What your barrel choice says about you

There are few discussions in the shooting world that rear their ugly head more often than the endless debate over the way in which our barrels are aligned. More so than the vehicles we drive and the way we wear our shooting socks, the guns we use cause more snap judgements and stereotyping than anything else. As much as we might deny the reality, the fact is that your choice of gun does speak volumes...

Over-under shooters

Performance driven

You didn’t see Peter Wilson winning Gold in the London Olympics Double Trap with a side-by-side did you? In fact you didn’t see any of the competitors shooting with a side-by-side did you? Well, there you go then, stands to reason doesn’t it? Why wouldn’t you use an over-under for all of your shooting if it’s so obviously the choice of champions?

Fine Italian craftmanship from Zoli.

Function over form

Three-inch chambers, 34-inch multi-choke barrels and it never malfunctions mid-drive. It’s a simple equation really. Who cares about what it looks like? What I want is something reliable that I can use for game, clays and wildfowling for that matter if it comes to it. After all why would I want more than one gun if it can suit all my shooting needs? 

Pragmatic

It’s like buying a car. Yes I could splash out on a Range Rover but a Nissan Navara will do just fine thank you very much, and at about one quarter of the price. Oh and it’s a commercial vehicle so I can keep the taxman happy too. You can keep your fancy brands and names, and I will stick to tools that do the job.

Modern shooter

The side-by-side has had its day. I’m sure it was innovative, ground-breaking and the result of brilliant British engineering in its day, but that day is in the past.

It’s all about getting the right kit for the job isn’t it. Why ignore the advance of technology? After all, I don’t take photographs with a Box Brownie camera, I don’t watch a black and white television and I don’t listen to a crackling old wireless, so why would I shoot with a relic?

I like a heavy gun

If I’m going to be shooting 38g 3s on stratospheric pheasants I want a heavy gun to reduce the felt recoil. I like shooting very high birds at the likes of Whitfield and The Brigands and I want to shoot a lot of them and make sure they are dead in the air. Try doing that with your grandfather’s ancient side-by-side! You wouldn’t turn up to a gun-fight with a knife would you?

Side-by-side shooters

Traditional values

Game shooting is a traditional sport and there are many aspects of a day’s shooting which have remained the same through the generations. The way we dress, the way we draw for pegs and the way we structure the day have not really changed since eight aristocrats first lined out in a field and had a team of farm labourers drive the birds over their heads. 

And what could fit in more appropriately with that level of tradition than a beautiful old English side-by-side? It doesn’t have to be a Purdey or a Holland & Holland (although that would be nice). Something from Birmingham or Edinburgh would do just as well.

Barrels forged from more than a hundred layers of Damascene steel are the pinnacle of Purdey's Damascus range.

Aesthetic pleasure

Side-by-sides have a degree of aesthetic beauty which cannot be matched by an over-under. A Holland & Holland Royal is a creation of undeniable ease on the eye. The craftsmanship, the quality of the wood, the wood-to-metal finish, the engraving…

Just to see one of the guns brings a smile to the face, but to own one and to use it to shoot classically presented driven game must surely be one of the greatest ambitions of any shooting man or woman across the globe.

They do the same job

So the clay-busters in the Olympics all use over-unders. So what? That doesn’t mean anything to game shooting. And anyway look at Simon Ward, one of the very best shots in the UK on clays and game. He seems to do OK with a side-by-side doesn’t he?

For those who are not used to the different view down the barrels with a side-by-side, you soon get used to it. And if double triggers are too confusing for you then maybe you shouldn’t be holding a shotgun!

Old does not mean obsolete

When Purdey and Holland & Holland took the gunmaking world by storm from the late 1800s through to the Second World War it was not for no reason. The reputation of these beautiful pieces of engineering genius were not built on looks alone. They worked then, and they work now. 

You may not want to take photographs with a Box Brownie but you wouldn’t mind owning and driving an Aston Martin DB5 would you?

Just because it’s not brand new doesn’t mean it isn’t fit for purpose. In fact, like wine, people and paintings, many guns get better with age.

Staggering attention to detail: AYA's Bestselling Nº2 side-by-side.

The ultimate ambition

A double gun day on driven grouse. Alright, if we are dipping into the realms of pure fantasy, let’s call it a TRIPLE gun day on driven grouse in North Yorkshire.

But what could be more perfect than shooting these wonderful, wild British game birds with a perfect trio of self-opening Purdey side-by-sides?

Of course there’s a place in the shooting field for your Beretta Silver Pigeon, but really when it comes to sporting dreams, is there any competition? 

A personal choice

As with so much in shooting, your choice between one barrel configuration and another is more likely to impact how you feel rather than how well you shoot... so why do we still make it such a sticking point?