Rocketman,
Thank you for your response, although as someone who barely made it through calculus 55 years ago, I don't pretend to understand the details of what you and Carpetsahib are laying out, except in the broadest terms.
However, my original inquiry was just a lead-in to a more basic question, which is a request for a comparison between what I have been led to believe are the top level American made doubles, such as Fox, Lefever, Parker, Ithaca and the Winchester Model 21 as opposed to British and Continental "best" doubles, in terms not only of "balance", but also of stock design, action strength, durability and robustness, and sophistication of locks in terms of ease of cocking, resistance to doubling, weight of trigger pull, and lock time.
Since my experience over the years has been primarily with over and under shotguns, starting with Brownings and progressing through Perazzis to the SO series Berettas, I have very little first hand experience with side by side guns and would greatly appreciate whatever crumbs from your table of expertese you would care to brush off in my direction.
