Hi all,
done a lot of reading but nothing definitive. heard of people shooting 18" - 30" barrels, i thiught i had settled on a 24" for my benelli m2. currently it has a 28.

then i srtart reading about shooter barrels not having the velocity to knock down targets farther out so a longer barrel is better because it has higher velocity and punch, ( magazine size comes into question later
w/ regards for regulations for certain classes)

I don't want to go to short but not keep it too long, so i guess i guess if i average out the responses i've heard 24" and 26" are the most popular (at the moment).

this is my first shotgun so i'm not really sure what to expect. i want manuverabilty but also the force to reach out and know down metal targets w/ birdshot. wondering if i should just enter a few competitions first and see how it feels(?)

i read that Taran Butler was moved into "open" class b/c his magazine tube was too long.....but i don't know what his barrel length., more interested in his barrel than his tube (if anyone knows?) something about how many rounds you can have loaded b4 the buzzer (8+1 or 9+1, but not the over all capacity)...

anyhow, if you have any experience and advice i'd like to hear it. don't want to throw away $500 for each new barrel just to get it right. that gets expensive and takes $$ away from customizing it.

thanks!