doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Shotgun cases!

I was going through my double gun transaction files the other evening and I found a file on a A.H. Fox Sterlingworth 12 ga. that I purchased from a gentleman from Oregon several years ago. Possibly a decade. I don�t recall if he listed the gun on this forum or elsewhere, but I was impressed but too unappreciative at the time, that he was also a gifted fine gun case maker as a �hobbiest� as he referred to himself in a hand written greeting card. He is/was an M.D. by the name Watzke. Perhaps he�s a member of the forum that goes by a handle but I doubt it from his included old-school correspondence. In that card, he explained that he had been making cases for just six years or so but had made 75 cases! Enclosed were photos of beautiful oak & leather trunk cases and he obviously had skill. I have the photos.

Wondering if any of you had crossed paths with him and have one of his cases? His note indicated that he advertised his work on �the double gun list� which I assumed at the time was the host site that this bbs is run from but don�t find him there today. Any how, I still have the Sterlingworth and a Callahan letter that he included which of course had the stock dimensions (drops) all wrong..

Dr. Watzke, if you are reading this, I hope you are well and still enjoying your doubles and building those fine trunk cases.
Best, jmc

I think he just posted here a couple of weeks ago.

http://doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=530500#Post530500

Dr. Watzke was kind enough to gift me a batch of Double Gun journals just this past weekend.

Thanks gentlemen, great to hear that he�s still at it and corresponding with forum members fro time-to-time.

I have numerous hard and soft cases.

The soft cases are my go-to. There are a couple of nice, stout leather cases with full length zippers that get most of the use, but I also have a little army of nicely padded green canvas jobs by Bob Allen. I got them as seconds for five and ten dollars a pop when the Grand American was in Vandalia. Any of you remember that? For a single-day trip, it's always a soft case, as I dislike assembling and dis-assembling a gun out of the back of a car.

Of the hards I like the Negrini best. They pack well, don't have pokey corners, and are dignified enough to be carried through a motel lobby without undue attention. Mostly I use the hard cases for multi-day trips and for storage.

I have a single LOM case and while it reeks of nostalgia and just looks cool, it mandates the dreaded field assembly and break-down.

The dreaded field assembly and breakdown you say...all 15 to 30 seconds of it? Ha.

LOM cases are only a hinderance to folks who like to drive around and jump out of the truck and shoot birds, in states where transporting a gun uncased is illegal. :-)

I use all sorts of cases. Just depends on what my mood is that day.

I have a number of LOM cases, including the factory case for my Winchester Model 21. They are handy for transport of guns to and from the shooting/hunting grounds. They do not cost much if found second hand.

I have hard cases for luggage use.

I have other hard cases for a couple of my better guns as well. Here is the case for my Fox 16...

Opps! Looks like my photo hosting service no longer recognizes my login. No pics today!

Amen.

I don't understand the reticence to disassemble and reassemble a doublegun in the field. Does it take you longer on a tailgate than it does in your workshop or house? The gun needs to be broken down to be cleaned, or at least thoroughly wiped down at the end of the day's shooting, be it game or clays. Why not do it right there while talking to some friends, then when you get home you just stow the hard case and get on with relaxing, or cleaning the birds?

Maybe if you're anal about the cleaning procedure, and spend 30 minutes on every gun every time, you need a different procedure. I'm not. I can clean a gun after a round of sporting clays, or a normal hunt, in 5 minutes. It's not brain surgery. Quick cleanings serve me well, until the season is over, at which time I carefully clean every nook and cranny, and use oil and RIG to keep them safe until next season. Taking time then helps me work through the depression of duck and dove season being over, again.

SRH

It probably is location/quarry specific. At the club, once. Duck hunting once. On the prairie, I make 4 hr loops, so probably once or twice a day.

A long day in the grouse woods sends you through the assembly disassembly pack/unpack process at least 8-10 times. Every time you move a vehicle to a different spot.

It's a pia.

On the grouse moor, somebody else is placing your shotgun fully assembled into a fleece lined slip. Maybe 5-7 times.

Assembling/disassembling a shotgun that many times a day is a waste of time. Unless you like to do it, then it's OK I guess.

It's not for me, and when I'm burning October daylight, I don't want to do it until I get home.

Obviously people should do what they like.

I own LOM, fitted hard cases, and full length soft cases. I find myself using the soft cases. If I�m alone, it speeds thing up a bit, allowing me to move on quicker, and get the dog, or, lately, the kid, pointed the right direction. There is probably a sandwich and a cup of coffee calling my name as well. Distractions on the way to that are best kept to a minimum.
Nobody I hunt with uses a double, or, a case that costs more than $25. Invariably, one of their clown dogs is in the road, or, humping something, or, starting a fight with some other dog, or some other nonsense.
Faster isn�t best, but, sometimes, it helps.
I address gun cleaning at the bench.
I passed on a beautiful 28� LOM in burgundy leather, at the last show, for $85 as I couldn�t see myself using it anymore than the Heiser 30� LOM I already own.

Best,
Ted