Each to his own I guess. I cant see using anything with barrels over 28" in the grouse woods.
To take it a bit farther I see little "Need" for anything over 28" for the vast majority of upland gunning, Period. I have not done a great deal of Duck Hunting, but what I have done I did with good success as far as the shooting went with a 7˝ lb 12ga having 26" barrels bored with .012" & .024" chokes Right/Left. This was primarily hunting in a swamp where I was calling them in without benefit of decoys, but did right good I thought, no long range pass shooting involved. With this same gun I have successfully shot Quail, Rabbit, a few Squirrel (Mostly hunt them with a .22LR), some Woodcock & a couple of Turkeys. I have never felt the need for a lot more length in the barrels, in fact I would not desire any more than 2 more inches, if they were a bit slimmer so the gun kept the same or slightly less weight. Have also done some mighty good shooting with a 6lb 14oz 12 gauge having 28" barrels as well as a 6lb 20 with 26" barrels. I normally just prefer letting them little round shots "Reach Out & Touch Someone", rather than swatting them with the gun itself.
