o/u or sxs
- Thread starter rthook
- Start date
personal preference i guess. the only advantage with an o/u is the sight plane is the same as a single barrel semi or pump.i own both and in my opinion, the o/u is better balanced. when they are made by a higher end company, you'll find an o/u every bit as much fun to shoot. one plus to a sxs, is that in a duck blind that is very close confines,the sxs doesn't drop as far as the o/u when it's open. buying a new shotgun is always an advantage!! enjoy
Not much difference, really. Hard to find O/U's with double triggers, though. Since you hunt birds, I imagine you have at least one SXS with double triggers. If not, you should consider them (for instant choke selection, if nothing else).
My preference is for SXS's with double triggers in the field and O/U's with single triggers for clays. Everybody's got their own preferences, though, so I'd advise you try before you buy, if you have buddies that'll let you test run theirs.
My preference is for SXS's with double triggers in the field and O/U's with single triggers for clays. Everybody's got their own preferences, though, so I'd advise you try before you buy, if you have buddies that'll let you test run theirs.
I pretty much use a SxS for everything, sporting clays, trap, ducks, geese, upland. All double triggers. I have an O/U but it pretty much just collects dust anymore. However I think it's all personal preference I find I can shoot both with equal mediocrity, just prefer the SxS.
beretta boy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Orillia, Ontario
28" SxS for birds, 32" O/U for targets.
Johnn Peterson
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Chemainus B.C.
Most of mine are SxS's. I like the look of a nice English straight stocked SxS with sidelocks but I probably shoot better with an older 20ga Ruger Red Label OU.
Likewise.
Having used both over the years I don't think there is any advantage to an o/u in the field. I do think however there is an advantage to a properly fitted, straight stocked sxs with double triggers.
Neanderthal
New member
- Location
- SE North Dakota
Advantages-disadvantages? Probably aren't any, technically speaking, but get someone to let you shoot their o/u. They just feel completely different. You should own at least one. I bought my first o/u last year, a Stoeger Condor. A low end gun to be sure, but it works perfectly and feels great to shoulder. I also own a pump and a semi-auto. They are all great, and all so completely different. You just gotta love shotguns. Yes, I have the disease. I saw a Benelli Nova on sale last week. . . .
Love the O/U. Ever since I watched Elmer Fudd as a kid, I always wanted a dbl barrel shotgun. I have both, and without a doubt, from clays to upland...I love the O/U 12. Single trigger is fine as it shoots as quick as you can pull it, so personally, I don't see alot of advantage to having 2 triggers.....except letting both go simulataneously. And I like the sight path on my OU.
Ahsan Ahmed
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
No quarrel with o/u and or single trigger guns, in fact, I like and own a few
. Nevertheless, from a perspective of real Upland hunting situations/environment (regrettably such an environment is mostly absent in Ontario) - there is nothing better than a properly framed, well balanced straight grip sxs with double triggers.
The greatest advantage - hence my mention of real Upland hunting conditions - with double triggers is that those provide one with the ability of immediate choke selection which isn't feasible with double bbl shotguns with single triggers
May not be entirely out of place to add that in many parts of the Globe and where I come from sxs and some o/u (with double triggers) are also used exclusively for Waterfowl and with great efficiency. Again, the same advantage when you have tubes choked F/M or F/IC, for example.....both combos work excellent given the edge with dual triggers.
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The greatest advantage - hence my mention of real Upland hunting conditions - with double triggers is that those provide one with the ability of immediate choke selection which isn't feasible with double bbl shotguns with single triggers
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Well, with my Citori, the safety can be slid side to side to select between bbls. quite effecient, quite simple. So for mye a single trigger is preffered but I have no issue with double triggers either.
My wife's baikal, also has a selector, but not as instant as the Citori or a double trigger gun, with the Baikal, you have to push the trigger forward to select bbls. She did have a baikal SXS with single trigger and it had a swicth right on the trigger, it seemed to work well.
highlander
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Newfoundland
I would suggest that you go with an O/U. You will find it easier to site, and depending on the make, etc., lighter. After working on both types of guns for many years, there is one thing about these guns that you should know, if you plan to keep this gun a long while and use it a lot.
SxS shotguns tend to work themselves loose after a while under the a/n conditions. As you know, the guns fire from one side to the other, left and right. This torgues the gun left and right. The barrel, however is locked to the frame top and bottom. As the gun gets older, this will cause the headspace between that barrels and frame to open up and become loose. The cheaper (poorer quality) of the gun, the quicker & more pronounced it will become. The best way to tell is to remove the forearm and wiggle the barrel side to side while holding the frame steady and see if there is any play there. I have even seen some new, cheap shotguns doing this.
O/U shotguns on the other hand fire top and bottom, and are secured to the frame top and bottom, so the torquing action has much less effect on those guns. I have rarely seen an O/U shotgun, of reasonable quality, that has shot loose. I have a friend of mine that is very much into trap and skeet shooting and who has used the same Winchester 101 for over 30 year; he figures he has fired as least a half million rounds from that gun, and it's still a tight as when it was bought.
If your intention is to keep this gun for a long while and use it a lot, definately go with the O/U.
SxS shotguns tend to work themselves loose after a while under the a/n conditions. As you know, the guns fire from one side to the other, left and right. This torgues the gun left and right. The barrel, however is locked to the frame top and bottom. As the gun gets older, this will cause the headspace between that barrels and frame to open up and become loose. The cheaper (poorer quality) of the gun, the quicker & more pronounced it will become. The best way to tell is to remove the forearm and wiggle the barrel side to side while holding the frame steady and see if there is any play there. I have even seen some new, cheap shotguns doing this.
O/U shotguns on the other hand fire top and bottom, and are secured to the frame top and bottom, so the torquing action has much less effect on those guns. I have rarely seen an O/U shotgun, of reasonable quality, that has shot loose. I have a friend of mine that is very much into trap and skeet shooting and who has used the same Winchester 101 for over 30 year; he figures he has fired as least a half million rounds from that gun, and it's still a tight as when it was bought.
If your intention is to keep this gun for a long while and use it a lot, definately go with the O/U.
