[James L. Martin]

I have hunted Grouse & Woodcock my entire life, I have used 26" to 30". One gun I have is a Beretta 303 auto with a 30" Stan Baker barrel which has been backbored , its a deadly grouse gun that would be the same barrel length as a 34" S/S. I also use a 20ga VHE with 30" barrels, my favorite gun the last few years has been a 12ga DH with 26" with cyl & mod Damascus barrels that is just under 7 lbs. All that being said the most important thing is that it shoots where you are looking and you can carry it all day. Being in my late 60's I like a gun between 6 and 7 lbs . More important than barrel length is the chokes and the shells. I would say to use cyl in the first barrel and mod in the second. If your gun is choked tight use spreaders. My 30" 20ga VHE has full chokes and I use RST spreaders and home made Poly-wad spreaders. The last thing I would do is once the Woodcock have moved south is only shoot #6 shot, you will kill more birds .