Thread: Quality side by side advice needed

I am looking at a decent side by side and need your thoughts. I want a classic non straight stock (want a pistol grip) gun for general walking around paddocks and also duck shooting. I really like them. Ideally it will have changeable chokes but maybe not. Steel shot compatible given even two shotters cant use lead over water. 12 gauge. I have always liked the SKB shottys but what are your thoughts? I don't want to spend 8 grand for one either. Just a nice clean simple good not average quality gun I can have forever. What brand and model and what barrel length for walk about hunting? Thanks

This is the Japanese SKB, I assume, not the down-market Turkish models? I looked carefully at an SKB s/s, with interchokes.Very nice gun. Wish I had bought it, more than a few times. There was some criticism that the interchoke barrels are thicker and so don't swing so well but I was quite happy with the balance. I'm sure there are a few around. The one I looked at was used, like new, and sold for about $3000 about 10 years ago. I think the action is the same in all of them, just the barrel length, and interchoke or plain jane bore are the variations. The gun I looked at, an interchoke version was steel compatible and took up to 3 inch shells. A piece of total quality Japanese engineering.

Hulgu make some very nice ones reasonably priced with interchangeable chokes but only one trigger. Sxs is a limited market now a days so new they are expensive compared to an ou. An skb 200 or 300 e would be a cracker if you could find one second hand.
They are faster on the reload and I find they point better than an uppie downie when thrown to the shoulder for snap shooting flushed game.
28 inch is plenty, could even be shorter if you want. Long barrels really add nothing to effectiveness .

Look around for a SH Beretta silver hawk.

miroku/ browning

F.A.I.R from Neil Hayes in Wellywood

Talking of steel shot compatibility. Was talking to my gunmaker yesterday about this. Asking if my barrels could take it.
He said that it all depends on how the chokes are shaped. If the chokes are quite blunt, meaning that they choked bit rises up steeply then no go for steel but if they are a gradual choke then yep go for it.
Some interesting biodegradable wads coming along in the pipe line too! Which is good news all round. Have a talk to a good gun smith that knows his stuff. I’m going to get mine steel proofed with the fleur de lys. Just to make it worth a bit more
Again get em checked by someone who knows his stuff!