SidexSide or Over/Under

[CPAjeff]

I'm in the market for either a 20 or 28 gauge over/under or sidexside. I never thought I'd be interested in a sidexside, but I was handling one over the weekend and really liked the feel of it. My budget is $3k.

Over/under or sidexside?

I've always been a Benelli fan, so I'm seriously contemplating a Benelli or Beretta if I go down the over/under route.

 

[BirdManMike]

Obviously a SxS with a straight stock and 2 triggers. Thats clearly the only way to go here.

 

[X13]

Get both

 

[Ben Lamb]

Obviously a SxS with a straight stock and 2 triggers. Thats clearly the only way to go here.

 

[BirdManMike]

View attachment 262918

Thanks, Spock.

 

[Don Fischer]

No right answer, it's a personnal thing. I prefer SxS's but that doesn't make them better for you!

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

Obviously a SxS with a straight stock and 2 triggers. Thats clearly the only way to go here.

Agree, except I hate the looks of a straight stock.

 

[BrentD]

I'm in the market for either a 20 or 28 gauge over/under or sidexside. I never thought I'd be interested in a sidexside, but I was handling one over the weekend and really liked the feel of it. My budget is $3k.

Over/under or sidexside?

I've always been a Benelli fan, so I'm seriously contemplating a Benelli or Beretta if I go down the over/under route.

This is a question I have never pondered because the answer was always written in blaring neon light in forebrain. Side-by-side. Everytime, and twice on Mondays.

There are so many ways to go, but me, being me, will recommend jumping right to the English or other Euro vintage guns.

Some guys like American doubles, and that's fine. They are just significantly overweight for what they are. (and a bit overpriced in the current market - in MY opinion). There are some new guns that are buyable. Mostly Spanish, I believe and quite well regarded (there is also Spanish junk). And there are Turkish guns, which I think are a bit dangerous at best.

Depending on what you want to do with it and what your priorities are, a 20 maybe much easier to find. I'm searching for one myself and can point you towards several. But it all depends on what your needs are for fit, finish, esthetics, carry, and game.

I'm happy to help. I LOVE to spend other people's money.

BTW, which Western Sky are you beneath? Maybe some folks that can be found nearish your, or if you happen to be planning some travel ...

How about this one? http://www.hillrodandgun.com/picture.php?id=13046

PS. Please do not buy a 20 or 28 that weighs over 6 lbs? I'll feel that I have failed you....

 

[406dn]

I'll be the contrarian. Get a Beretta 686 or 687 in the gauge you prefer.

If SxS's offered any advantage to actually hitting a target, they'd be a factor in various shotgun shooting games. There could be a heavier version to tame recoil, yada, yada.

SxS's look cool. O/U's point more naturally. They are well represented in all of the various shooting contests.

 

[std7mag]

Personally, i like the looks & the way an over/under handles.

Your not on horseback wearing a red coat yelling "release the hounds!".

 

[Ben Lamb]

Thanks, Spock.

*Spork.

 

[BirdManMike]

*Spork.

“May your force be long and preposterous.”

-Bart Kurt

 

[CPAjeff]

Thanks everyone for the good info! @BrentD - I'm in Northeastern Utah (enter Utard joke here)!

Now that I said I'm from Utah, I believe some clarification is needed:

I don't have a flat-brim.
I don't have HUSH or KEEP HAMMERIN' stickers, or any stickers for that matter, on my truck.
I don't have a 6.5 Creed.
I don't drink Mtn. Ops.
I don't have a mini-van.
I only have one wife.
I am NOT an eagle scout.

Whew, I feel a lot better!!

Truth be told, I've never shot a sidexside, so I don't really know if I'd even like the way it handles. I've shot Citoris and Silver Pigeons in Argentina for doves, and really fell in love with the nostalgia of them.

 

[OntarioHunter]

“May your force be long and preposterous.”

-Bart Kurt

Isn't that supposed to be "farts"?

 

[BrentD]

You sound like a good candidate for salvation and being uplifted to the world of side-bys.

Your decision between O/U and S/S occurs on darn near every hunting forum every year, multiple times. I do not respond to every one of them because my fingers would bleed, but I respond to many, including one just last week.

One of the things to consider is that you probably are looking for a 20 or 28 because you want a light gun. Truth be told, most are as heavier or heavier than many side-by 12s (if they are English or Euro). So, why not buy a 12?

I have only seen one truly light o/u https://www.gunbroker.com/item/960480785 (@wllm coulda/shoulda bought this one). And it still looks like a fencepost (sorry, but it's true ) and its owner will not look any better for shooting it, whereas someone as hopeless as me can be mistaken for a handsome man-o-the-world so long as I have a true SxS double in hand.

Currently, English doubles in England are going for dimes on the dollar, or simply sold for scrap. Luckily, some folks over here are importing them in batched of a half dozen or more at a time and selling them at very reasonable prices. All you have to do is be patient and know where to look. And, for emphasis, be patient!

Do you reload? What do you want to shoot? Do you like antique tools, furniture, and art?

What sort of statistics do you need in a servicable gun?

Are you handy with tools and interested in investing some sweat equity into a gun?

