I once had a Valmet waterfowler which is an O/U 12 ga. with 36" barrels. The handling of it was unreal, in that it belied the very long barrels and swung like a nice 30" barreled gun. It had the short "rib pieces", ramps actually, at the breech and muzzle. Obviously this was done to help reduce weight in the forward portion of the gun, and it worked. The barrels were also struck very thin. I tried it on sporting clays with mediocre results. I couldn't help feeling that there was a difference in what my lead looked like, as compared to shooting my 31 1/2" MX8.
Results ....... the short rib sections at front and rear worked to "fool the eyes" into not seeing the sunken space between them while shooting. However, when the gun was lowered and you viewed it from above, or from the side, it was obvious that it was lacking something. I don't care for the appearance at all. Point is, there's no reason to eliminate the top or side ribs to improve handling. Handling can be perfect with all the ribs in place. Many Italian makers have proved it.
