At some point I am interested in aquiringeither an over and under or side by side shotgun.

What I don't know is what are the advantages and/or disadvantages of either? The only shotgun experience I have besides my 870 Remington is my dad's .410 bore side by side shotgun. From that little bit of experience, andalso just based on looks, I am currently leaning towards a side by side of my own.

I'm considering both 12 and 20 guage. Bore size isn't the topic of this post though, I'll save that for later.

Useage islikely to be primarily breaking clay targets both in the air and along the ground, although rabbit and other small game hunting is a distinct possibility in the future, as is hunting for a variety of birds. The clays usage is simply informal, just a handful of us taking turns shooting clays at our property, not a dedicated formal setup with positions and so forth. I can't see taking part in something more formalon a regular basis.

So the question is: Will I be at a distinct disadvantage for any of these activities if I picka side by side, or for that should I go with an over/under?