As to the S&W, Turkish guns, etc., subject, I'm not an expert in double guns. I'm a fan who owns a few. Started with a Fox from Stevens. Not very good. Then the Ithaca (SKB) "Quail Special" (20 gauge, 25-inch barrels, straight grip -- I can't hit a barn with it), an old L.C. Smith 20 gauge, Win. M21 skeet gun in 16 ga., another nondescript SKB, Lebeau sidelock, Grulla sidelock, J.P. Sauer boxlock, etc.
I'm still learning. I've hunted with the Ruger Gold Label and the Kimber Valier.
Sounds like a similar path...I still have my SKB 280 though like you I doubt I could hit the broad side of a barn from the inside with it any more, and I've owned a few American Classics that I have the same problem with.
I've tried the Gold Label without much success too...
What happens on these boards when a gun maker come out with a new SxS is that we wind up seeing the opinions of the very top of the shotgun buying public - knowledge wise.
S&W isn't really going after that part of the market they're going after the guy who's always kid of wanted a SxS but has choked at the $$$ it takes to get on board the train even at the entry level. Pushing $3K and up for an bottom feeder Spanish Boxlock is nuts...
S&W isn't going to satisfy the more finely tuned aesthetics of the dedicated SxS shooter with a $2,000 gun, and I really doubt that's what they are aiming for. They are trying to sow some more guns into a marketplace that's already saturated with O/Us and autoloaders and pumps.
They need to build a gun thaat the "average" guy trying to decide if he wants a new Browning/Beretta or that new SxS from S&W is going to have a hard time making a decision about.
It looks like they may have found that spot.
