Like all who post here, I have an affinity for double guns that stretches beyond shooting or simply handling them. There is an attachment that grows from familiarity, born on that first day that I shouldered my first double at 12, that matured through the years and evolved into a keen appreciation for the craftsmanship and artistry and metallurgical skills of generations that the guilds first fostered.
As yesterday's hunt or shoot with a great friend or dog becomes today's memory, we strive to preserve the moment...for ourselves and sometimes for our children or an anonymous posterity, through continued association with our shooting/hunting companions, through photographs and other recorded media, and through our shared memories. And in that same vein, old field guns that we have shot that have no particular intrinsic value or provenance worthy of mention on the "Antiques Roadshow" become reminders and icons, but only to the initiated.
Does that mean that we have to preserve every last one of them? No. Instead, teach your son or grandchild or the neighbor's kids about the shooting sports. And, if you still worry about all the field doubles disappearing from the landscape, visit the gun museum in Claremore, OK. And, take a youngster or two along with you.
skatr2
