That's a great pheasant gun - shot a lot of pheasants with a 870. I hunt with both 28" and 26" barrels. Kinda like the 26", I think it's a bit easier to 'swing' on birds - but either one would work great.

The 12 gauge is also going to be a very versitle gun if you want to use it for other things down the road (waterfowl, turkey, etc.).

I will sometime change my shot size during the year. I generally start with a higher shot size, 6's or even 7 1/2's early in the season. But as the season progresses and the birds start to flush earlier, I'll go down to 4 shot.