This may seem backwards, but if a gun doesn't look pleasingly proportional to me I an not attracted to it. With the exception of the really small receivers as used for .410 and 28ga the 25 and 26 inch barrels fall in that category for me. Everything else needs 28 to 30 inches or my eye turns it away. However, I have some very quick 28 and 30 inch guns in 20ga and 16ga and a couple inches of barrel length has to be an imaginary problem vs real.