The “One that got away”?
Sure. R15 Darne 20 gauge, 29” tubes, swamped rib, straight English stock, choked modified and full, but, I figured out early on that the cheap (at the time, Joe Biden hadn’t been anything except a corrupt senator from Delaware) Federal target loads opened up the patterns while the Winchester AAs tightened things up. The gun might have weighed 5 3/4lbs, but, those long tubes sure made it easy to shoot. The Federals were a regular 7/8th ounce load, mowed grouse and woodcock down just fine. An ounce of AA Heavy Target Load 7 1/2s, out of a 20 gauge modified choke, is a great way to start pheasant season. Later in the year an ounce of 5s or 6s, or, one in each tube, did the trick.
Killed birds with it in four states for years before a gun snob told me it had bland wood (it did, but, it wasn’t cracked) and the engraving looked cartoonish (built in 1979 as the company was in a death spiral, that was true also) but, I had a real hard time missing birds with it, something I should have thought a little harder about, and I sold it to a guy who immediately reemed out the chokes, those wonderful, long, long, Darne chokes that were done on the two story Manufrance longitudinal barrel boring machine, they were about a foot and a half long and tightened maybe .002-.003 for every inch of length.
Some people’s kids. Even if I could find it, I can’t really have it back, the way it was.
Worst part is I can open up a copy of The Double Gun Journal any day of the week and look at pictures of it. So, it never really left but, I can’t shoot it anymore.
Had some guns since that mistake, but, never have felt as confident and competent with any of them. I stumbled onto a turn of the century Halifax 12, a 2 1/2” chamber gun, choked IC and IMOD, that I have some good days with, but it ain’t the same.
I have too many guns right now, deaths in my orbit have left me a generous supply of other peoples stuff, and while a guy might think he can make something in a big pile of other peoples guns work, you know, it just isn’t always the case.
I do keep on keeping on, anyway.
Best,
Ted
What issue of the DGJ was it in, Ted? We'd like to see it. 😊
