Quite a few shooters, especially those that are new to the sport, will choose to begin with a side by side coach gun. These are very well made guns that rarely have issues, but they do take practice to become skilled at using them at match speed. Some people will say that a 97 will always beat a coach gun, but I have seem some incredible speeds attained by coach guns in matches. The key is to practice regularly and learn all that you can about the shotgun.
Be sure to spend some range time outside of matches to practice these skills and pay attention to what you are doing. Most of us shooting them have had stages where we were all thumbs. That is a message that we need to practice and pay attention to our actions, even if we have to slow down a little bit. What is better? To take an extra second to perform the skill properly, or be forced to go back to your belt for extra shells because you rushed and dropped the shells?
A few years back, Deuce Stevens, one of the top coach gun shooters in the sport, put together a video showing some good techniques to follow. I hope this helps with your practice sessions.
