I had just one gun from my mid teens to my mid thirties, well guns in the UK where expensive before the days of the cheap Spanish imported shoot it today broken tomorrow low cost guns. My first guns where borrowed from friends and family members living in a country area everybody seemed too have a gun. My first gun purchase was a Cogswell & Harrison 12 Bore Side lock best beautiful to look at and shoot. That is the sales pitch over now reality, I purchased the gun from a farmer after he had fallen on the gun putting a crack through the hand of the stock, even if I say it my self the repair I did was completely invisible. . Another not so goof thing was the barrels had been polished and lapped more times than the local dog track .740 was a well past hope on a warm day the barrels were out of proof and in proof on a cold one. Being my only gun it did everything from clay to walk up even took a turn on the salt marches wild fowling. I eventually parted with the gun after some bargaining with a gunsmith in one of the local towns he had started out in the gun trade working for Cogswell & Harrison and wanted a good one at a low price, well I could not afford to have the gun re barrelled or sleeved so he gave me an offer for the gun and I did not mention the stock repair. I have just one photograph of myself with the Coggie as a reminder of sell something and in the future you will wish you had not. Looking at the photograph now "was I ever that young" with a hair cut like that.

[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]

I did see the gun again after it was re barrelled in Birmingham, it looked good and with a person who would look after it though I do occasionally wonder where it is now..

The only lessons in my life I truly did learn from where the ones I paid for!