If it's properly balanced once it's raised to the shoulder it's hard to notice if the barrels are 25" or 28" or whatever. Balance is everything.
I agree in principle with the above. I use a 26" SXS that weighs 6lb. 4oz. for most of my upland hunting but that said, I prefer longer bbls & a more weight forward feel for other types of shooting such as sporting clays & doves & I think that is where the O.P. is coming from.
Even when the Churchill 25 concept was very popular you didn't see many people using them for pigeon, duck or clay target guns.
