First shotgun I ever owned was an old pre WWI J Stevens 12ga double. 30" bbls bore M/F with a weight of about 7 lbs. In 1956 when I was 18 years old I thought I needed something lighter, not so tightly choked & wit more firepower than a two-piper. I bought a 20ga 870 upon having read in Consumer Reports in my High School library from which I had just graduated that the 870 was the best buy in pump guns. I tried diligently to use it for three seasons, but on occasion would break out the old Stevens & always found I shot better with it than the pump in spite of its unnecessary weight & choking. In 1959 I traded it to a Parker Trojan 12ga, 28" M/F. From that day to this I have never owned another pump, nor had a desire for one, nor have I put any stock in Consumer Reports. I do truly wish I had that old Stevens back though. I have no idea what the outcome might of been had I bought either a M 12 or M 37, nor do I really care, a double is all I have ever wanted since.
I never kept shooting records as my shooting was virtually all hunting related, only clays I ever shot was from a Trius trap in a pasture. That said however the gun which for me had the best hit-a-bility of any I ever used was a 12ga J P Clabrough, back action extractor gun with 28" Damascus bbls bored choke in both bbls with a weight 2oz shy of 7 lbs. I only used it with 1oz low pressure loads @ about 1100-1150 FPS vel. Another gun I have uised extensively is an F Grade Lefever ejector for which I had a set of 26" steel bbls built in Italy in 1970 bored & 3/4 choke. This one weighs in @ 7 lbs though so a little on the heavy side. I won't mention the loads it has handled, though some of them I would not currently recommend.
"IF" there are any corn-shellers out there with my name on them Y'all feel free to grab them up, I don't want them.
