[Rick Hall]

I'm with HNT on the importance of feel. I want my guns to feel alive in hand, a part of me. Which is more a matter of balance than weight, so the longer, heavier barrel may well feel better as I bring it to bear than a shorter one - or not. Can't know without mounting a gun with each.

But it could well be that the addition of an extended choke could change that dynamic. Don't know, never fooled with one.

 

[Rick Hall]

I agree that two inches of barrel length, more or less, makes little difference in the way my shotguns feel or swing.
Where it does make a difference is when hanging up on brush, limbs, cattails, bulrush, tules, etc. begins to be a problem. In those cases, the loss of even two inches is noticeable (to me, anyway).
Hunting out of a layout blind/boat is a prime example.

That's just silly.

 

[Rick Hall]

But congrats on managing to outdo your usual self..

 

[Rick Hall]

And why is it silly?

Rick, I think you'd disagree with me if I said you were a good duck hunter.

It's silly, because real world experience has shown it so. I sincerely hope your not someone circumstance has limited to hunting in his head, and have often checked myself with that possibility in mind before responding to some of your stuff. Just wasn't in a benevolent space when reading this latest. Should try to do better.

 

[Rick Hall]

Who's real world experience? Yours??

I know it's hard for you to believe, but you are not the only duck hunter on this forum.

I imagine I've been hunting ducks AT LEAST as long as you have, possibly have as many days devoted to that sport....maybe more.

I'd not be at all surprised to learn you've a decade or more of duck hunting on me. Especially if you're one who counts riding to the blind on P-paw's shoulders. I didn't do more than that sort of thing and get serious about it until after the service and a couple years' hiatus from shooting anything. Did get to go for many, if not most, open mornings from the mid '70s until '84 when I started guiding full time and quite literally haven't missed an open duck day since - though many of them were spent with geese being our primary target in those early years. If you've time in grade on me, good on ya. Again, I hope you're still getting out and not just hunting for things to expound upon on these boards. .

All of which, however, is "neither here or there". I can imagine someone lacking the physical senses to notice the balance difference two inches of barrel makes, but "Where it does make a difference is when hanging up on brush, limbs, cattails, bulrush, tules, etc. begins to be a problem. In those cases, the loss of even two inches is noticeable (to me, anyway).Hunting out of a layout blind/boat is a prime example." smacks of purest conjecture and lack of meaningful experience. It's the same silly argument some upland hunters try to make with conjecture in their heads, rather than time in the thick and thorny, only it's even sillier when applied to waterfowling.

 

[Rick Hall]

I was about 14 when I went on my first duck hunt, 13 when I went on my first goose hunt.
Don't care if you believe why I prefer a 26" barrel over a longer one. If you've never hunted in heavy cattails or out of a grassed-up layout blind, you may not understand what I'm describing. Those who have know what I'm talking about.

Have done way-the-hey more than enough of both to not worry about how long my barrel is. Though here we'll more more often choose to hunt out of cutgrass than cattails, because it's much thicker. But drive on...

 

[Rick Hall]

You da' man.

Thanks, but I'm just one of 'em.

 

[Rick Hall]

But then what camo pattern is better in cutgrass...Mossy Oak or Realtree...

Just kidding.

Made me smile and think of a very old photo featuring the first of my five Chessies, Bud, and taken after we were, in fact, standing deep in a cutgrass patch to get the fellow in Real Tree on left and his buddy behind the camera mottleds to mount. I "rocked" the Mossy Oak:
:

 

[Rick Hall]

Not sure why the pasted photo above isn't showing up on my screen, but if a couple or three make the transition to yours, it's because I tried to edit it:

 

[Rick Hall]

In the spirit of full disclosure, I went to our community gun range last Saturday and Sunday. (You know you’re a red neck if your HOA has its own gun range.). I did more shooting with the Kicks High Flyer Full for the Invector Plus barrel. The extra length does not impede my shooting and my patterns are better than with the flush factory Modified choke. I believe the Kicks HF full measures .722. If my facts are straight, .722 falls between a BIP Improved Cylinder and Light Modified thus with steel shot I am patterning Modified. I am an avid Gray’s Sporting Journal man. The general idea at Gray’s has always been Modfied is the best catch all pattern since it not only yields a decent pattern inside the 30” circle but an optimal shot string as well. While on the subject of Gray’s, I subscribe to their notion that instead of opting for 20 gauge or an exotic fodder, just go with 2-3/4” 12 Gauge if you want less gauge. Anyway, I am fully disclosing my new Duck gun direction.

Tree-topper.

JK,JK...