My New barrel

[minnesota1]

I have a SX2 Practical model with the 22" barrel. I put on ghost rings thinking it would be faster but I think I made a mistake. First, I think it is more accurate with slugs but I think a rib and a bead would be faster for 95% of the shoots and scenarios.

I just purchased a SX2 28" barrel (3" Chamber). I am not 100 % sure about the rules though. I have heard that 22" is the maximum you can have your barrel, but then I read about guys who have 28" barrels for certain types of shooting. I am willing to shoot anything and am wondering exactly what I should do. I do not want to cut it down to 22" to find out USPSA shoots you should have a 28" barrel so you can get a super extended mag and never have to reload! Anyway, I think you can see where I am coming from and what I want to know. Is there any common shooting events that you can use something over a 22" barrel (I understand local matches you usually can shoot whatever you have in the closet) and if there is what organization?

Thanks,

Bob

[M.E.Anglin]

why not stick to your 22" bbl.? put some rifle sights on it, you can use those sights for slugs (which I think you'll find to be more accurate then the ghost rings) and when your shooting shot they are not in your way. shorter bbls. are so much more easy to handle (tight quarters, loading, etc.) if you got chokes for the 22" I think I would try to stick with that one

[bgary]

I am not 100 % sure about the rules though. I have heard that 22" is the maximum you can have your barrel, but then I read about guys who have 28" barrels for certain types of shooting.  I do not want to cut it down to 22" to find out USPSA shoots you should have a 28" barrel so you can get a super extended mag and never have to reload!

If we're talking about USPSA rules:

-- Open division: no minimum or maximum barrel length

no more than 10 rounds in the tube at a time (10+1 total)

-- Standard division: no minumum or maximum barrel length

no more than 8 rounds in the tube at a time (8+1 total)

I *think* the barrel length has to be a configuration the mfr has offered

-- Modified division: shotgun must be less than 1320mm long

So, the answer is, it depends. If you are shooting in Open, you can shorten the barrel if you want. If you are shooting in Standard, you can use any length barrel that the manufacturer has offered on that model.

And, as far as mag-tube capacity, you will be at a significant disadvantage if you aren't able to load 8+1 in standard (or 10+1 in Open). USPSA shotgun tends to be a "how fast can you fill it back up" game.

Bruce

[Larry White]

Uspsa does not have barrel or tube length restrictions, only number of rds loaded, 9 for limited, 11 for open. Some of the other orgs limit a tac. or limited shotgun to a 22 in barrel and a 23in tube. So to be ok for all of them you need a 22 in barrel, but a 28in barreled autoloader or pump gun is a long gun. I think I would want something shorter. Larry

[EricW]

Whack it to 21" if you ever plan to use extended choke tubes.

[sgrc1]

A few questions on barrel lenght and cutting, some might seem obvious but with the little experience I have, I am trying to gather as much info as possilbe.

- I am clear that the optimum lenght for limited is 22inches, what about Open?

- Can you cut a Benelli 26 inch barrel down to the 22inch limited optimum?, I understand from a few forum members that doing this will invalidate the factory chokes, and would need re-threading if you want to use chokes - the question is: Do you need to do this?, or does the gun function properly for IPSC competition without the re-threading for chokes.

- What is the maximum lenght/capacity on the extended tubes that can be used on a 22inch barrel for it not to stick past the barrel?, the same for the 26 inch benelli barrel?

I managed to get my hands on a M1 26 inch barrel and am trying to decide if I should shoot it "as is" or go alter it for limited.

Thanks