I will also add after fifty years of wing shooting the so-called "longer sight plane" of longer barrels makes some sense while in the easy chair at the typewriter (this was espoused in the sixties already), I have found longer barrels slower, heavier, and not one feather more effective than, say, a 24" tube.
At least for me. Upland shooting usually requires quickness but then I'm a "snap-shooter" not a point-and-swing guy.
Agree with everything you said here George. If this is a partridge/quail/chukar gun, go 24". The 26" adds a little extra weight out front to help with follow through if long crossing pheasants are your thing. I do a decent amount of pass shooting, so I do like the 28" for that. The 26" strikes a very nice balance on the 20 gauge Benelli.
