Different strokes for different folks. Clay shooters who premounted and actually aim their guns seem to do better with longer barrels. But many upland bird hunters who are shooting more or less instinctively often opt for the shorter barrels. My favorite wild quail gun is a Lefever DS 16 with 26" barrels. It's all instinctive, I'm often surprised when the gun fires and a bird drops, not being conscious of the swing, trigger, etc. but on clays I immediately revert to some hybrid mix of aimed shot and scores drop like a rock.
