doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com What is your hardest used hunting shotgun?

Not even close. 1946 vintage R10 Darne, that came from one Stephen Bodio, was restocked to fit me in St. Etienne, and has been used, hard, in the 25 years since.



Shown with the Silver Snipe 12 my Dad bought new in 1964, a gun I keep saying I'm going to use when it gets cold, but, I still find myself grabbing a double trigger gun.
Early 1990s, my Gordon Setter, "Stoke", best all round gun dog I've ever had the pleasure to work. By this time he wouldn't point hen pheasants, and was the only dog I've ever known who handled grouse, woodcock, and pheasants equally, and superbly. I took a double on grouse that day, but, it rained so hard and so long I was soaked to my soul.



New Years Day, 2013. My English Setter, "Gypsy" at age 14, about 5 hours of cold hunting under her belt, and she had had enough. Same gun. Gypsy never really figured out grouse the way Stoke did, but, she was a hell of a pheasant dog, and accepted my wife and later, son as sweetly as any dog could ever do.
She died a few months after this photo was taken. I miss all my dogs, and even though she wasn't the best, it hurts to this day when I think of her.



This was a good day. Gypsy took a big dollar Berg Brother's Setter, who had big training dollars spent on it, to school. Yes, a Setter can point AND retrieve. Just watch:



2015, the beginning of a new tradition, "Grousemas" with Lloyd, and his boy. The new recruit is an English Setter name "Louise", who had spent most of a heartbreaking year with an auto immune disorder. My son came along also, as did my wife, although she hasn't taken to bird hunting like a duck takes to water. The swelling in Louie's body, joints, and chest had gone down enough at this point for her to come along for a little grouse hunting. I was sure the problem had affected her nose, hearing and eyesight, but, if it did, it has not lingered. If I had a buck for every time someone said to put her down, I could buy another just like her, today.



The only other gun I have that comes close is a Remington model 17 pump, that I bought when I was 17, and still own today:



I haven't used that gun in years, but, it was used, hard, for the decade from 1977 until 1987, when I bought the Gordon puppy and a wonderful Darne R15 20 gauge. The Darne got away, something I truly regret to this day.
I took a limit of grouse and woodcock, five of each, over the Gordon with the Remington 17. I haven't shot more than a brace of anything, by choice, ever since.



Best,
Ted

Good story, good guns...and Ted....good dogs. Thanks.

Hardest used? The 30" barreled BSS, no doubt. It gets knocked around in the duckayak, in and out of duck blinds, and in duck boats of all descriptions. Pretty rough life for a double.

Most shot while hunting? That's been a toss up for the last couple years between the 12 ga. 32" barreled BE grade 1918 Fox, and the 30" barreled .410 Dickinson, which gets service regularly in the dove and quail fields.

My faithful for 15 yrs. 30" barreled 687 SPII Sporting 20 gauge has been neglected this year. But ............if we pull the trip together to Cordoba for early next August, we'll make up for it.

I'm sorry, but I can't pick one specific double, as I tailor the gun to the type hunting, and they vary so much.

SRH

Parker repro 12 gauge. One of a run made for Winchester.

I Hollis & Sons, 12 gauge, 3", twin trigger, 30"barrels choked M/F.
That full choke barrel creams running foxes & cats like a hammer.
It fits me & shoots where it points & that is why it gets used so much more than some others.
O.M

I don't tend to keep mine for more than a couple years for one reason or another, probably because I enjoy finding them and fixing them up as much as I do using them. That said, my current main squeeze, a Husky mod. 100 16ga hammer gun, is a 29", 6lb ic/xf choked gem that I shoot well and really enjoy carrying. I'm having Mike Orlen open the chambers to 2 3/4" now so I can use more off the shelf ammo in it. I've added an blended extension to a checkered butt, raised the comb, custom checkering, re-laid the bottom rib, reblued the barrels, etc. It's dialed in. It drops chukars at 50 yds, and quail at 20. I like it so much I got a m/f Husky 103C 12ga to go with it, and just this week picked up a Husky mod 51 16ga to use in the salt marshes.

Most of my hunting these days is after wild bobwhite quail. Though I have a number of much nicer guns it seems my "go to" has become a lowly Lefever DS 16 with 26". The gun shows generations of wear and tear and I don't hesitate to use it to push brush away. Another scratch on top of older scratches just adds my history to those who came before. I just don't understand the impulse some have to completely refinish guns wiping away irreplaceable pages from its personal diary.

Mine's a vertical double, 12 ga. 686 with a few custom touches. Solid rib, back-bored, stock fore and aft reshaped, ebony cap, sling swivels installed 5 years after this photo. I switched back to a SS trigger, but kept the big trigger guard. It's my all-around pheasant gun and it see's 3-4 states a year. I also shoot some sporting clays with it.

12 gauge Browning A5. 26 inch VR barrel. It just keeps on working.

Stan,

I tried to replace my Citori with a BSS 12ga with 26" barrels. Didn't work. The BSS is a real clunky gun. Not balanced correctly and the stock is like a 2x4. I probably shoot it as well as most of my guns but have to adjust too much. Very temped to get out a rasp and work the stock down then put weights in the butt and forearm to rebalance it. Sits in the back of the safe for a rainy day when I have nothing else to do. I had a BSS 30" tubes and it is one of the few shotguns I have ever sold.