I started shotgunning with a pump M12 then 870 then the auto's Browning, Beretta Rem 10, Then the o/u Superposed, Beretta 682, Citory. Incidently I tried a field gun SxS AyA and shot a round of skeet with it on insistence of what I thought at the time was an enoying and pushy aquaintance.
I did not just shoot a round of skeet, I dead centred 24 of them, jerking in front of low house 8 and missing it cleanly, shucks. I fired the first few rounds single shot, then put the double trigger in play at the regular doubles.I was amazed about the pointability, meaning the feeling that the gun was an extension of my left pointing hand. The double trigger was something that took a dozen or so rounds to get acustomed to.
Since then I aquired my own little collection of side by sides, mostly spanish and Italian better then standard grade field guns marketed for relative little money because the barrels do not handle steel. I never was fond of the models stocked to shoot high for rising birds. I want the "shoot where you point" stocking, with minute face pressure. My sporting clays/skeet/life birds score went up drastically.
I now mount the gun, holding the barrels vs the splinter fore-end with my left hand, standing straight up(as opposed to crouching and crunching the face on the stock.) and bring the comb to my cheeck with very light face pressure then firing at that time.
Going back and forth once a while to my auto's/ o/u brings home the message that for me the SxS field model with the right drop/pitch/pull is the way to go.
Could I achieve the same results with the o/u if stocked just right? May be may be not. I have now 4 SxS, shoot each one very well and better then my Beretta, Super posed or auto loaders. Its personal I guess. I like the feel and balance of the barrels in my hand, the slim grips.
However for a real dirty waterfowl hunt I will still grab my Auto.