I found out the same thing you did, about 15 years ago. I have always loved S X Ss, having learned to wingshoot with one as a kid. But, I was given a 1100 on my 16th birthday, and literally shot it to pieces, twice. I began gravitating back to S X Ss in a more serious way, and eventually bought a AH Fox A grade with 32" barrels. The barrels had been opened to .020" and .020". Restocked with a straight grip and long LOP (to suit me), and a BT forend ........ I reasoned I could be competitive on the NSCA tournament circuit, in my class, being the only one shooting a S X S. I shot the GA State Championship that year, in A Class I believe, with it. That was my one and only attempt at competing against the O/Us and the SAs with a S X S. One hundred targets with it convinced me it was not competitive, and that I wouldn't live long enough to make it so, regardless how badly I wanted to. Oh, I still enjoy shooting the S X S events at big shoots, and often do well. But, out of dozens of long barreled S X S guns I own and hunt with I shoot none of them anywhere near as well as my Perazzi MX 8, or even my Super X2, at sporting clays.

On a side note, I disagree with any notion that serious clay target shooters can't be ahead of the curve in the wing shooting field. Show me a man who is successful in FITASC and I'll wager my hard earned $$$$ on him on the dove field or in the duck swamp as well. Not having shot enough skeet or trap in my life to get serious about either, I can't say that about it. Low gun skeet ......... maybe. But remember, the max distance a skeet target is broken is 21 yards. That doesn't prepare you for wild birds at 30-45 yards. Sporting and FITASC will. FITASC requires a low gun when the bird is called for, and without a very good, consistent mount one is not going to be successful at it, or in the field on real birds.

Being a good clay target shooter and being a good field wing shot are not mutually exclusive. You just need the right equipment to do either. Earnhardt couldn't have ever been successful driving a showroom stock Buick.

Keep the vintage S X S guns doing what they are best at, killing wild birds and competing against each other.

[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]

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