Giving the very high birds your best shot

Barrel length has changed over the years, and preferences differ but is longer always better for reaching tall birds, asks Simon Reinhold

- Simon Reinhold

High bird shooting is a specialist subject. Some devote themselves to nothing else, but is there an optimum barrel length for it?

It might surprise you to learn that the fashion for long barrels is nothing new. Take a look at any of the fowling 4- and 8-bore shotguns from the later part of the 19th century and you will rarely find one with short barrels. To cut through the babble of modern field sports marketing, though, we need to determine what we mean by both high birds and by long barrels.

High birds is a relative term. What is high for me may not be high for you. It must be assessed on individual ability and, for that, you must be honest with yourself. When my sons, who are starting out on their shooting careers, begin to leave birds that they think are out of range I know they will have passed an important milestone in their shooting career.

That ceiling moves as we progress and our ability with a shotgun and our understanding of our equipment and its capabilities improves, but there are limits beyond which our behaviour becomes unacceptable. It is for each person to judge for themselves.

One Norfolk shoot stalwart of my acquaintance summarises the difference between 32in and 28in barrel lengths with the comment “well, you’re four inches closer to the bud bor”. He is the same man who sidled up to one Gun, who was shouting oaths at his apparently deaf dog, with a grin and the levelling comment: “Wos uts real name?”