I was handling various over & under and side by side shotguns in the capitol city today, looking for something faster & lighter for the small tasty birds. I tried various Berettas, Brownings, a few Ruger Gold Labels, Weatherby and Guerinis. Although there were relatively few side by sides, I found that when I put them up into position, there was quite a bit of barrel over the receiver, pointing high. So I was wondering if that is just me or is there perhaps a reason they are built this way? I handled a beautiful side by side Weatherby Athena Italia but I would shoot high with it. In contrast, a Ruger over & under in 28 gauge and a plain jane Guerini Woodlander in 28 whipped up pretty naturally. I was hoping to try a Browning Citori Super Light Feather but the dealers were sold out.

Would like to hear from experience as I have done far less sporting shotgun than anything else, and this will be bigger bucks than most things I buy.

Thanks