I have always been a firm believer that everyone should use what "They" like, not what someone else says is "Best". With that in mind if I had my Druthers, I'd druther every shotgun I owned had 28" barrels. I am not very tall & well fitted by a "Standard" 14" pull & have always felt a double looked proportionate with a barrel length approximately twice the pull length.
A gun with which I did some of the best shooting of any I ever owned was a low end J P Clabrough 12ga SLNE with 28" barrels both ¼ choke, weight 6lb 14oz . This was all uplands, no ducks. I have not done a large amount of duck hunting, but what I did was with a Lefever fitted with a set of Bohler Steel 26" barrels in Italy. This gun weighs 7½ lbs & is thus muzzle heavier than the 28" Clabrough. I shoot it well enough but the heavier muzzle weight does make it a bit slower for upland work. It is choked ¼-3/4.
I have only ever had one 32" barreled gun, a massive early Lefever side pivot opener in 10ga @ 10lbs. I really have no desire for any more in that length. Other guns I have or have used over the yrs vary from 26:" to 30". I have done some pretty good shooting with all those lengths, but would still be happy if everyone of them were 28".
