Gun folklore, tradition, beliefs, etc., all are deeply rooted. Some deeply rooted in partial accuracies, or accurate only under certain circumstances, or rooted in total inaccuracies.
For me and my varied shooting activities, I find I like guns that have varied physical characteristics.
My sporting clays shooting has me favoring a 32" long barreled, very forward weighted, 7lb, 20g o/u or a 32" long barreled, very forward weighted, 7 3/4lb, 12g o/u.
Skeet, which I do little of these days, finds me wanting a slightly "quicker swinging" gun than the sporting clays guns I have. What little trap I shoot is done with my long barreled sporting clays guns, since I'm not a proficient trap shooter anyways.
My walked up over a flushing dog quail hunting has driven me to favor a 6lb 26" barreled, 20g or .410 gun. If I had a pointing dog, I would consider a longer barreled, "slower" swinging gun for the prepared shot, but not necessarily heavier (gotta carry the thing across the same terrain, just the same).
So, I don't even imagine a Brit "game gun" would suit my clays shooting better than my cheapo production guns, but may be as good or better than some of my various guns at my quail hunting.
Pheasant hunting the flatlands is yet another story. A 6 - 6 1/2lb. featherlight "game gun" doesn't quite seem ideal to me. Too "whippy" IMO. Phez are slow to take flight and accelerate. Once up to cruise speeds, they need a steady lead and consistant follow thru. This means a gun that has some swing heft is o.k., even desirable. You do have to carry it, but usually not up and down hills/mtns like quail/chukar. So, a slightly heavier gun is manageable.
So, just in my little knothole of the world, I like vastly different characteristics in guns for my different hunting. A classic Brit "game gun" would/does/did have a place in my shooting, but not for everything.
