Browning Over And Under ??

[firthy 54]

all I'm debating on buying an browning b425 waterfowl it's seems the options are a 28'' barrel or 30'' and they do a 3'' and a 3.5'' chamber. Does anyone on here have any recommendations on preference on barrel length? And do you think 3.5 is over kill? I want a gun that I'll be able to shoot high geese and also use it for pigeons etc if I'm right this gun has adjustable chokes also??

[jacknife 2,005]

I would go for the 3.5" gives you more options on cartridges

 

I like a shorter barrel if I'm in a hide or doing a bit of rough shooting

 

If going after geese id probably opt for the 30"

[baigon 3]

I would go for the 3.5" gives you more options on cartridges

 

I like a shorter barrel if I'm in a hide or doing a bit of rough shooting

 

If going after geese id probably opt for the 30"

agreed with you

[Alsone 789]

Basically a shorter barrel swings faster so it's easier to track a faster moving target. A longer barrel swings slower and so is more stable and provides a longer siting plane tending to make the user more accurate. That's why skeet guns tend to have short barrels and trap guns long. Personally if you're shooting wildfowl I'd go for the 30. Good all round length that's good for sporting clays as well . If your primary use is pigeon then you might want to consider the 28 although many shoot pigeon with 30 as well. The advantage of 28 is as jackknife said, easier to handle in a hide. I like 30 so personally would choose that every time

[air gun ant 1,666]

I prefer 28" as I just think it feels more natural but it just personal preference. As for the chamber, I agree with the above, you don't have to use 3 1/2" carts just because you have the chamber, you could use 2-1/2" if you liked but you can't use 3-1/2" if your only chambered for 3" so as said a 3-12" gives you more options for those high geese

[andyf 144]

The Browning's a very good well made gun good choice, forget the 3 1/2", the cartridges are VERY expensive and hard to find. I've shot a 3 1/2" through a Beretta

Semi Auto and that was fierce to say the least, through a drop barrel gun I can only imagine!

30" barrels seem to be the most popular these days and that gun is useable for anything.

[firthy 54]

Thanks for the replys guys I will mainly be pigeon shooting and duck and geese. I'm not too worried about the cost of the cartridges coz they are defo going to be cheaper than the bismuth and tungsten matrix 10 bore I used to have to buy My old ten never only took 3 inch so all had to be professionally loaded n cost a fortune.

[firthy 54]

Plus steel cartridges don't work out too expensive really do they? One of my local gun shop has them on the shelf as well doubt I will be putting many 3.5 cartridges through it really but defo like the idea of having the option of being able to though. Planning on going on a few Scotland goose trips in the next few years.

[ValerieLeverette 2]

Yes, steel cartridges work a good. Since, it's constant- force spring gives feed consistency round after round and simply disassembled for cleaning by removing 2 stainless steel screws.

[trenchfoot 4,243]

My preference would be 30" with 3" chambers. The recoil of the 3.5" shells is best left to semi auto's, and 3" have most options covered anyway. From memory the 3.5" chambers also brings increased barrel weight. So may be better balanced with the 28" barrels, which would loose out in pointability on the longer range targets the bigger shells are designed for, defeating part of the benefit of the larger shell.

[firthy 54]

Struggling to find a 30'' barrel with 31/2 chamber only found one in camo would prefer wood and blue.

[jacknife 2,005]

I would leave the camo to the semi autos