4" ...until at some point / they get too long.
A short barreled shotgun - balistically / will perform about the same as a longer barrel - because the powder burns within the first 18" or so anyway.
The receiver on a pump-gun or a semi-auto are longer than the receiver on an O/U ---and its about a 2" difference / so the overall length of a pump gun with a 28" barrel is about the same overall length as an O/U with 30" barrels.
Short shotgun barrels on moving targets - clays or birds - get real "whippy" with short barrels ...vs "smooth" swinging on longer barrels. Same issue on weight - light guns tend to be "whippy" - heavier guns tend to swing smoother. The question is - what is your optimal ...for me in Trap its a 10lb O/U with 32" barrels ...in bird hunting, skeet and sporting clays its an 8 1/2 lb O/U with 30" barrels... If I go to a light gun in a semi-auto that's lighter to carry in the field / like a Benelli Super Sport at 7.2 lbs ....I go to a 30" barrel on that gun ...because its so light / I tend to slap at targets - or yank it around vs swing it smoothly ...and if it had a 26" barrel it would be even worse..../ so with lighter guns, I go to even longer barrels...
But - can you shoot that gun sure / is it optimal, in my opinion, no. Its a "fighting gun" ...not a moving target or hunting gun ...so that's how I see it / my reasoning... So I say shoot it for fun at Skeet ...and use it for "Tactical shooting" ...vs having screw in chokes added for $ 300 or so .../ its not worth it, in my opinion.
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