doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com A "keeper" gun

Attended a Rocky Mountain Vintager event on Saturday night here at the Fort Restaurant in Morrison, Colorado & it was a darn good time (even with the icy roads to get there). The setting was lovely, the food and service were exceptional (buffalo and quail), and lots of fine guns were in attendance as well (everybody seemed to bring out their best examples). One of the speaker topics was the "keeper" gun and as part of that topic, the moment of inertia (MOI) machine (Rocketmans?) was discussed as part of an explanation about how a good bird gun should "feel". There were plenty of wives (& significant others) in attendance for the evening (which effectively "doubled" as a Valentine's Day event) and hopefully some of these discussions (before, during & after) explained for them a little of the "madness" these guns produce (for at least some of us). The concepts of "feel, fit & finish" were deeply examined and included the subject of the hard lessons sadly-learned by trading away a "keeper" in the search for that next "perfect" gun.

I've been fortunate in that I've managed to hang onto most of my "keepers" (as a dedicated grouse hunter, each gun was well wrung-out first, before the temptation of the next-better gun was explored) but there were also a few tales-of-woe to be told. Any tales of woe here?

My keeper guns are usually a gift.

As I age, the 12 gauge guns make way for sub-gauge guns

I've had the same keeper for over 15 years, it is not going anywhere. First year self-opener 12 bore Royal, stocked as though it were built for me. This gun stays with me until I can no longer follow a bird dog.

“Keeper status” isn’t the same as “shooter status”, and “shooter status” isn’t the same as the “shoot well” category.

If “shoot well” status is paramount, that will evolve as your eye site and physical skills decline.

Joe Nickerson moved to a pair of 28 ga Woodward’s to keep his numbers up.

Keeping shotguns because you like them is just fine

I have some 12 bore guns that are 6.5pounds so I load 7/8 oz loads much higher quality then I could afford in a subgauge.if I could I would have a 20bore wilkes and that would be a keeper.

There's also the issue of British English vs American usage on this side of the pond. It seems to me that I've heard the term "keeper's gun" (I think possessive) in the UK. The description seemed to be applied to a fairly basic boxlock nonejector, I think always a 12 bore, with such a gun often being what a gamekeeper would own.

Glad you got your Valentines Day obligation out of the way. Good thinking by your Vintager chapter to make their event coincide with Valentines

Much smaller numbers than many of you. I have only bought about 30 vintage SxS since I first caught the bug and have sold about 10. Most of what I sold I consider to be learning experiences. I needed to go through the experience of buying them and owning them to clarify more clearly what I was after.

I work within a pretty strict budget so sometimes pass on things i think I want because I just spent some money on something else. C'est la vie. Usually I can't sell something fast enough to flip the money into something else if i am already looking at that something else.

So of the 10 or 11 guns i have sold, there is only one I look back on with real "sellers remorse". Not a big name known for high quality but a very pretty gun with great measurements and i loved the way it handled. Plus it was one of the first i ever bought. It was a keeper......I just didn't recognize it in time.

I swear, Larry, sometimes you are the master of making a pointless point outside the op's subject. But like the father said to the mom of the errant son, Mama, it's in 'im and it's got to come out." Smh...
JR