Andy,
Welcome to the board. You are starting off right by asking questions. Keep asking them. It is much cheaper to ask and learn. Some of us were not as wise and found the learning curve steep and expensive.
While a "pair" might sound nice, it really has little advantage. They arose in a different era and culture. I doubt sincerely that when you are doing sporting clays, you will have a "gun loader" standing next to you waiting to hand you a "fresh" gun.
I happen to like hammer guns. I own several. No one would ever consider one of my guns a "best gun".
If you must have an English gun, that is great. Be aware that you could also have a "best gun" that is Italian, German, French, Spanish, Belgian or American. There are even more guns out there that could be considered classic guns.
There are well known authors, engravers, gunsmiths, stockers, wood suppliers, dealers and others that are frequent users here. They will happily share their opinions and information with you to aide in your search.
Pete
