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I wonder how many people with strong feelings against O/U double rifles have actually hunted with one.

I suppose that would be difficult if were necessary to run the shooter down to get him to try it.

It has been noted that Europeans and Americans prefer O/U shotguns and the British prefer S/S. The only S/S shotguns I have ever seen on a trap/skeet field belonged to shooters trying to tune up for the hunting season, not serious competiters. I venture to say that a S/S has not been seen on an Olympic skeet field in 40 years, and in my humble opinion Olympic (International) Skeet is the best gun handling practice there is, followed by Sporting Clays, another sport dominated by the O/U shotgun.

I spent years shooting international skeet with a pair of Perazzi Skeet I (O/U)shotguns. When I bought my first double rifle, a Krieghoff Teck (O/U) in .458, nothing could have been more logical for me than to take the stock measurements right off my Perazzi stock. The Krieghoff fits me just as well as the Perazzi, and yes, I have shot skeet with it, too, using .410 shells. They come out swelled and unreloadable, but if you can hit a low house station 8 with your double rifle, you can feel confident about charging dangerous game.

I have killed one elephant, one Cape buffalo, a lion, leopard, eland, greater kudu and lesser kudu (the last five with the .375 H&H interchangeable barrels) and have experienced no difficulty whatsoever. I would not hesitate to use the rifle again for dangerous game.

I once owned a Westley Richards Ovundo drop lock double rifle caliber .400/.350. I let the rifle go, because there was no ammunition available for it, or proper bullets, for that matter. With the advent of Woodleigh 300 grain bullets, I have wished time and again that I had it back.

There have been varying opinions as to why Americans have not taken to S/S shotguns. One is that shooters brought up on lever actions with long tubular magazines and narrow deep forearms are more accustomed to the feel of an O/U. (The same could be said for the feel of a repeating shotgun like the Browning or Winchester Model 12). There was also the theory that British O/U's were less popular because they were more expensive than their S/S counterparts, and that was certainly the case where the major gun makers were concerned.

Then there is the question of gape, and the idea that O/Us must be opened wider than S/Ss to reload them, which is quite accurate. However, this is not a problem that a few hours of practice on the skeet or trap field cannot overcome. I, personally, had never even thought of the issue until I read someone's comment to that effect.

Having said all that, anyone else is perfectly free to spend his money however he cares to, and if buying a traditional British (or even a non-British) S/S is what makes them happy, then more power to them. I feel the same way on this issue as I do about religion. It makes no difference to me what another person believes, as long as he does not attempt to foist his beliefs on me and as long as his practice of his beliefs do not interfere with me.