I've been shooting USPSA matches and Trap/Skeet/Sporting Clays for years, but am just now really joining the two in a 3-gun match.
I've done lots of reading here, and have come up with the following plan/reasoning for an Open Benelli M2 field gun:
USPSA allow 10+1 in open, while SMM3G has no capacity limits in Open. Those are the two sets of rules that govern local matches around here.
While "more rounds in the mag is always better" is tried and true USPSA reasoning <g>, I just don't see the reasoning in having a mag tube hanging out several inches beyond the barrel. If we want the quick swinging and maneuverability of a short-barreled shotgun, having 6" of loaded mag tube sticking out past the end of the barrel is about the same as having a 6" longer barrel, thus offsetting the alleged gains of a shorter barrel, right?
And if I'm going to misjudge something and slam the end of my gun laterally into a port edge, I'd rather hit that edge with a steel barrel than an aluminum extended mag tube.
So, with all that in mind, it seems that I want a gun that will hold 10 rounds in the mag tube, with a barrel mostly flush with that. By my read, that is a Nordic Components +7 tube, for a total magazine length of 26.723", which could then be coupled with a 26" barrel with an extended choke of 3/4" or so to bring it out to flush with the mag tube.
That being said, I'm not seeing many references to 26" barrels (mostly 24"), so what am I missing? I can buy either one at my local gunshop, so before I spend a $1000+ on the wrong barrel length, tell me what part of the puzzle I'm missing or misinterpreting.
Thanks!
--Gene