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Bulldog:

Regarding your question as to which is better:

There are two types of sidelock, bar-action and back-action. They are so named because the difference between the two is the placement of the mainsprings (which are V-springs). In the bar-action, the mainsprings lie within the action bar, in front of the lockwork. The back-action has the springs pinned to the lockplate itself, behind the lockwork. Since the action bar of the bar-action must be inletted to house the mainsprings, the action bar is thus weakened at the break-off - the weakest point of any drop-down barrel action. Since the mainsprings of the back-lock don't lie within the action bar at all, more steel is left in the bar, making it, theoretically, the stronger of the two. This is why the back-action is sometimes preferred for double rifles. Virtually all of the lockwork of a boxlock is housed within the action body (the box) which means that it is, theoretically, weaker than either sidelock.

That's the theory. In the real world, with regard to the relative strengths of the actions themselves, it's all rat lotion. All three have been field tested for over a century and have been proven to be more than strong enough. Far more nitro boxlock DRs have been built than sidelocks and they're just as reliable, if not more so. As for the Nitro hammerless sidelocks from the best makers, Holland "Royal" double rifles have always been back-locks, but Purdey's and Rigby's (London) were usually bar-locks and they worked fine.

The weakness of the sidelock DR is in the stock-head, due to the inletting of the locks. This shouldn't be an issue when the rifle is new, assuming it is of good quality (no comment), but becomes one as they age. The battering from recoil, softening from oil soaking, etc., can lead to problems. In my observation, far more sidelocks suffer from these problems than boxlocks. The Baker extended top tang (the top tang of the action extends through the wrist and up over the top of the comb), as found on Holland DRs, can't prevent this entirely, but it sure helps to spread out the load. I wouldn't have a large-bore sidelock DR without it.

For a hard service, heavy caliber DR, I'd get a boxlock.

Banzaibird:

The sidelock on Searcy's web site is a back-action sidelock. Yes, the shape of the lock-plates is of that usually associated with bar-actions, but that has nothing to do with it. The lockplates of Holland "Royal" and Marcel Thys DRs are of the same shape and those are both back-locks. Both look very similar to the Purdey, which is a bar-lock. Simple matter to pin back-action locks to a bar-action lockplate, which is exactly what they're doing. The only reliable way to tell the difference is the placement of the pins. Compare the lockplates of a Holland "Royal" shotty with those of a Holland "Royal" DR. The pin placement is completely different because the locks pinned to them are different. Take a look at the top photo link in new_guy's post. This is what the lock of the Holland DR looks like on the back side.

The preference for the back-action for double rifle use has nothing to do with weight saving or profile.

JPK:

"Every English maker and European maker made their best rifles with this action."

This has never been true. "Best" back-action DRs are perhaps the most common, but not by a wide margin. There are a lot of "best" bar-action DRs out there.
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"Serious rifles have two barrels, everything else just burns gunpowder."