Smooth bore barrel lengths and calibers

[Maurice]

Would like to build a smooth bore. Does barrel length (36” min. to 42” max.) increase the accuracy of a smooth bore gun? Looking for maximum possible accuracy at up to 50 yds. And what about caliber? Thinking of .50 caliber min. to .62 caliber max. Gun would be used primarily for deer hunting (PRB) and to a lesser amount for squirrel (shot). Barrel would be non-choked. Any factors to consider based on your experiences are appreciated.

[Hungry Horse]

 A lot depends on the terrain you hunt in. I hunt in brush choked Northern California, where even a 36” barrel is hard to get through the brush. My trade gun is a 30” barreled chiefs grade in 20 gauge. I have hunted a lot with it, both deer, and upland game. It’s great in the pheasant fields, but I think if I was going to do a lot of big game hunting with it I would probably change the caliber to 24 gauge, so I could use .58 caliber conicals on dangerous game.

  Hungry Horse

[smylee grouch]

I would forget the 50 smooth as a shot gun. A longer barrel gives you a longer sight radius and more accuracy capabilities.

[Daryl]

This 20 bore has a 31" bl. with patent & hooked breech. Nice design, good swinging/handling gun for ball or shot.
It shoots well enough at 50 yards to hunt deer with. Quite accurate at 25 to 30yards - can group like a rifle if you
hold your mouth right.