Colonel, your last sentence describes my situation exactly except I have no wish to add another gun---any gun:
"Sense long ago told me I needed one good shotgun, likely a 12 ga O/U with ckoke tubes and it could do everything. It is true today, except desire puts far more than that in the safe."
I bought a 12ga Beretta 686 Silver Pigeon o/u with choke tubes. It will do everything on ducks and geese from the blind. For less serious afield, I fall back on old American and European classics with handloads.
Field grade is doomed, as you say, from what I see around here. A new generation wouldn't use a double if given to them. There isn't one on the racks of two nearby gun stores. Mostly semis and a few pumps.
I like your notion of rentals although I've never sold one. I was careful in selecting doubles and have never had a hankering for higher grades of cosmetics. A good gun is a good gun.
Sounds exactly like what a socialist would say about gun ownership. One is enough, and a proletariat version at that. All for the common good.
JR
