I spent a lot of time over 20 years or so thrashing around in the brush with a 26" bbl. gun, but I've come to agree with Jay. "If it feels good, shoot it." I think the ideal barrel length depends more on you, and what works best for you, than on the conditions you are shooting in. Are you 6' 2" tall or 5' 8" tall? Are your arms long or short? Somewhere in my increasingly dim memory I have heard that the ideal barrel length is twice what works for you as a length of pull. So a guy who feels comfortable with a 15" LOP may, according to this rule of thumb, be best suited to 30" barrels. I'm one of those guys, and I know that, at least at targets, 30" works best with my 15" LOP. In the brush, with a woodcock or grouse, taking off like a rocket, who knows? For the really close ones, the 26" bbls may give you a fast swing advantage. But, when you go out for a day's hunting, how do you know which shot - close or longer away- is going to present itself? Like Jay says, "if it feels good, shoot it!!"
Rich
