Side By Side

The side-by-side is the traditional double gun, and it still has genuine practical advantages: two chokes, instant confirmation of what is loaded, a short overall length for a given barrel, and a profile that opens flat and unmistakably safe.

The wide sighting plane takes adjustment if you have shot over-unders or repeaters, and most shooters find it either immediately natural or persistently awkward. Many are built with double triggers — front for the open barrel, rear for the tighter one — which gives instant choke selection without a selector switch and needs practice to use without thinking.