{"id":2259,"date":"2016-05-18T16:40:53","date_gmt":"2016-05-18T15:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thebigshoot.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2259"},"modified":"2016-07-05T12:30:34","modified_gmt":"2016-07-05T11:30:34","slug":"which-should-you-choose-an-over-and-under-or-side-by-side-shotgun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebigshoot.co.uk\/blog\/which-should-you-choose-an-over-and-under-or-side-by-side-shotgun\/","title":{"rendered":"Which should you choose, an over-and-under or side-by-side shotgun?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether you\u2019re new to clay pigeon shooting, or a regular at the shooting ground, choosing the right gun is key to consistently blowing clays to pieces<\/a>. However, the choice between a traditional Side-by-Side shotgun and an Over-and-Under shotgun still splits shooters. Both have their advantages, and both are more than capable of smashing their way through plenty of clays, but which is best?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at some of the main differences between the two..<\/p>\n

The Basics<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"ejector\"<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re new to clay pigeon shooting you\u2019re probably finding all this talk of side-by-sides and over-and-unders quite confusing, but we promise it\u2019s a lot less complicated than it sounds! It simply refers to the way the shotgun\u2019s barrels are aligned. The barrels on an over-and-under shotgun are stacked one on top of the other, and the barrels on a side-by-side shotgun are you guessed it, side by side.<\/p>\n

History<\/strong><\/p>\n

Throughout history side-by-side shotguns have been the gun of choice for both huntsman and sporting shooters, and with tradition playing such an important role in modern day shooting events it\u2019s easy to see why a lot of shooters still favour side-by-sides. Of the two it\u2019s generally accepted that side-by-side shotguns came about first, and although some over-and-under rifles predated the side-by-side, over-and-unders as we know them today are a relatively new creation. Which means early clay shooters didn’t have to make the tricky decision between an over-and-under and side-by-side.<\/p>\n

Clay Busting<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Sport<\/p>\n

Both side-by-side and over-and-under shotguns are still used for clay pigeon shooting, but it\u2019s the latter which is the real favourite amongst clay pigeon shooters. The very best shooters at national and international level nearly all use over-and-under shotguns, and it\u2019s undoubtedly because over-and-unders offer a great line of sight when tracking the clays. Different shooters do favour different types of gun though, so taking aim with an over-and-under doesn\u2019t always guarantee you the best results.<\/p>\n

Cost<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s face it there\u2019s no such thing as a cheap shotgun, so if you\u2019re planning on investing in an over-or-under or side-by-side it\u2019s probably going to cost you a pretty penny or two. Antique side-by-sides tend to be more valuable than over-and-unders, simply because they\u2019re a lot older, whereas recent creations sell for a similar price. Bespoke shotguns made by the biggest names in the industry is where the real money lies though, and some side-by-sides and over-and-unders can cost in excess of \u00a3100,000! The record for the most expensive shotgun ever made is currently held by the VO Vapen Falcon Edition, a side-by-side which comes in at just short of half a million pounds!<\/p>\n

Our venues across the UK & Ireland use a mixture of both over-and-under and side-by-side shotguns, and there’s no better way to to find out how which is best for you than by taking on the clays. So why not head down to your local shooting ground and find out first hand where you stand on the oldest argument in clay pigeon shooting.<\/p>\n

To find your nearest venue simply scroll to the top of the page and enter your location in the search bar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether you\u2019re new to clay pigeon shooting, or a regular at the shooting ground, choosing the right gun is key to consistently blowing clays to pieces. However, the choice between a traditional Side-by-Side shotgun and an Over-and-Under shotgun still splits shooters.… Read More Which should you choose, an over-and-under or side-by-side shotgun?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[95,7,542],"class_list":["post-2259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured","category-features","tag-clay-pigeon-shooting","tag-shooting","tag-shotguns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebigshoot.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebigshoot.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebigshoot.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebigshoot.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebigshoot.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2259"}],"version-history":[{"count":46,"href":"https:\/\/thebigshoot.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2312,"href":"https:\/\/thebigshoot.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2259\/revisions\/2312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebigshoot.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebigshoot.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebigshoot.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}