Browning for years made a 24" upland special in their Citori line that came with a factory english stock. People bought them primarily for grouse/woodcock hunting in thick cover where they could be snap shot very quickly. I owned one in 16 gauge (very hard one to find) for some time. I found it didn't swing worth a darn and was more of a poke and pull the trigger gun. Still, in a grouse/woodcock situation very early in the season it worked quite well.
Back to your question. In thick cover its doesn't hurt to have a short barrel gun (26" as short as I can imagine) and I think my 30" Sterlingworth 16 gauge would indeed be banging against limbs brush and would cause problems if I needed to get it up in a hurry. Now, when I mean thick, I mean so thick you have to use your left arm to ward off the brush so you can you can move forward through the brush with your body. That's thick and when its that thick a longer barrel gun is indeed a handicap when both carrying and shooting IMO.
