Ed: I liked it better the way it was. The cornpone crap gets a little old.
Mr. Williamson: Thank you for your insight on the discharge issue. I remember hearing about the possibility of it occurring from the denizens of the world I grew up in, and then I personally experienced it. Of course you shouldn't ever drop a gun (or cause your firearm to be struck briskly in any way) but with people involved, accidents do seem to happen (and even to better guns). The circa 1914 Field Grade Smith that did it to me had lived a very-hard life by the time it had finally come into my possession (in the early 1970s), it had even been poorly re-stocked in the early 1960s so...who knows? I was 15 years old at the time and had been walking all day long, hunting ruffed grouse on a Fall Saturday in nowhere NW Pennsylvania. I stumbled from exhaustion on the long walk home and dropped the gun out of the crook of my left arm. It discharged the right tube when it landed, upside down and pointing back at me. Thankfully, I had jumped straight up when I'd realized what had happened and the charge went beneath my feet, which were still airborne. Fortunately, I was all alone and still a long way from town so nobody was put at risk or was there to witness both my clumsiness and my very poor handling of the firearm. An indelible memory for me, I must say.
Last edited by Lloyd3; 08/09/23 11:05 AM.
