doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Do You Ever Wonder?

I often look up at the well-worn Damascus barrelled Parker GH dating from 1903 on my wall and wonder what stories it could tell of my Grand Father and my Dad. Neither was much for telling stories of great derring-do (or much, much less) in the field, but I'm sure the gun knows. And it ain't talking. Still, I speculate..... -- Ed

Don't listen to any of my guns. They lie.


Glenn

I have a 1902 Parker VH 20 ga that I bought and had the wood redone by a special friend in his 90's. Between the stories the gun could tell and the stories Henry told me I have wonderful memories every time it goes with me.

Read the previous topic about an A.Hollis double rifle, there is a link in there to a rifle up for sale that was used by a Brit in Africa. That one British double rifle has seen more and done more then probably all the doubles ever built by any other country combined!!!
And that's just one of the many British doubles used throughout the world!!!
All the best

An old fella gave my father a broken down Remington Autoloading Shotgun (pre Model 11) a couple years ago. It had been his fathers gun and was bought new as far as he knew. He'd hunted with it a bit as a young man then it laid under the bed for years and years. Was in terrible shape, forend busted, other problems. Dad passed it along to me, I handed it off to a friend who's a wizard at getting these old humpacks in shooting shape. I shot ducks with it opening day, I think the old gun breathed a sign of relief at seeing the sky again. Turns out it was a first year of production gun, four digit serial number once it got cleaned off. So I know a little history on it, but wish I knew more.

The one I really wonder about is an old punt gun I've got in my collection. Came off the Mississippi River at Chester, IL. Was bought by a picker at an auction in the late 1980's amongst some other junk. Sold the next day to a dealer who didn't think much of it apparently and sold it to a friend of mine a day after that. Was red with rust, full of mud daubers nests, wood dried out badly. Still had a load of shot and wadding in the barrel, hot drop #6, which he saved a few of. He cleaned it up, managed to bring it back into amazingly decent shape. He kept the gun for a few years then sold it to me. I've looked at it leaning there in the corner and wondered what tales it could tell time and time again. It's been used hard for a long time by the looks of it. Started life as a flintlock and was converted to percussion with an 1863 Springfield lock. So, I assume, it was made originally in at least the 1850's as I can't imagine anybody making a punt gun as a flintlock when caplock was available. Who made it? Who used it? How many long winter nights has it spent on the big river killing ducks for the St. Louis market? How many untold thousands of fowl has it killed?



Destry

Gentlemen, this is one of the reasons we all enjoy this site so much, like minded people united in nostalgia, long may it continue.

I don't know how much one 'unknown" gun could tell you about his previuos owner and his hunts, but this is one scanned page from notebook I have bought in book store long time ago. Hunter seemed used to live in St.Petersburg/Russia and he got pointing dog, 'cause the list of games - feathered games and hare. And I hope he got nice double, probably Belgian one

An old RAC 1894 AE, prolly from a St.Louis Hardware Store - I'm from St.Louis! It came home with some ol'coot, along with a hoe 'n pitchfork and some coal oil. It don't get better than that.

Fortunately, the old records are available on some of our guns--both American and British. I was able to find out quite a bit on my Army & Navy pair, because the University of Glasgow has their record books.

And what I learned revealed several interesting coincidences. The guns were made in 1933, the year my parents were married. They were ordered by a retired British brigadier. (I retired as a colonel, and when I acquired the guns, I was within a year of the same age as the brigadier when he ordered them.) He remarried to a much younger wife, as did I--but he had 3 children from that marriage, to which my wife objected when I pointed out the similarities in our backgrounds. The guns are very close to original, never reproofed, and in their original motor case with the owner's initials. Thanks to google and an Anglophile friend, I was able to find out many more details about the previous owner and his career. I'd like to know how many driven shoots they saw, and when and why they left his family. But I feel very fortunate to know as much about them and their previous owner as I do.

I have an 1878 Colt that I often wonder about, however I guess not enough to pay to find out. I did once pay to learn about a Parker I had only to learn it had been sold to a Canadian hardware store (presumeably as inventory).
Steve