I have heard about SxS's all my life in N. Florida and Alabama. But when I went abroad, I took only a Remington 870 with 20" slug barrel and 28" IC 2 3/4" chambers. That was the one shorgun for me from 1962 till today.
However, as mentioned in the Reilly line General Palit made some off-hand comments in India in 1988 as he shot his H&H SxS and I my 870 pump that got me thinking. Essentially he said, "Gentlemen do not use pumps." And this seemed backed up at the time (now 35 years ago) by some published UK snobbery.
So in 2015 I bought my first SxS Reilly hammer gun and am not sorry. I have two friends also from the Vietnam War, who shoot SxS's. When we show up on the Sporting Clays course at Bull Run, the younger shooters want to look at the guns and the whiff of tradition, dating from 1725 according to this Michael Yardley article, gets them. There is something more to that SxS than just sport. . . beauty, tradition, balance, aura being some of the qualities.
https://www.thefield.co.uk/shooting/the-enduring-appeal-of-the-side-by-side-shotgun-45121I do not collect anything (but Ky. .I do know carpets and there is no-way that main carpet was "sewn together" - that was something special!); I have 5 SxS's (one a muzzle loader) and shoot them all, none being worth more than I paid for them. But though I can still shoot the 870 better than the SxS's. . .(and my son who does Arctic kayaking on salt water swears by his 870 Marine Magnum -nickel plated - polar bear problem). . shooting the double-barrels (and double triggers) is just plain more fun.
I could probably go into business selling good condition, non-collectable BLE (or BLNE since I don't really like ejectors on SxS's) out at Bull Run to some of the youngsters. On second thought - no.
