SxS Question

[PhillipP]

Kinda new at this shotgunning thing, got a couple of questions

First off, I saw that Spartan made a SxS shotgun that was 20inch with external hammers which personally I really like.

But i notice that many of the makers don't have external hammers, could anyone tell me if there are some disadvantages to the external hammers and maybe to make me feel better some advantages for external hammers.

I have also heard from some people that shooting a 20inch, 12 gauge, SxS, can kick quite a bit. Now i don't mind a good kick but I have personally never shot one and some people are acting like it has some kind of a supernatural kick to it or something. Are they maybe just exaggerating a bit.

Last question, I see that companies have "Gauge reducers" so that you are able to shoot a 20 gauge shell out of a 12 gauge shotgun. Are these reliable and can they be used in the SxS model.

Thanks for your time and help

[Clayfish]

Your gun is a coach gun. It is used mostly in cowboy action shooting. It should still make for a good sporting gun. Does it have interchangeable chokes? Don't worry about recoil unless your shooting anything larger than 3inch mags. Make sure it's chambered for those rounds before you fire them though. The gauge reducers will work fine. The exposed hammers are just part of the cowboy look. have fun.

[the possum]

I'm not familiar with the Spartan gun in question; does it also have a tang safety? Can the hammers be lowered with the action open?

The answers to these two questions would help determine just how negative my answer is, but overall, no. They do not offer any realistic performance improvement whatsoever compared internal hammered guns. They are slower to get into action, easier to snag and break, require a longer learning curve, and some models are dangerous to uncock. They do look kinda neat and appeal to my nostalgic side though, so if you just want one purely for fun, have at it.

I recently posted that a buddy has some of those gauge reducers, and they worked pretty well. I guess you can still get a decent pattern, 'cause he was busting clays no problem. The downside is, the empty shells may not just fall out of the inserts; you may have to poke the shells out with a finger or stick. The .410 empties did fall right out though. It slows ya down a bit, but is still a neat idea.

[Casp_A]

AFAIK, external hammered SxS's, at least the Baikal/Spartan guns, can be decocked after the action is opened, and they have a tang safety which is automatically engaged when the action is opened. Simply open the action, push the safety back off, and let the hammers down one at a time with your thumb. The only signigicant difference is that external hammers aren't automatically cocked when you open the action, so you have to cock them manually. That also means there's less resistance when opening the action after shooting, making it easier to extract fired shells. Also, don't be scared of the kick, it's not as bad as some people make it out to be. If you do have any trouble with it, just buy a slip-on recoil pad. Or you can do this (http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=173665). :D

[rugerdude]

The recoil is probably a little less than a 12ga. single shot that i fired. Buckshot and slugs were......exciting, but target loads should feel just fine.