Why would you get a SxS instead of an O/U?
Is a SxS's value any better or worse than an O/U?

bluefin:

This is a trick,right? You are a Texan looking to lure us simple Eastern tenderfeet into starting a thread that could run until Saeed cuts it off, right? Migod, man, if you are sincere, you are starting a thread that could run forever. I'm sure any number of posters can refer you to other threads where you can read up. By a great stretch of self discipline, I am not taking sides so as not to be accused of having lit the fire!)

bluefin,

I'll jump in here early before the blaze gets going.

I'm a proponent for having many rifles that have a one "best" load such that I pick the rifle for whatever my hunt plan happens to be. BUT, I've found this is not a good plan for shotguns! Over the years, I've found that one shotgun and a lot of pratice makes for a better wing shooter!

So...My advice is simple - Sell all your other shotguns, pick which ever you prefer and practice with it a lot.

quote:

So...My advice is simple - Sell all your other shotguns, pick which ever you prefer and practice with it a lot.

Best advice you are going to get. If you like good guns, stay with O/U..because good S x S's are expensive. I shoot S x S's because I started that way (yes I'm over 60) but I like straight stocked, light guns that I can hold in one hand while I push back cover when I'm grouse hunting. It fits me.....go find what fits you. The gun you're gonna shoot is the one you have confidence in.

Yea buddy this one will not get anyone riled up.
I like all types of shotguns. Have a few of each type, single,auto, SXS O/U, Pump.
Just personal choice which is better. The one you can hit with is the best for you. Myself I prefer SXS but hunt them all.
JM2CW

Why would you get an O/U instead of a SxS?

quote:

Originally posted by samir:
Why would you get an O/U instead of a SxS?

......because there is no question that O/Us are more effective on game and targets than S/Ss. Shoot what you want, think what you want, but that's a fact.

As far as those "expensive" SxSs compared to O/Us I would suggest that that poster peruse this page and tell me all about it......

Fabbris

I don't know if this helps but here are my reasons:

For competition I only use an O/U, because I hate to lose and always want to do my best.

For hunting I usually use a SxS because they're cool, my grandfather used one and I don't mind missing birds and getting to hunt longer to finish the limit.

I would say it is largely a matter of personal preference. Do you like the looks of the gun? Does it feel right in your hands? Does it point where you want it to?

The first and foremost ingredient is fit and yes for competitive shooting the edge does go to the over/under. But for hunting a side by side is the epitome of classic and most of us don't mind a few more missed shots as it keeps us afield a little longer. As far as cost goes you can get what you want with either as GatoGordo pointed out. What it all comes down to is what do you like best.

Michael:

Great to hear your "voice". How's the new job treating you?

I am doing well and am finally getting settled. Thanks for asking. How's young master Adam? I am going to send you a PM a little later. Have a question for you

Opening a can of worms here! I would say it takea a bit more skill to shoot an SxS vs. O/U. I shoot both (as well as some pumps!) and do shoot a little better with O/U at times. I happen to like old (early 1900 US made SxS e.g. Fox, Parker, L C Smith) and have some of each. When I am serious on the clays range it is my Beretta 682 Competion shotgun. Shoot what you like and have fun, but shoot often and get instruction; you will get better no matter what you shoot.

Dall85:

Your advice is very apt. (My own experience with "doubles" -as we called the "side by side) when I was young) was similar to yours. I owned and shot Fox Model B, Parker Sterlingworth (inherited)and, of course an "Elsie" Just can't remember the model and I shot one on ruffed grouse for about 5 years. Must be having a senior moment) I just never liked the fore end feel of an over and under. (One time I heard that it was like holding the edge of a 2x4) Beaver tail fore ends only made me think the shotgun was "bulky". And, above all, I hated that move of having to exert the extra push to load the bottom barrel. (I was a field shooter with a shotgun) But, as you say, it's practice and use and after all, it is a question of taste, I guess (as the old lady said when she kissed the cow)

quote:

So...My advice is simple - Sell all your other shotguns, pick which ever you prefer and practice with it a lot.

Great advice! (but reeeeeeal boring)

I'm a live bird shooter and rabid 5-Stander.

I shoot both SxS O/U guns. The best scores I've shot a Sporting Clays have been with O/Us although last spring I shot a 46 with a Winchester 21 .410 on a sub-gauge course, a 48 won the day (my buddy a Master's class shooter) with an O/U...

My best 5-Stand score was a 44 out of 50 which won the day - did it with a Win 21, 12 double trigger gun choked by none other than Ken Eyster.

For live birds I've shot 28s with both SxS and O/Us, but my more consistent scores have been with the O/U...

...Why...? First shot recovery. The lower center of gravity on the O/U and the weight of the gun.

The O/U has less muzzle flip and with the lower CG affords more control under recoil.

However, the SxS is my preferred gun overall as I like the nostalgia and the fact that I was raised shooting a double trigger SXS...

As previously posted, pick a gun that fits and one that you like - practice a bunch and you'll be very pleased with the results SxS, or O/U.

