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Aw, c'mon guys, admit it. A side-by is WAY COOL!!!!

Joined: 13 Dec 2006 Posts: 694 Location: MN

I like the pretty pictures!!!

Like I said, it matters not to me what type of gun a fellow totes. If he likes an SxS and is good with it, why not. At the same time, carrying a repeater does not automatically put a guy in the lower end of the gene pool either. Nor do autoloaders and pumps automatically cause folks to act like a slob. That is decided by attitude, not altitude. I've seen some pretty slobby acting big ticket SxS toters in my time. Maybe the gun and it's price range influenced the owner into thinking he was "priveleged." I think it's because money does not automatically lead to good or bad manners. That is more a matter of upbringing, peer pressure, and the opportunity to learn.

I like any gun I can hit with. I own several of every type. That fact does not make me a better shot, a better hunter, or a gentleman either. I had to learn those skills. They cannot be bought....and yes, being a gentleman is a skill like anything else we endeavor to learn. I'm still learning.

Member Joined: 09 Mar 2007 Posts: 972 Location: Keller,TX

OK, Slayer, here's the scoop on SxS's:

They have a shallower verticle profile which is easier to swing on crossing shots.
They generally have better balance and less weight than an O/U of the same bore size.
Their design has been perfected for instant choke selection-double triggers- while the O/U has to be perfectly fitted to utilize double triggers. There are not that many available on O/U's.
They are designed to shoot game -not targets.
In a blind, the break angle is less than an O/U- ever tried to reload an O/U in a crowded pit blind or a narrow tent blind?

These are real advantages in the game field.

Like O'l Southern lawyer would say," I rest my case."

XVI'er has it spot on. I would also like to add that a sxs is alluring and just plain sexy, if a gun can be sexy. They just beg to be picked up and shot, and I like to think in my own delusional way that developing this kind of affinity for a gun carries over into the way it's shot. I will say however, that rare is the time I outshoot a single barrel or o/u guy at the range with my sxs, but when I'm in the field, for some reason I rarely miss. Maybe birds are easier to hit than clays? it's possible.

Joined: 19 Dec 2007 Posts: 109 Location: S.W.PENNSYLVANIA

Two barrels two triggers a instant choice of chokes by moving the finger to the trigger you want. A SxS does not have to open as much as a O/U to remove the shells. My Ithaca 16ga SxS field hunter points,swings & shoots better than any O/U or pump I have handeled IMHO.

RON

Member Joined: 31 Aug 2007 Posts: 238 Location: Lodi, CA

SxS or O/U seems 'bout equal when all is said and done --so long as they are trim, and balanced.

What gets me is the Benelli SBE club. These guys would shoot a howitzer a game if it were legal and they could carry it into the field. I recently went pheasant hunting with a friend who brought a friend along. I didn't say too much when the new guy pulled his SBE out of the truck, until that is, he shot the first bird and blew it completely in two. Wing and feathers over here and the other wing and feathers over their. I was shocked and asked what kind of shells he was shooting and he replied 3 1/2 #6s. I just smiled and said, "ah, you must hunt duck on the national wildlife refuges". He did not see the irony.

If shooting lead, bismuth, or TM I just don't see a need for more than a 2 3/4 inch shell --even when shooting geese. I can understand 3" shells for steel, but 3 1/2? What's up with that?

Member Joined: 09 Mar 2007 Posts: 972 Location: Keller,TX

Dr Dave, noted outdoor writer Nash Buckingham, who was known for his long range duck shooting abilities, once wrote an article entitled " Are We Shooting 8 Guage Guns?". Michael McIntosh had an article in Shooting Sportsman, which alludes to this very article. He opines that while we are not shooting 8 bores, we are certainly shooting payloads greater than those used in the 8 bore! This is certainly true with certain individuals and the 3 1/2" 12 bore. I, like you, have to shake my head in disbelief when the wrong load is used for an upland application such as you mentioned. I detest steel shot- the principal reason I abandoned waterfowl hunting when it was mandated by the government. Until bismuth, I hunted waterfowl only when I could decoy birds in close-under 35 yds. The developement of the 3 1/2" 12 bore was in response to those waterfowlers who demanded larger payloads- trying to increase pattern density at longer range. It is a highly specialized round intended for turkey or waterfowl.

I have a friend who hunts with one shotgun only- a Benelli Nova 3 1/2" 12. He does, however, match the load to the game. I see nothing wrong with this as long as it works for him.I only know it wouldn't work for me.

Member Joined: 02 Feb 2006 Posts: 602 Location: western pa

I think the 3 1/2" shell was invented for 7 lb. pumpguns to save ammunition. A quick 3 round volley from one can leave the average man in a state of shock and make him think twice about doing it again. Thus consuming less ammo. Very Happy

To get back to the subject, I like the way sxs guns carry and as we all know we spend much more time in the carry mode whilst hunting.

Member Joined: 21 Mar 2008 Posts: 48 Location: NJ

Great question, great topic. My first shotgun was a 20 ga SXS made in Spain, I still have the little gun and it is now 42 years old and still shoots like it was a young 'un. I moved on to an O/U, a pump, a beautiful Browning Gold Hunter (my duck and goose gun) and finally my Huglu SXS 16 ga which I spoke about in an earlier post. I am a fairly good shot with all the guns, but with the SXS's in my hands I am transformed into "an elegant shooter of superb form" Shocked

......in other words I can't miss with the SXS's. It's all a matter of your confidence and comfort level of what you shoot. Whatever works best. For me, the SXS's work best.

Joined: 13 Dec 2006 Posts: 694 Location: MN

Member Joined: 21 Mar 2008 Posts: 48 Location: NJ

JonP It's all in good fun my friend, that's what is so great about this forum, us 16 Ga guys are a unique bunch of fellows Very Happy

I just fall out hooting when someone writes that because a gun is an SxS, it just fits and points better. Yeah, right!!! I've shouldered some SxS guns with stocks so misformed for a normal human, that you need a ladder to see over the comb. So too with any type of shotgun. A shotgun, any shotgun, points and shoots well for a shooter because the stock fits him well enough to allow him to quickly and comfortably shoulder and cheek the gun while the barrel or barrels point accurately at what his eyes see, and not because the stock is part of an SxS gun or any other type.

As for two triggers and instant choke selection, that is hype and hooey as well. I've been using a single selective trigger for decades now as well as the single trigger on a good number of repeaters. I do not need to decide which trigger to go to or have to move my finger to it at all. I just flick the safety off as I point, swing, and pull. If I have time to think about which trigger to use and its an SST, I also have time to flick the selector over left or right while disengaging the safety, again without moving my trigger finger at all. If not, I just flick it off and shoot as is usual.

I also can't remember the last time the choke I selected made any real difference in a rapidly developing situation. If the action was that close and fast, I just used the more open choke automatically, because that is always my go to selection or if a repeater, what ever is there.

Gloves are never a problem here either. A single selective trigger always allows enough room for gloves, at least all the SSTs I've ever used. not so for some twin trigger guns I've handled.

Like I will say again, Indian, not arrow. Find a gun you can afford that fits you, and learn to shoot with it. After that, you will know how a gun is supposed to fit, and how to hit with it. Everything else is hype and horse hockey. Laughing