That describes my experiences as well, Chuck. The better my shooting got the more I experimented with longer barrels. I tried all the way out to 36", on a Valmet Waterfowler O/U. I found that 31 1/2" - 32" work the best for me. Most serious s/c competitors have settled there, too.
I often shoot late season doves with a 32" barreled Fox, which balances the scales at 8 lb. 2 oz. unloaded. It's no problem at all to swing fast enough on a mature bird coming by at 75 mph. I can dead sure promise you this .......... the lead "picture" does not look exactly the same with 26" and with 32" barrels. And on birds requiring much over 4 ft. of lead (at the bird), it is much easier to replicate it shot after shot with longer barrels.
I should qualify this by saying that in all the above posts about s/c shooting I am referring to 32" barrels on O/Us, which is what the majority of serious s/c shooters are using. In the case of "semis" 30" probably is the "norm". But, there's not over 10% of serious s/c shooters using them anymore, IMO.
SRH