I do have to admit - winning shoots with a SxS is kinda fun!

JW

Since roughly the late '50s I've been hunting and target shooting with O/U, S/S, pumps, autos, singles and even a bolt scattergun. A lever shotgun's the only one I haven't tried.

The grand total of my experience as far as which shoots best I've found is -

Once you get used to each one, they ALL shoot just fine and much the same - excepting the odd case of a particular gun that's got a really bad LOP, choke problems, off balance feel or over the top recoil or something. And you can even learn to compensate for all that if you want it bad enough.

I equate it to riding a bike. Once you learn you don't forget when you switch bikes or guns.

In other words, I just don't see a big difference IF you have confidence in your weapon and work with it a bit.

As for looks, certain ones of each type all are cool looking.

While not absolutely necessary, I think a rib shortens the time it takes to get the sight pic down and get good with a gun. After you learn to shoot it, I don't think that matters. I also don't think barrel length is all that important. I used to think 28" was best until I bought a Browning Citori 26" hunter model and learned to shoot it. Long distance shots are now no harder with it than with 28" or 30".

My personal favorite overall? The S/S. Why? Tradition.

Friends-

I'll say this and I shoot with both SxS and O/U's and I personally think I get a better sight picture, if you want to call it that, with the SXS's. Sometimes when I throw up or mount my O/U, I notice my eye sometimes wants to wander. With the extra horizontal plain of the twin barrels of the SXS my eye tends not to wander. FWIW, of course.

30 Caliber Mag Fan:

This is just perhaps an uneducated guess -but going back to basics - a shotgun is pointed and not aimed -like a rifle is. Maybe the O/U suggests a rifle barrel to your eye. Also -and never to be forgotten with a shotgun, your eye is on the flying target and not trying to line up sights of a rifle. (I hate beads on a shotgun) Thus the bottom of your focus sees the barrels -and swings them (like pointing your finger in eye and hand coordination) This is why the so called "single sight plane" of an O/U is unimportant in wing shooting. The fact of the matter is that doubles are expensive to make and O/U's can be turned out more easily. (Yeah, one can buy a sxs for low price. I tell people, you get what you pay for and that they shouldn't try to tell anyone who knows doubles that they are "just as good" as an expensive double (or even a good L.C.Smith or Fox of the 1920s). But, it all comes down to a matter of taste. What makes your boat float is what anyone should go with)

I always have said that real shotguns have two barrels the best ones are SXS. I own them all semis ,pumps, bolts, singles ,doubles, OUs I perfer SXS's

The one advantage of my SXS is the double triggers and the ability to pick the choke for close or far shots. I got my SXS for my 50th birthday with the stock built to my measurements so it fits me well and I shoot it well. I do mostly use O/U for skeet and trap.

quote:

Originally posted by Gatogordo:

quote:

Originally posted by samir:
Why would you get an O/U instead of a SxS?

......because there is no question that O/Us are more effective on game and targets than S/Ss. Shoot what you want, think what you want, but that's a fact.

That is an old wives' tale. I shoot both SxS and O/U. My scores on the clays and my hunting success rates are almost exactly the same regardless of which gun is used. This has been observed for 3 years now.

As further evidence, last month my son's O/U was getting new springs. We went to shoot some clays. I loaded the guns. I took my O/U and my SxS. I gave him my SxS at the range when he asked for a gun to use. I thought it might effect his shooting. He had never shot a SxS before. He shot exactly the same number of clays as he usually shoots with his O/U; 43 out of 50

For me, the O/U and the SxS each have their advantages and disadvantages.

It is a little easier for me to find clay targets in flight with an O/U than with a SxS because the double barrel sight image of a SxS obscures more than the single barrel sight image of an O/U. An O/U tends to be heavier than a SxS - a definite benefit if shooting 100 or more shots in a 1-2 hour sporting clays session. Also, there must be a reason that nearly every successful competitive shooter uses an O/U.

For hunting and bird shooting I find the SxS carries better and swings to the birds better than any O/U. Though weight is a plus on the clays course, it is a minus for birds. In walk up bird shooting the birds may come up from just about any direction and fly off in just about any direction. For that it's better to have a light, quick handling, quick pointing gun like a SxS. Also, when bird hunting, I walk through the fields with the gun broken open until I am prepared to shoot. A SxS doesn't have to open as far as an O/U. That means there is less chance the opened SxS gun will catch on brambles and branches, and it means that the SxS will close a little bit faster with a little less movement.

I like both types of guns but I got tired of having to get used to one type or the other when I switched. So, I settled on one type of gun, the SxS, for nearly all of my shotgun shooting.

quote:

The one advantage of my SXS is the double triggers and the ability to pick the choke for close or far shots. I got my SXS for my 50th birthday with the stock built to my measurements so it fits me well and I shoot it well. I do mostly use O/U for skeet and trap.

You can get double trigers on O/U. O/U for clays and SS for hunting. SxS can be made lighter than O/U and can be opened in in smaller spaces as in duck blinds.