Is the SxS dead these days?

Every once in a while I see a nice SxS at the range. I can't recall the last time I saw one in the hunting field, but I don't really move in those circles anyway.

The cowboy action folks seem to be keeping that market in business, though. I recently bought a fairly nice Italian hammer gun in 12 gauge. I doubt it would exist were it not for the cowboy action market.

I actually prefer them irrationally. There is a guy on here that likes to say people only use lever actions for nostalgia (which is a bunch of nonsense) but that IS the reason I prefer a SxS.

I have a Bernadelli Gamecock 20ga SxS and a Browning Citori upland O/U 20ga. I shoot the Browning much better but the SxS just has so much class.

.38 Special said:

I recently bought a fairly nice Italian hammer gun in 12 gauge. I doubt it would exist were it not for the cowboy action market.

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Do tell, which one? We have a poster looking for a "coach gun" or Lupara and something nicer than a Stoeger might catch his eye.

this is a nice 28, but probably more than your buddy wants to spend at $14,900.........https://www.gunsinternational.com/g...lnut-deluxe-abs-case-new.cfm?gun_id=101466137



I use my S&W Elite Gold (now sold as the Cabela's Dickinson) a nice 20 bore with double triggers, straight English stock and a splinter forearm; all the attributes a proper SxS SHOULD have...................

Never owned or shot a double gun - but from what I've read it takes a bit of skilled craftsmanship to build them properly... In today's world not surprising that their not as common as they were.

With notable exceptions most firearms today aren't brought to market unless they can be done up relatively cheaply with computer controlled machining at every point. Carefully hand made... not a recipe for a profitable operation with rare exception... Wish it weren't so and greatly envy anyone that has one passed down to them.

One of the most expensive shotguns made is the Fabbri


This is an O/U, but they make SxS too:

This is not only one of the most expensive guns, it is probably the most sophisticated. At the Fabbri factory (read about the editor’s visit to the Fabbri: Italian gunmakers factory) the bench artisans work in silence as if in a religious establishment. The guns, blending old and new, are technically supreme. Every detail is thought through and many are unusual. The demi-lump barrels made from stainless steel, for example, don’t have conventional joining ribs; a micron-machined H-section sits between the tubes, which are brought into perfect relationship for point of impact by this component. When everything is exactly right the assembly with sighting rib is fused together by laser, creating one piece of metal. It is then DLC (diamond-like carbon)-coated, this high-temperature vacuum process vastly increasing resistance to wear as well as blacking the steel. The barrels, also tested to extreme proof pressure, become virtually indestructible. About 20 Fabbris are made each year. They are imported by Tony Kennedy, who observes, “There is nothing better and never has been, so much goes into it, you have to see how it is made to understand.”

Price: from £138,000 for an all-stainless gun and £150,000 for one with a titanium action (which reduces overall weight by about a pound if required). There is a 25% supplement for a pair.

Delivery: usually four to five years.

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Another facet they failed to mention is that every component of the gun is made in house on some of the most sophisticated machinery available for any industry today.

There is just something about the shape of the typical SxS stock that make them fit me well. So that is what I use for dove and quail. I currently have two of them, both Fox Sterlingworths. 12 and 20 gauge. I shoot the 12 gauge much better.

Here is my SxS.



Sorry @George P but I like the semi-beavertail forend. I dont however, like the full beavertail. But yes, the splinter is what is proper.

earlthegoat2 said:

Here is my SxS.

Sorry @George P but I like the semi-beavertail forend. I dont however, like the full beavertail. But yes, the splinter is what is proper.

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Why I will wear a golf glove or use a leather-wrapped spring steel handguard

Jim Watson said:

Do tell, which one? We have a poster looking for a "coach gun" or Lupara and something nicer than a Stoeger might catch his eye.

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It is the Pedersoli "Wyatt Earp" coach gun.


(Photo credit: Jeff John, from this review.)

