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I don't understand this snobbishness thing. Maybe because I am over 50. Perhaps when I was a teenager it would be different. We all have seen people show up on hunts with fabulously expensive shotguns, only to be easily outshot by some yokel with a beat up club. Who cares? The people I hunt with are constantly teasing about equipment. Show up with a new expensive shotgun and they will say you obviously need it to improve your poor shooting skills. Show up with a beater and they discuss whether they want to admit you are with them on the hunt. If someone seriously puts down your equipment then no matter where you are they are being rude and lack class.

I have always hunted with SxSs. Then I bought an OU, but I didn't like it and sold it. (I am one of those people who have very expensive shotguns but am a very ordinary shooter.)

What I thought was that a lightweight quick shooting English style SxS with a splinter forearm was a joy to handle, but once you put pistol grips and a large beavertail forearm I think they lost much of their charm.
My theory was that for heavy hitting, i.e. long target sessions, pass shooting or for a heavy duck and goose gun, the OU would be better, because you could have a hefty forearm that didn't detract from the handling (or looks), and your fingers were far from the sight plane. And then there was the view of more of the bird that another poster has mentioned.

Once I got the OU though I found I didn't like the extra gape, which was particularly awkward in a duck blind or lying down in a coffin box for a goose shoot. (Pumps and autoloaders work best in those circumstances, they are easier to load while they are pointed at the sky.) OUs built very light with "English" style stocks without pistol grips and small forearms are particularly ugly to me.

In spite of the fact I do not now own an OU, I still might try one again. So my choice would be SxS for lightweight field guns for upland game in which you plan to do a lot of walking, OUs for heavier guns that you will use for target shooting or pass shooting, and inexpensive pumps or autoloaders for geese and ducks from blinds.

The main problem with the pumps and autoloaders is that they litter empty shells all over the countryside and if you are shooting ducks over water it is a chore to find them all.

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