Fellows, ksauers1 recently posed a question about everyone's opinion of 27" barrelled shotguns, and the conversation made me think about an E. J. Churchill Premiere SxS 12 bore I have, with two sets of 25" barrels with the narrow Churchill ribs. The gun weighs exactly 6 lbs., and balances the same with either barrel set. It is fast handling, as one would expect, but doesn't feel whippy to me.......
If you like the gun and can shoot it well, it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about the barrel length. It only needs to have barrels at least 18.1" long in order for you to stay out of prison. Probably the greatest factor in whether one can shoot a shotgun well is gun fit. With practice, most can adapt to a gun that is too short or has too much drop. We can consciously tell ourselves to shoot under a bird if we know it patterns high. We can tell ourselves to let the target get further out if we know it has a tight choke. But the guns people refer to as "Death Rays" are typically guns that fit and point naturally. A decent shooter will be able to pick up such a gun and hit well with it even if he hasn't touched it in a while. Practice can sharpen our reflexes and refresh our technique and target acquisition. But it will never completely compensate for a gun that simply doesn't point naturally at the target without requiring contortions, distractions, or decision making.
