I'm not a big bird hunter but I did some quail hunting on a preserve with my 26" Citori. It performed well and I feel I got my money's worth on the hunt.a older bird hunting friend who quit hunting because of health issuses took this 20 ga browning upland special to a LGS to sell and was told as it was only 2-3/4 and used plain invecta choke tubes with a 26" barrel, few people would want it. i ask what he was offered for it and then said i would buy it if he still wanted to sell it, i offered 100.00 more than the LGS had and he sold it to me. as i like a long butt stock i added a slip on pad. i find my self carrying it on small game than any other shotguns.
For clay games, a 26" barrel is a bit short. But not for hunting.
Fortunately, I got spare stock for the gun that was cut for a youth that fits my wife well and she likes it for skeet shooting. I still have the original stock as well as the shortened stock.
The donor of the youth stock gave it to me on the requirement that I pass it on when done with it. Since it fits my wife well, I've done some other "pay it forward" projects to honor the commitment.