Larry,
I see it's your first post and already you've been given a "snow-job" by Ted3000.
The fact of the matter is...26 3/4 barrels are the most sought after barrel length...near every French SxS you see has 27 3/4 barrels and it's rare to find the shorter upland bird length barrels.

Ted3000 knows full well that he could have simply posted two links that would capture your interest for days, but instead he chooses to pump up his own ego with some pompous quasi-expert nonsense.

Please excuse his nonsense

The answer he should have posted looks like this...

Please see these two links for materail related to your Verney Carron, then refer back to this website for any remaining question you may have...and welcome to this bulletin system.

see
http://www.gournetusa.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=179&SearchTerms=verney

also see
http://www.littlegun.be/arme%20belge/artisans%20identifies%20t%20w/a%20verney%20caron%20fr.htm