I've hunted the North GA woods, fields, and swamps with all manner of double guns having barrels up to 34" (DHE Parker); and for all around shooting, guns with 28 and 30" barrels are my preference. But when it came to actually killing small game, the MOST effective double gun I ever owed and used was an el-cheapo Spanish double gun; an Erbi with factory 18" barrels and cylinder bore chokes. I absolutely could not miss with that gun, and hunted with that gun for years as a young man when, to me, the weight of my game bag was the most important aspect of the hunt. As I "matured", other factors such as aesthetics began to dominate my thinking; and Lord was that thing was butt ugly, so I traded it off in favor of a Parker. And although I've never cut a set of barrels and never will, I've certainly owned and hunted with my fair share of bobbed-barreled doubles; which personal experience causes me to conclude the following: short barreled double guns most definitely provide the shooter a distinct advantage in close cover shooting opportunities afforded by southern cane-brakes, red-nosed briar patches, privet thickets, second growth cut-overs, etc.