Best left for the laddies, ladies and old-timers?

The proposition was put to me recently that the ideal gun for walked-up shooting is a 20-bore side-by-side shotgun. It got me thinking, in these days where 20-bore mania is still gripping the nation, what is the enduring appeal of the Victorian ladies’ gun to the strapping six-footers who predominate in today’s shooting field?

Setting aside the merits of the over-and-under for now, perhaps we should start our deliberations with the origins and purpose of the 20-bore side-by-side when it emerged as an option for shooters during the middle of the 19th century.

Tom and Jim Purdey, writing in 1936, summed up the benefits thus: “The 20-bore gun is quite a popular one. It is used by many ladies and has proved itself