Question, is there any difference in collectability between a 20ga with 26" barrels vs 28" barrels? Would one length be more appealing to collectors than the other?
Re: 20ga Barrel length
Posted by Mike Harris on July 3, 2023, 10:05 am, in reply to "20ga Barrel length"
Not much difference there Fred but a 30" is and a 32" is pretty rare and very desirable. Mike
Mike, thank you for your post. I would thing that other would comment on the collectability of barrel length or the collectability of any LC for that matter. This was not a post to determine value. It was intended to find out what others find interesting. I welcome all comments and would like to know what our membership thinks in regard to collecting. We here I believe set the bar as to what's collectable and what is not
I agree with Mike... Longer barrels, especially on smaller gauge guns, are more desirable right now. In the 80's and 90's, short barrels were all the rage, but not now. I also don't think there is much difference in value or desirability between 26" and 28" barrels, but 30" is much more valuable and 32" much more valuable than 30". I'm not sure if it's because of the relative scarcity of long-barreled small bores or if people actually think they handle better now than people thought 100 years ago.
At the end of the day, as a collector, the condition of the gun will matter to me the most, followed by the scarcity of options, barrel length, grade, gauge, etc. That said, I have bought a couple of graded 20's that I might not otherwise have wanted just because they had 30" barrels. (The old "When have you ever seen one like this?" self-inflicted trap)
But as a hunter, I'm still going to choose the combination that makes the most sense for what/where/how I'm hunting. For most upland hunting (where you'll see most 20's being used), my preference is more moderate to short barrels and more open chokes. I think the quicker handling is more valuable than the advantage that longer barrels provide in following through in barrel swing. I think that's always been true for most people which is why most 16 and 20 gauges were made/ordered with 28" or 26" barrels and IC/Mod or Mod/Full chokes. It's the best compromise. One exception to that thinking, for me, is with the .410's. 26" barreled .410's are poorly balanced and "whippy". 28" barrels improve the balance on those guns tremendously, and, though I've never even seen one, I would imagine 30" barrels are even better.
That's just me... I'd love to hear from others, too.