It's really quite simple. There's a thing called "sight radius" which is the distance between the rear sight and front sight on a firearm. On a shotgun, the rear sight is the eye. A longer barrel gives a longer sight radius and cuts down on perceived lead, which helps hitting the target in wingshooting.
All things being equal, a well-balanced 30" barreled shotgun is easier to hit a flying target with than a well-balanced 26" barreled shotgun. There are a good many SC shooters using 34" barreled guns for this reason. I have a fellow shooter friend who shoots SC's with a Beretta 391 Parallel Target with a 32" barrel with great success, to the point he has me wanting one. You would have to have 36" barrels on an O/U or SxS to have the equivalent sight radius as his gun.
Also, this stuff about short-barreled guns being better in the "brush" is pretty much outdated thinking as well, but there are a number of grouse and woodcock shooters who might disagree.
JR
Last edited by John Roberts; 08/01/10 06:31 PM.
