I have read many times about the advantages of a short barreled gun to use in heavy cover. Pete
I hunt heavy cover for grouse and woodcock. Of course I'd never cut the barrels off my gun (and frankly my guess is, that is stuff of legend, not reality) but I would like to see what a shorter gun does. Frankly, I don't think it'll make that big of a difference. As many have said, when in the thick, it doesn't seem to be the last couple inches of the barrel that's really causing the problem.
My Boss 20 is wonderfully light, even with long barrels, so I can carry it all day without any discomfort, so it's not really a weight issue with me - it's just that the cover is seriously thick and I wonder if having that Churchill XXV would allow for a little more nimble movement. Then again, I almost got hit right in the face by an incoming grouse last year that I couldn't have swung on with a snub-nosed .38.
