[usaz]

I recently was asking myself these same questions. I spent about two weeks researching what I could on the web. I also kept going into gun / pawn shops to handle whatever side by side's that I could.
I ended up deciding upon a Stevens model 311 shotgun. Here's a few of my reasons why I chose that model. It's American made, it's reasonably priced, it handles well and feels slim and trim in the hands, it's extremely well made, and the aesthetics are pleasing (color case hardened receiver).
I just picked mine up last week. It's a 12 gauge with 18 1/2" barrels. I paid $250 for it on Gunbroker. There's three things that I plan on doing to it. Install a recoil pad, install a butt stock shell holder, and disable the auto safety reset.
When looking for a SXS shotgun one of the most important things is the placement of the break open lever. When the actions closed you want the lever to be right of center. As the internals wear the lever will move to the left accordingly.