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

wasn't the whole reason the o&u was designed was to keep the birds from hiding under the bbls?
I know many who use to cant their sbs's to see what going on under there then level out before the shot.
granted, sbs's may be classics and fun to shoot, but the o&u was obviously designed and created to eliminate a flaw in a sbs's design.
the result?
by ww2's end......sbs's were like the steam locomotive giving way to the diesel.
and you know yourselves, people love to ride the old steam trains restored and still in use. and so too, people shoot sbs's.
but I guarantee youre not going to find a steam train doing a cross country....nor will you see a sbs on the line for huge payouts at sanctioned shoots.
if you do, you should tip your hat to the shooters who do it, out of love and affection for the gun.

I see and know of more people using side-bys now that I did 10-15 years ago. They aren't exactly taking the world by storm, but they seem to be holding on and even a little better than that in this area.

As for whether they are superior or inferior to O/U's could not be less important to me. It's a foolish argument for 99.99% of the people I know. I've been known to miss with either one, but I have no attraction to O/U's so I stick with the Side-bys for all my hitting and missing.

I'm waiting for a 12 gauge to come out on the AR "Platform" so I can have the latest and greatest.

Actually, I bet that has already happened, but I haven't seen one on the shotgun range yet, unlike at the rifle range.

Those un-useable dimensions everyone complains about sure seemed to work 120 years ago.

Buzz, I'm sixty as well and a gun from my birth year? That's way too new!!!

Man. You say/write some silly shit. 10-15 years ago, sxs�s were damn near at their modern pinnacle of popularity. SxS�s we�re flying off dealers shelves and private sellers were moving guns at a fast pace too. Even at the height of popularity the gun club I belonged to in Glenwood, Iowa...I was the ONLY person there shooting SxS guns. When I would go shoot in Omaha...same thing.

So from your post, I�m assuming you literally know or shoot with about 2 people. Haha.

And another thing....I didnt read Bobskis post and for 1 minute think he was bashing SxS guns or that he gave two shits about your personal thoughts on the matter BrentD. I read it as he was providing an explanation on why the SxS gun is rapidly going out of fashion with pretty much every demographic albeit a few hold overs such as us.
You wanna hear a foolish argument BrentD..an argument that 99.9% of the people here can agree on and where you�re 1000% wrong on....your argument about acceptable free loading on this website as you continue to post and use Dave�s services is ridiculous.
Hopefully you�ve paid up.

If Mr Perazzi thought he could win with a SxS the MX8 would have been made so. The O/U is king of the competition guns because it wins. I�ll continue to shoot my SxS and not win but that�s ok. We shoot the SxS because we like them.

I tend to agree with buzz.
nostalgia is a good word.
just like the wife has a car to do her weekly shopping in, but has her sunday car to drive on nice days all dressed up.
seems today men and women have more than one type gun, each for a specific purpose.
on the other hand, a few decades back, the gun was usually chosen as (the one) gun needed and with it came more responsibility for it to be perfect.

yes, we shoot sbs's because we like them. but 'we' are not the same crowd as it was 50-60+ year ago. much more road on the gun choice and fit, and today many take the old shoe anyway they can get it because....its a nice shoe and many praise its performance, but force themselves to wear it tight in the toe.

just like old cars, old guns need tlc. todays young crowd isn't as interested in the mechanics of a gun like we are. they just want a gun to do something and not fail, and to be seen with a particular model, for classing and positioning in society.
I see it all the time.
bravo, if that's your cup of tea.
but, I am who I am, regardless of what I carry on my shoulder.

one of the classic lines we use on the range is....."gee too bad you missed that bird, pal...but you sure did look good."
lotta good looking guns in the hands of owners, but that's about as far as it goes.

Entry level 12ga SxS gun market is soft. Not many will argue that . But why? What is popular with competitive Clays shooters is not much of a factor in my opinion. SxSs have not been a factor in competition for many years. In addition many target shooters are not collectors or accumulators. They tend to have a few tools in the box and shoot the heck out of them.

No young shooters shooting SxSs. SxSs have been a small but dedicated nitch in the market for years. 45 years ago I was there only kid shooting a SxS. The new SxS customers I do see are 50 to 70 years old

So why?? I don't know but I have some thoughts. SxS shooters are a mix of collectors, accumulators , shooters and hunters. I think one cause is Its hard to get excited about a new birdgun when there is little bird hunting to get excited about in the country.

TV and magazines . Years back there were many bird hunting shows shooting and sponsored by SxSs guns. Same in Magazines page after page of SxS gun adds. Now TV is full of canned hunts shooting Semiauto guns and mag adds full of semi and O/Us. Chicken or the egg? I don't know.

I don't know that this is exclusively a SxS issue. Look what has happened to the 12ga Model 12, A5, and Superposed market.

When the economy tanked entry level guns of all types slowed and for some reason it has not returned with the growing economy.

Dealers will still make money if they know the market and buy at wholesale and sell at retail.

I guess I have more question than answers.

I don't know why but seems that everyone thinks if I shoot my SxS it's supposed to make me miss more. Now admittedly I'm not a competitive shooter, just a hunter. Fact is though I shoot a SxS BETTER in the field than any other type I have tried. And NO I never had to cant the barrels to see the bird. I watched the bird, brought the gun to my shoulder & swung & fired. Usual result, Dead Bird.

"IF" I deer hunted in an area where the shotgun with slugs was a requirement I would likely prefer an old W-97 with its barrel chopped to no more than 24". I would prefer to cock that hammer than mess with one of those Stupid cross bolt safeties any day. The thumb was built to operate a hammer or safety & the finger to pull the trigger.

one would conclude that....its you 2 piper. youre a good seasoned shot.
the fact still remains, o&u sales trump sbs sales nationwide.
yes, sbs's are still made and some good ones too.
but...how do we explain the popularity of the o&u today?
as marks said...we have more questions than answers.
and lest we forget, thought provoking questions never have one answer.