English stocks

Hi,

I assume you mean the straight grip vs pistolgrip. I use both kinds. I really like the straight grip on my SxS. It's perhaps the quickest mounting gun I've ever owned. I think it's because when you are walking along with the gun at Port-Arms, when you bring it up to mount, your hand dosen't have repostion on the wrist to properly grip and shoot the gun. It just kind of pivots in your hand. Plus, when you track the target, it feels more like "steering" the gun rather than aiming. Very good for fast, instinctive shooting. Say, like in the grouse woods. Plus it just looks so good!! The Brits know a thing or two about the design of fine shotguns.

The pistol grip I have on my O/U I like better for deliberate shooting. Like at a clays range or in a duck blind where you have more time to prepare your shooting stance. Plus it gives more control over how the gun mounts. With my O/U it tends to prevent canting of the gun to one side.

Pick the style you like best. Neither will be of any handicap to your shooting over the long run.

Dale

Nuts,
It's about instinctive shooting. An English,or straight, stock couples well with a splinter forend in order to put both hands on the same relative plane. This makes accurately pointing the gun a more natural act. The splinter forend puts the barrels as close as possible to that natural plane by laying them in the palm of your hand. This said, a beavertail forend wouldn't be as suitable for use with a straight stock as it would put your hands on different planes. You would want to have a pistol or semi-pistol grip to work with the beavertail,depending upon how far that forend puts the barrel above your palm. Most tactical guns are either pump or semi-auto, putting the barrel far above the palm. In my opinion,you would then want a pistol grip to gain more natural pointability. Another theory concerning straight stocks is that they allow easier movement of the hand when switching from front to rear trigger. Since tactical guns normally have only one trigger, the straight stock wouldn't be required.I wonder, however,at the use of pumps or semis for home defense if the English SxS is more natural for the quick instinctive shot. Personally, I think the pumps and semis are picked for this purpose more on the "cool" factor than they are on reality. How many shots would one normally need? The double is also more reliable as you have redundant mechanisms, one barrel fails to shoot, just pull the other trigger.
Jim