A longer sight plane means nothing with a scope. I have a 28" barrel on my 870 Express and would love to go shorter. Problem is, I could just about buy a new gun for what it costs to get a shorter barrel! It's tough to justify the investment. I was wondering how much it might cost or even if it was worth having a gunsmith shorten the barrel and tap it to accomodate choke tubes? I'll probably just live with the long barrel though unless a deal hits me on the head. Time to visit Ebay again...