Whats Best - Side by Side or Over and Under, semi, pump or double trigger, single trigger etc

BRACES of Bristol - Sauer 100 XTA Stainless Package
Heym SR20 said:
Ok not rifle related specifically but I have been rereading Michael Mcintosh’s “Shotguns and Shooting”.

As a professor of English with a passion for shooting he writes supremely well. Sadly he passed away ten years ago.

He constantly poses the question of which is better SxS, OU, double or single trigger, and then into straight grip vs pistol grip and beavertail forends.

His conclusion was that constant research is needed and much more research is needed which means shooting lots of fine guns for the rest of your life.

So ladies and gentlemen the challenge is what is best?? Given that this is SD we could well include double, single shot and magazine rifles in this discussion.

And what is the definition of best? It’s not necessarily measurable - as in dead birds per 100 cartridges, or MoA - My view is what gives you a grin at the end of the day and adds to the story.

For me my old AYA Coral with double triggers is my goto gun. I bought aged 18 after we had a burglary and I used the insurance money. It was on the wrack in a gunshop in Wallingford that wasn’t there very long. He wanted a too much for my pocket, they then closed down and he let me have it for what I offered.

I had a love / hate relationship with it for a couple of years. Couldn’t shoot well with it at all. Took it into Thomas Turner to sell as I was a student. The old boy took one look at it, took a look at me and made me a deal. He would bend it to fit me. If it worked I would pay him, if it didn’t he would sell it. Picked it up a couple of weeks later, and have never looked back. I did pay him the £50 gunsmithing fee. It’s a double trigger over and under with pistol grip.

But as I have got older I really appreciate side by sides. I have an Alex Martin sidelock and a William Jeffery 410. The AM is a nice gun, and think is more a passing affair, but the Jeffery is definitely a keeper.
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325 Browning.....left cast 30" barrels.
 
I prefer a single trigger o/u, the single trigger so you are not faffing about looking for a trigger and the o/u for the extra viability as a s/s can obscure way more than you think with the barrels.

pump actions although fun are not practical at all and I would only choose one if I was on a homestead and needed the rugged reliability over a S/a, I much prefer a S/a for wildfowl as it’s more convenient for 3 shots and when shooting geese with heavy loads they are very forgiving recoil wise.

regards,
Gixer
 
alberta boy said:
One of each ......... next question .

AB
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Is that one of each - all in the same calibre?

Or one of each calibre?

or one of each type in each calibre?

You could manage from 10 down to 410, and to absolutely complete you need to add the 14, 24 and 32 bores.

I think you will struggle on the 8bores though.

And should we include single shots and things like the Darne.
 
Heym SR20 said:
Is that one of each - all in the same calibre?

Or one of each calibre?

or one of each type in each calibre?

You could manage from 10 down to 410, and to absolutely complete you need to add the 14, 24 and 32 bores.

I think you will struggle on the 8bores though.

And should we include single shots and things like the Darne.
Click to expand...
Yes
 
Heym SR20 said:
Is that one of each - all in the same calibre?

Or one of each calibre?

or one of each type in each calibre?

You could manage from 10 down to 410, and to absolutely complete you need to add the 14, 24 and 32 bores.

I think you will struggle on the 8bores though.

And should we include single shots and things like the Darne.
Click to expand...
Does anyone shoot 16 gauge anymore?
They used to be quite common when i was a lad.
 
Xtrema said:
Does anyone shoot 16 gauge anymore?
They used to be quite common when i was a lad.
Click to expand...
I had one, an old hammer gun. Perfectly serviceable cartridge, but no obvious benefit over a 12 or a 20 and difficult and expensive to feed. Nice gun though, which made it worth the faff.

I'd buy another, if it was the right gun at the right price. I wouldn't specifically look for one over a 12 though.
 
Xtrema said:
Does anyone shoot 16 gauge anymore?
They used to be quite common when i was a lad.
Click to expand...
I do , it's an Ithaca M37 pump . Modified choke and a 26 inch barrel , deadly on Ruffed Grouse and Snow Shoe Hares . It's still a fairly common chambering out here .

AB
 
last gun i would want to sell would be my semi auto, its a 60 year old remington rough as you like but ive killed so much with it, it looks too short for me and is skeet choked but i kill with most shoots from it.
i think OU will dominate for years to come sxs being novilty or best guns for most people, but for easy sight picture and a third shot semi auto is best
 
I've got a benelli M2 and can't shoot it for **** but it's so hardy and all covered in cerakote so I like it for that.
I've got a browning b725 black edition and it's lovely and I shoot it well but its precious to me first gun and looks amazing.

The benelli I think is going to the shop as I can't shoot it well.
 
I've tried them all, shot over under for fowling this season but I'll be going back to a semi auto, just more convenient for most things.
 
I enjoy changing it up to add interest. I shoot competitions with an OU m/c sporter, and trap with a dedicated trap gun (high rib monstrosity....) and shoot game with a fixed choke 20g OU or a .410 sxs, double trigger non eject. I shoot clays with both to practise, which is always great fun. Friends of mine are into black powder, and I once borrowed a 1875 sxs hammer gun for a day on the pheasants. What a superb thing that was, beautiful to look at and a joy to shoot.

If I have a windfall in the near future I’ve got my eye on a 20 sxs
 
Every style and gauge and choke and trigger system is best for something... even if that's just how you feel today!

For game, I like an O/U for steadiness and reach from a peg, but a S/S for handiness and speed walking-up or from a butt.

In a hide, I like a gun I can keep vertical when loading, and if it turns into a red-letter day my shoulder thanks me for bringing the semi-auto rather than the pump.

When my principal goal is to spend time on the ground and take such sport as it offers, I'll reach for the drilling, or the BBF if I want a lighter load and a greater challenge.

There are many excellent modern guns, and I have a couple; but when routine closes ranks, or the heavens open, and I'm stuck indoors, it's the old ones I reach out to, and that are often first into the field after this or that job is done, or once the weather softens.

New guns seem always to be trying to pass some test. The old ones are just happy to be themselves.
 
I haven't had a sxs for decades, nor a double trigger. I do have a o/u and a semi. The semi is lighter so easier to carry, it's also has the anti-kick back mechanism so felt recoil is less than the o/u. The only drawback with the semi is hunting for the ejected spent cartridges.
 
I recently (last summer) bought an OU multi choke 3” and steel proofed gun. I have had a SxS for years and a Hatsan semi auto for a couple of years. Previously I had a Baikal OU but hardly ever picked it up.
The SxS’s are my favourites however it is less likely that I will pick them up than the semi or OU.
A few weeks ago I wished I had taken the semi auto. Mini mags have far more felt recoil in the OU especially when taking out crows nests.
Just goes to further confirm the earlier comment that the best is subjective and to the purpose at the time.
 
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