Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns SxS suggestions

Man, I don't know. I have one that makes magic. A Fox Sterlingworth made in 1910. It was my great grandfather's. He shot left handed and the stock was shaped to him. We must have been built nearly the same because the shotgun fits like a glove. It is the only shotgun that has never missed a turkey yet. Guys suggesting the double triggers are spot on. I like them and they feel natural once you get used to them. That second barrel has saved my azz a few times. A good double is great in the upland fields as well.

I agree with much written above.

A few tips about the price point you are looking at... there are plenty of old American doubles in that range, but generally only in 12 ga. You'll pay plenty more for a nice 16, 20, or especially a 28ga.

Also decide early if you are ready to try double triggers. I really do like them, but find it hard to move back-and-forth between a single trigger and double trigger gun in the muscle memory moments of a hard flush.

You'll also find the majority of old doubles have at least one barrel with full chokes, which generally will not be compatible with steel shot. You might find good discounts on a 12 ga that has had then chokes opened, or barrels shortened removing a lot of the tight chokes. Generally don't shoot steel in any choke tighter than M. Also investigate the chamber lengths... there are a lot of 2.5 inch 12 ga. guns out these (esp. English or German) that are really tough to find non-toxic (or even lead) shot for right now.

And don't ignore the suggestions by MT_DD_FAN above. I really like the CZ Bobwhite 20 ga I bought several years ago for <$600. The wood is always plain, the metal lacks character, but you can shoot anything thru them, change chokes, and test your preferences for double triggers. I've traveled the world with mine.

I too have a 20ga CZ Bobwhite for high volume steel(ranges that require steel for skeet and SP), solid little shotgun.

Many years ago I bought a Ithaca 200E. It’s a very nice shotgun with a pistol grip and single trigger. I prefer double triggers on SxS guns. Other than the triggers I really like the gun for dove and quail. It’s a 20 gauge with I believe 25 inch barrels.
Hasbeen

I have the SKB 280E 20 gauge with 28" barrels with a modified and a full choke. I agree with others make sure it fits you. Mine has no recoil pad and I can shoot 100 rounds through it with no issues.

If you are of fairly average build, an Ithaca SKB model 100 or 200 will probably fit you well.

LeFever (Ithaca) Nitro Special. You can find them on GB or GA cheap and they flat-out work. 12, 16 or 20 gauge.

I'll make some suggestions that haven't appeared here for the most part.

Browning BSS or the equivalent Miroku 500. The Browning will be a single trigger, ejector gun; the Miroku a double trigger, extractor gun.

I'd also look at Bernardelli Gamecocks, the F.A.I.R. Iside (the only new gun on this list), later Fox Sterlingworths (the ones built after Savage acquired Fox), Ithaca NIDs, SKBs (the Japanese ones, not the Turkish ones) and Ugartchea boxlocks. All of these are built for modern U.S. ammo (something not true of older British guns). If you go German, the so-called guild guns are often very fairly priced, but be sure they have 2-3/4 inch chambers. Those with short chambers probably aren't up to a regular diet of U.S. factory ammo.

The double trigger has two sides....Some just like the quickness one can go between chokes. Others think they are more reliable.

In the older guns it was definitely true...However, modern day single trigger guns are reliable to the point it would be rare to have an issue.

Just saw an kid Stevens 12 ga at the LGS. I think it was 349. CCH all intact. Solid gun. Older ones in 12 are reasonable, 20 ga likely would have been over 500

No first hand experience. But I've heard and been told that may not be exactly the case with the Turkish guns (many bearing American brand names).

Truth ?? Rumor ?? Haters ??

Don’t know. However, the mechanism for making a reliable Single trigger out of quality parts is well known. If there is any issue with following those established principles, then I would have reservations of thinking they could make a good double trigger shotgun.

The problem with single triggers, is that the switch from one barrel to the next is done by recoil. There is a small pendulum in the trigger mechanism that the recoil pulse swings and sets the trigger for the second barrel. A fail to fire results in a non-functional weapon that you have to bump the butt on the ground or manually transfer to the second barrel with the barrel selector. Two trigger guns you just pull the second trigger. Two trigger shotguns are simple, basically two separate shotguns built as one neither barrel dependent on the other. You can fire either barrel at will.

A Winchester 101 will fire without recoil, but it is an O/U shotgun. I don't know if they use the same type of trigger in their model 23...

Most that is true, but not on a "trigger plate action"

It depends on the trigger. Some of mine are mechanical and some are inertia in order to shoot the second barrel

I picked up a NOS in the original box Ithaca SKB model 100 20 gauge 2 weeks ago. Waited for 50 years for one and now I finally have it. Can't wait to get out and shoot it, beautiful gun. The price tag on the box is $299.99, wish I would have paid that for it!

And some can easily be converted from inertia to mechanical. Modern day Brownings for example. Also Perazzi.

I used one back in the 70’s. Dad bought it and we boys shared it. I shot a few ducks with it but the most use came on rabbits. Dad was a beagle man and we killed loads of cottontails and snowshoe hares. Maybe the best times of my hunting life. Pass the Express 5’s please.

For me, it was less than one hunting session. I bought a FAIR Iside basic 16 ga with two triggers. It was awkward the first field or two we walked, but then it clicked. I had a IC choke in the right barrel (front trigger) and full in the left (back trigger). At the end of the day, a group of pheasants got up and one got between us. I was able to turn around, get on the back trigger and drop it with the full choke. If had one trigger and had to shoot the rt barrel first, that bird would have been far out of reach before I shot. I have single trigger guns, and don’t really prefer one over the other. However, those two triggers sure are handy.

In your price range, a FAIR Iside is great. I also have a single trigger Ithaca SKB 20 ga that is pretty sweet. Both of these are hard to beat in that price range. If you can find one, and Urgatheca, Browning, LC Smith, etc.. will all be good. I will say that you need to think hard about ejectors vs extractors too. My Iside basic has extractors. It took me longer to get used to that than the 2 triggers. When I open the action, I’m used to the empties flying out so I can quick reload. Not the case with extractors, but you can get used to them and get faster with time.