In the UK, there is snobbery towards pump-action shotgun, which is largely an American phenomenon. British game shooters will still turn up their noses at the sight of one. For example, note the snootiness in the quotes below:
Quote:
In the grounds of Loyton Lodge, a roaming estate near Tiverton in Devon, I’m being taught the ways of the shoot. The guns are all double-barrelled shotguns. A pump-action shotgun is beyond the pale. ''We’d probably ask you to leave,’’ Alick says, smartly. ''Which would be a shame, since you’d have come all the way from America.’’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/out...-amateurs.html
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Quote:
To the dedicated game shooter, the pump-action is often regarded with little more than contempt, hardly worthy of a place on the shooting field.
The pump-action shotgun is still regarded as something of an oddity in the UK, where so many shooters’ aspirations revolve around owning a double-barrelled ejector gun.
http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/reviews/...shotgun-review
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This is unfounded snobbery - in the UK shooting has traditionally been a sport for the rich, obsessed with tradition, while in the US shooting is something even the poorest colonists took part in. In the UK, many shooters wear specific clothing - often stylish but anachronistic tweed - where in the US hunters wear camouflage, orange jackets or whatever they feel like.
In addition many UK shooters will wait stationary, often standing in a line, while birds (often captive-bred) are "beaten" out of the bush or "flushed" by dogs, whereas American shotgunners usually walk through the outdoors to find their prey, which may also include deer and other large game, so many Americans will be wary of purchasing a very expensive gun only to have it end up scratched and gouged due to the rougher hunting.
In the UK people will spend thousands of pounds on a fine double-barrelled shotgun, but in the US the most popular shotguns are pump actions available for under $300. Two models of American shotguns alone, the Remington 870 and Mossberg 500, have sold over 20,000,000 units.
The side-by-side shotgun has more style and grace, but the pump action is a more versatile tool and a better means of defense.
