For whatever reason, the British don't seem to have produced many sxs with what most shooters today would consider excessive drop--even back when 3" DAH was very common on guns made in the States. Vintage British hammerguns often fit American shooters without much in the way of stock modification. Not sure why the difference between their side of the pond and ours.
My theory on this is as follows;
British field shooting (hunting) by those who bought quality guns when these guns were built tended to be large days - lots of shots fired in a short time window. In addition, light guns with fast handling were preferred. Recoil can therefore be an issue.
Now guns with little drop and a bit of cast exhibit less perceived recoil (less upward flip) than those with a larger drop. The shooting shoulder is also raised a bit as the gun is mounted and a slightly 'lean forward' stance adopted, which I think reduces perceived recoil.
This set of factors enables a lot of shots from light fast handling guns without excessive punishment from recoil.
