Who Killed the Side-by-Side Shotgun?

Above, the Manton side-by-side shotgun. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

At present, I have several shotguns in my gun collection. The most recent purchases were my Winchester Model 12 (or Model 1912) and a Remington Model 870 Express. Both are in 12 gauge.

I also have a Mossberg 500E .410 Pump Shotgun that I inherited from my dad. 

I also inherited from my dad is a side-by-side (or double-barrel) Manton shotgun made in the 1800s. I didn't know I had it until I found a gun case with something in it and opened it to find the shotgun. I believe it is also a 12 gauge. The Manton is the only side-by-side shotgun I have.

Side-by-side shotguns is the topic of an article from Outdoor Life that was originally published in 1972. It was posted yesterday. The title of the article is "Who Killed the Side-by-Side Shotgun?"

By the way, cartoon character Elmer Fudd is occasionally depicted carrying a side-by-side. 

The Outdoor Life article begins with: 

No other type of firearm conjures up such images in the mind of the beholder as does the side-by-side shotgun. The true believer has only to open the action of a classic side-by-side and he is transported to a land where autumn leaves flutter across frosty earth, where great hunting dogs hold motionless points, where a flannel shirt and old wool tie feel just right under a worn-in shooting coat, and the whole world smells of damp tweed, Rangoon oil, leather hunting bags, and the smoke from old-fashioned paper shotshells.

Reams of manuscript paper have extolled the virtues of the side-by-side, but to my knowledge no one has actually succeeded in divulging its mystique. Whether the 1970’s will go down in history as the golden decade of the side-by-side double remains to be seen. Frankly I doubt it. However, there is no doubt that the side-by-side is making a rather startling comeback from its low point of the 1950’s. At that time, rumor was that the side-by-side would soon be as extinct as the dodo.

While researching for this blog post, I did notice a great number of side-by-side shotguns are for sale.

To read the full article, go here.