Few products of the mechanical engineer's art please the hand and eye like a fine shotgun. And many who hunt or enjoy shooting at clay targets prefer the double-barrel shotgun to all others.

Custom-made shotguns can carry five-figure prices and are really status symbols, not sporting firearms. Lovely to look at, they typically spend more time in a display case than in the field.

Manufactured by the only remaining U.S. producer of over-and-under shotguns and priced at $1,675, the Ruger Woodside offers balance and high quality in a firearm meant to be used for hunting, skeet, and trap. Different models of the Woodside come with 26-, 28-, or 30-inch barrels; all models have 3-inch chambers. The barrels are back-bored either 0.743 inch (for 12-gauge models) or 0.633 inch (20-gauge guns) and threaded to receive choke tubes. Ruger engineers use a conventional box lock design on the Woodside; a patented cocking mechanism makes opening the shotgun easier and smoother.

The Ruger Woodside's receiver, made of investment-cast 400-Series stainless steel, can be hand-engraved to suit your taste.

Sturm, Ruger & Company manufactured 300 Woodside over-and-under shotguns in 1995.