It is better quality than the usual cowboy action guns, but the triggers definitely needed a good gunsmith right away. I'm happy enough with it, but it probably isn't good enough to justify the $1500 price tag.

Upland, I hunt with nothing else.

357smallbore said:

You use on Pheasant?

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Pheasant, grouse, chukkar, woodcock.

Have never had the chance to hunt quail.

I really like a SXS, but the cost of a decent one is more than I'm willing to pay, and the quality of the cheap ones is lower than I'm willing to tolerate. If upland game were something I did a lot I'd probably bite the bullet and get a good one. I still think they are the best tool for that job. But for what I use a shotgun for a repeater is probably a better option anyway.

My dad started me hunting with my great grandfathers old 20 ga SXS. Neither of us understood at the time, but the old Damascus barrels were really dangerous to shoot. But I killed a bunch of squirrel and a few quail with it. Love the old gun, but it hasn't been fired since about 1975 when we decided it wasn't safe to continue using it.


I saved up enough money by mowing neighborhood lawns @ $3 each to buy a new Savage/Fox 311 in 12 ga to replace my great grandfathers gun. The gun broke the 1st time out. Got it fixed and to this day I've never shot anything better. But it broke again, and again, and again. I finally sold it around 1985 or 86 and at that time it had literally spent more time in gunsmith shops than in my home.

I tried some of the other affordable imported guns over the years but none really yanked my chain. I finally decided to buy the best semi I could afford and never looked back.

I do have my dads SXS shotgun with an interesting history. Dad was in a small German village at the end of the WW-2. They had confiscated all weapons, piled them in the street. An officer told the men they could have anything they wanted and the rest would be destroyed. Dad picked this 32" barreled SXS 12 ga made in the FN factory, most likely in the 1930's. He built a wooden box and mailed it home.

The gun fits me terribly with a very long LOP and the triggers must be 10-15 lbs each. But I make a point to hunt with it at least once each year. Even bought some bismuth shells for duck hunting. I suppose I could have the stock modified to fit better, but I won't alter the gun.

An interesting shotgun @jmr40

Greener crossbolt and scallops on the breech sides indicate strong German inspiration. Germans shotguns also liked long barrels and tight chokes.

An interesting gun with infinite sentimental value from the story behind it.

What little bird hunting I do involves either my Ithaca 100 20 ga (ic/mod) or my AYA custom 410 double (m/f). Mainly dove but once in a while pheasant.
For games, deer, turkey usually an 870 variant.

The SxS will always live in Upland game fields. It is, if well fitted, ideal for grouse, woodcock, quail, and pheasant.

I look at them. Yildiz are in my (upper) price range. Don't know if they are worth it, though. Would be mostly for clays in 12 gauge. I had thought about one in 410 for small game, but I can't justify that kind of expense after my separation. I don't need one, but would like one. What are your thoughts about them? Worth it, or not? I shot approximately 800 shots last year, maybe a little more than that, but not much more, I think. No season this year due to the pandemic, so no hurry.

Look for an old Stevens or Savage, 311, 5100 or such. I bought a really clean 311 20 gauge last year at a gun shop for $150.

I'm too old to hunt seriously anymore but the dog and I will walk the trees this fall and I'll be carrying an old 20 ga. Stevens 311. There's just something makes me feel good when looking down those two barrels.

I love an old double. I wish they weren’t getting rare. Side note I have an old single shot 16 that is a eastern arms. I have hunted so many rabbits with it.

PapaG said:

Look for an old Stevens or Savage, 311, 5100 or such. I bought a really clean 311 20 gauge last year at a gun shop for $150.

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I've got an old 311 20 gauge that rarely sees use anymore. I haven't hunted much in the last few years, but if I were to go afield in search of bunnies or birds, I'd happily carry it.

Cvans said:

I'm too old to hunt seriously anymore but the dog and I will walk the trees this fall and I'll be carrying an old 20 ga. Stevens 311. There's just something makes me feel good when looking down those two barrels. View attachment 933831

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Mine isn't that nice though...