doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Decline of the Side-by-Side

What decline?

When my dad took me waterfowl (mostly) and upland hunting in the sixties, I never saw anyone use a SxS.

When I hunted through the 70s, 80s and 90s across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and in north South Dakota, I never saw a SxS being used.

It was only when I �discovered� SxS myself that I saw one used in the field. And it has been the internet putting me in contact with like minded hunters that has exposed me to others who like to hunt with SxS.

To most hunters I ever meet SxS were the guns that our grandfathers used. For waterfowl on the Canadian prairies, pumps reigned supreme for decades, only recently supplanted by semi-autos.

So from my perspective, I don�t know how it could possibly decline any more than it already did, from the 1920�s through the 1950�s.

I just like being able to buy incredibly well crafted guns for a fraction of what they would cost new today. Even after I get people like Chris Dawe and CJO to address the toll many years of neglect have taken.
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Not that I do a lot of it, but it�s the same experience at trap and skeet clubs. I�m the ONLY person with a SxS. Every time. Unless it�s a pre-arranged gathering of SxS enthusiasts.

Despite the fact that I didn't understand a word that cute little guy said on his video, I will watch more of his You Tube series because I just can't get enough of his hair. It's amazing how little the young people today can't quite understand political or economic issues. However, he has made me think seriously about dragging my Purdey hammer pigeon gun off to the pawnbrokers. Maybe I can sell it to a member of our pigeon club, most of whom already use side by sides in money shoots. I think maybe they could use a backup gun in case, as the young man says, they break a firing pin.

I think I could gather that jOe. Moreso, I was wonder if he ever shot tin cans with a single shot .22. I think cback has a point, not many of us are likely to start off with a London Best .410, but may have gotten there by starting off with an H&R Topper. I'd bet there are a handful of kids today that will arrive at SxS's who're shooting synthetic stocked semiauto's now.

I saw some stat that noted there are under four legally owned guns per hundred UK citizens and in the US there are a bit over a hundred per hundred citizens. There's a bunch of comment here about bringing classic British guns to the US, I wonder if any significant amount are headed back home. I wonder if Brits come here to buy bargain black guns at auction for their ever growing sport shooting market? Only thoughts about a perceived cultural difference.

Of course, British companies are looking to repatriate worthy guns to the home market. Certainly Holt's has reps in Canada actively seeking consignments.

I've been the only guy shooting a sxs, with the exception of my grandfather, since 1972. Lots of folks said they had one at home but apparently no one considered using one. It wasn't until the Vintagers started their events that I met others shooting a sxs. I do wish all those british guns that aren't even worth a little gunsmithing would make it over here. I love a project and I really like british guns.

Joe- FWIW-- the late gun 'genius" inventor, John M. Browning, was indeed, a most prescient man- in his era he foresaw the changes in hunting trends in America- The "Market hunters" loved his A-5 shotgun and its clones (Remington, Savage) and some still favored the Win M97 he developed.

So, possibly with those thoughts in mind, he developed the fabled Superposed O/U-- If you have access to a copy of Silvio's "Hemingway's Guns" you can read more of the history of that shotgun.

Hemingway used a "smorgasbord" of scatter guns in his life- Model 12's, a few Browning A-5's (16 gauge) the Superposed he won in a live bird shoot, a Scott 12 bore live bird gun he bought used in Italy (and later had A&F removed the sling swivel clips)--and a few M21's in 20 gauge, and a pair of Merkel 12 O/U's as well-- And in spite of "offside" eye dominance, he apparently shot them well. RWTF

That's what I think as well. When I was 16 (some years ago), I was living in Minnesota. I bought a new shotgun, a Spanish double barrel. The gun dealer had 2 in stock. When I bought it, all my friends thought I was nuts and asked "why in the hell would you buy that". You hardly ever came across anyone hunting with a sxs.

I can't help but think that we'd see a lot more (vintage) SXS's being used had they been stocked with usable dimensions.

A couple of thoughts that haven't really been brought out. A World War enamored a lot of folks with "Fire-Power". When the pumps & Semis were first introduced they cost as much as a good double. The switch did not come because of economics at that point, it was the ability to throw lead Faster.
With the 3-shot limit for migratory birds & even some states instituted it for all hunting, I know TN did for a long number of years, many decided to go back to a Two-Shooter. Many were younger shooters who had never used SxS guns & they "Thought" they could not shoot as accurate with the SxS, so went with the O/U.

Personally, I hunt for the fun, I'm not at war with the game. Nor am I in competition with any co-hunters I may be with. There simply is no shotgun that touches my Soul like a good SxS, so I'll shoot one till the day I can no longer shoot anything at all, Period.

I think most of the guys here prefer the older guns for a variety of reasons, some for nostalgia, some because many were hand made, and the quality is just that much better. The old guns don�t kill any better. There�s just something about them. With this in mind, I just picked up an original Colt Trooper .22 long rifle revolver. I sure didn�t need it, but it is a well made gun, rare and made on the same frame as the future Colt Python. I bought it because it represented value and something else I have trouble describing. It�s just cool, I guess and myself being 60 years old, I�d rather have a gun made about the time of my birth, than a newer model.