Why? I do just fine with a 28"...

 

Heck my Mossberg 930 JM Pro is 24" - I was doing ok with that too...

You can use whatever your comfortable with, but if your a serious competition trap or sporting clay shooter the longer barrel will give you an accuracy advantage. My 686 is a 29.5", 30" with the extended chokes. I personally shoot just as good with a 28", I don't notice any difference. Maybe there's a slight margin of greater accuracy. If your going out for an informal clay shoot once a month, use whatever it's for fun. As long as you enjoy yourself the day was a success Reguardless of if you broke 1.7% more clays because of 2 extra inches of barrel. Just my .02

 

Actually I can kick some ass with a Mossberg 500 JIC too. It's not the gun it's the strategy you use when wielding it.

 

28 inch is Ok, but longer is better, especially for trap and sporting clays, less so for skeet

 

if going for a new gun I would get 30 for semi auto, 30 or 32 for O/U

for trap some people use 34, but that is long and not suitable for other varieties.

My upcoming wedding has my gun budget in the dumps. I figure I can spend about 600 tops for a new gun right now. Maybe by mid spring I can drop about double that.

 

I'll send you some cracked clays as a wedding present. 

Many moons ago (60's) an 1100 or 870 in skeet target configuration came with a fixed SKEET choke in a 26" bbl.,  the 30" barrel with a fixed FULL choke was for trap. (You can still find used barrels in these configurations for both guns.) A Winchester Model 12 skeet model usually sported a 26" barrel. A Browning Superposed SKEET model came with fixed SKT/SKT chokes, and 26.5" bbls. (First skeet gun I used extensively in 1973. It was with this gun that I learned how to REALLY shoot skeet.) I've seen early Beretta 680 Special's with fixed SKEET chokes and 26.5" barrels. Short was in for skeet back then. Over the years the skeet gun gained a couple inches in barrel length, and trap barrels began to lengthen as well. The sporting clays game brought out the longer barrels, and it's not uncommon to see 32" and 34" used for every clay game today. 

 

Today you can shoot any clay discipline with a 28" barrel, but there are instances where longer is preferable. It's rare to see the 26" barrels on the skeet ranges these days, unless an old timer brings one out.

I'll send you some cracked clays as a wedding present.

So thoughtful B)

Sooooo. After taking everything into consideration and finding an amazing deal...I'll be picking up a brand new A300 for an incredible price. I think it will allow me to get started in the sport while save some money for a really nice shotgun. Very excited and can't wait to get it out on the field next weekend. Pics soon!

Sooooo. After taking everything into consideration and finding an amazing deal...I'll be picking up a brand new A300 for an incredible price. I think it will allow me to get started in the sport while save some money for a really nice shotgun. Very excited and can't wait to get it out on the field next weekend. Pics soon!

 

Nice selection. Enjoy!