Real green on SxS shotguns. But need to learn
What is the difference in these 2 actions? And which is better?
Thanks Sur5er

Follow the link to a short version of an answer:

http://www.hallowellco.com/boxlock.htm

I don't necessarily agree with all of the opinions expressed but I'm not expert.

The sidelock looks nicer on a shotgun. I'm one of those who values looks. So sue me.

The downside of the sidelock is that the design can be hard on the wood as they are prone to split at the very thin sections. The do look nice, however. Perhaps the best of both worlds is the boxlock with dummy sideplates.

It was interesting for this old retired shotgunner to read the posts here. In a lifetime of nearly 60 years of shooting shotguns I always liked the sidelock because -quite simply- it looked nice. (I think that like most of us I always looked at a firearm for its looks first) I'm glad to see that people more knowledgeable than me also value the looks of the sidelock. (Not mentioned in the thread is the fact that a sidelock also separates from a boxlock - by thousands of dollars. That always was my problem! "Champagne tastes -beer wallet")