At the end of the day, as a collector, the condition of the gun will matter to me the most, followed by the scarcity of options, barrel length, grade, gauge, etc. That said, I have bought a couple of graded 20's that I might not otherwise have wanted just because they had 30" barrels. (The old "When have you ever seen one like this?" self-inflicted trap)
But as a hunter, I'm still going to choose the combination that makes the most sense for what/where/how I'm hunting. For most upland hunting (where you'll see most 20's being used), my preference is more moderate to short barrels and more open chokes. I think the quicker handling is more valuable than the advantage that longer barrels provide in following through in barrel swing. I think that's always been true for most people which is why most 16 and 20 gauges were made/ordered with 28" or 26" barrels and IC/Mod or Mod/Full chokes. It's the best compromise. One exception to that thinking, for me, is with the .410's. 26" barreled .410's are poorly balanced and "whippy". 28" barrels improve the balance on those guns tremendously, and, though I've never even seen one, I would imagine 30" barrels are even better.
That's just me... I'd love to hear from others, too.
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