The first side-by-side I ever used was a J. Stevens Springfield 16 Gauge which belonged to my father. It was the only shotgun he ever owned. I still have it and shoot it occasionally. He started me with a Stevens 20 Gauge with the exposed hammer, a gun I wish I still had. My first side-by-side was a used Bernardelli Gamecock 20 Gauge with 25 inch barrels that my parents and now ex-wife bought me as a law school graduation present. They got it from Paul Jaegers shop in Jenkintown, PA. For a while it shoot skeet, hunted birds and rabbits, and got carried with slugs in deer season. Still have and use that one, too.