12" is my favorite length for contender barrels......have a couple of competitor barrels that are 16"......that would be too long with about any other action type.......I do have a 16" barreled XP and it's a bit too long.....

In my opinion, if the barrel is over 16" long, it's a stockless rifle pretending to be a handgun.....so, what's the point..........but that's just my opinion......