I realize I am plunging headlong down the road here, and I am not even sure which direction you want to go, but what the hell. Let us cut to the chase.

 

[406dn]

Currently, English doubles in England are going for dimes on the dollar, or simply sold for scrap. Luckily, some folks over here are importing them in batched of a half dozen or more at a time and selling them at very reasonable prices. All you have to do is be patient and know where to look. And, for emphasis, be patient!

There you have it.

In the birth place of English SxS's the public has moved on, mostly to O/U's.

 

[howl]

Most people shoot o/us better. I happen to shoot sxs better. I got eye trouble.

You don't have the budget for a new Beretta sxs. So, by the numbers, you are getting an o/u.

Buy the gun that fits, not the name brand.

 

[BrentD]

There you have it.

In the birth place of English SxS's the public has moved on, mostly to O/U's.

Not at all. In the natal country, they have inflicted nontox for everything across the board and most people shoot a lot but can't afford enough Bismuth. Everyone here is mostly a hunter and can afford the costs of Bi ammo - just like 99.9% of you are all affording the price of premium Cu bullets. No biggee. But it helps to reload.

And, oh yeah, if you are interested in 'Merican guns, see this https://issuu.com/mtjstevenson/docs/23f.
There are a few Euro/English guns, but mostly Stars and Stripes, so think heavy, but they have their attractors.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Here is my bird gun AND my range gun, 1961 Browning A-5 Magnum Twelve with aftermarket plastic stock. I shoot the lights out with this gun (my skeet average is 22.5, trap a little less, and deadly shooting geese or pheasants).

And this is my Citori twelve gauge.

I shoot it well enough but nowhere near as good as the old A-5. Yeah, it's a pretty gun but it doesn't mount and point like the A-5. I DO NOT like carrying a gun broken over my shoulder and very much hate it when others do that at the range and whack me in the face with their butt stocks. Carrying it broken open (required at the range) under the arm is VERY awkward ... even if over 6' tall. Also, though at most ranges it is okay to leave the O/U or SxS closed in the rack, it must be broken open at all other times. Forget to open the gun when walking from gun rack to the station (not uncommon for me) and you may be told to leave ... permanently.

For the life of me I do not know why anyone would prefer double triggers. Totally nostalgia. Sure it may give one the opportunity to select barrels more efficiently in the field, but how many guys think about barrel selection when a bird is flushed? Double triggers are dumb at the range. Totally. While an English straight grip is indeed more ergonomic to carry in the field, they do not mount and point as well as pistol grip style (ever seen a trap or skeet gun with English stock? No, and there's a reason). I have found straight grip seem to have more recoil. A couple years back a fella showed up at clays one evening with a straight stock 26" Citori he just bought at a local store. He was new to the game and having a horrible time. Really nice guy who's a friend of my son-in-law. Into the second round and he wasn't hitting anything ... literally. We were walking by my car between stations and I asked him if he'd like to try another gun. I had brought my 28" conventional grip Citori along as backup because the A-5 had some work done on it. He said sure, nothing to lose. He doubled his score. The next week he showed up for trap and only hit a handful of targets his first round. I moved him to practice range and told him to use my gun. With just a bit of coaching he was hitting targets. Moved him back to league lineup and he broke twenty his first round ... with my A-5. He wanted to buy/trade right there. Good deal for me trading a worn out beat up plain old A-5 for a pretty little grouse gun worth four times as much. But I like to shoot guns, not collect pretty things. And I hunt hard. I wouldn't own my Citori except a deal came up that I couldn't pass up ($700). Anyway, unless you have some kind of orthopedic wrist issues, I don't think you'll be happy with a straight stock, especially if you plan to do some serious range time.

I do not like the way most SxS handle. I want more wood to hang onto with my left hand, especially for hard recoil fixed breech shotgun. They do not point well for me.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Comparing copper hunting bullets to bismuth shotgun shells is apples and oranges, ESPECIALLY in the bang for buck category. I can buy a box of fifty Barnes bullets for a lot less than a box of 25 twelve gauge 3" bismuth shells. I usually only need to shoot a couple of 30-06 to fill my tag and end the season. I often shoot upwards of fifty geese and as many pheasants every year. I'm a pretty good shot but batting a thousand is still not an ordinary day bird hunting. Most of my pheasants are in nontoxic zones and of course all waterfowl are shot with steel. I may be rich ... but not stupid rich. I'm not paying that much for ammo when steel kills em just as dead.

I guess the author of this thread has to decide if he wants a gun he can hunt with and/or use at the range, or does he want something to play with and impress people. I know guys who dress up in skins and play with flintlock rifles. They like to imagine themselves being Jeremiah Johnson. That's fine. Pretend is better than reality ... which is very much overrated these days. But I don't imagine myself dressing in tweed and standing on a lawn in England while a band of local peasants paid a few shillings pushes pheasants overhead for me to shoot with an 18th century SxS. Yawn. I have a feeling that some of those pampered British gentlemen just may be dreaming of wandering alone with a good dog and an old pump or auto in Montana's wide open spaces all day, day after day shooting wild birds. If not, they really don't know what the good life is. Which is fine. More of it for me.