Or “THIS is a gun!”, as Datus Proper’s Lisbon gunsmith said to him when he first saw his Woodward. William Richards of Liverpool 12 bore Best boxlock ejector, 28″, 6 lbs 14 oz (feels like about 6– barrels only 2 lbs 14), recent proof, Boss patent (I think) easy opener, all bells & whistles… We …
Tag: Double Guns
Pretty Guns- Post #2
I’ll leave this slightly obsessive subject in a minute but somebody asked me in an email “what ARE the best?” and what my– I dunno, esthetic is; my Platonic ideal. I could never afford one and I doubt if my fans can make up a rich enough cartel to comp me one as a present, …
Prettiest Purdey?
The “island lock” model below, first made in the 1870’s and probably available until at least the Great War, was to my mind the prettiest of all Purdeys, matched in “Best” quality guns only by perhaps a bar- in- wood action by Dixon or McNaughton from the same time– make mine of Damascus, please, with …
Gun Post
Sometimes it is good, if not a necessity, to have a gun that fits you perfectly, one made specifically for you. As you age you might find you do not shoot like you did in your youth, especially if your reflexes are not what they used to be. Instinctive shooting, ie wingshooting, requires an exact …
Heidi Brown, 1999- 2012
George Calef’s great old Labrador Heidi Brown, who was based in Whitehorse in the Yukon but hunted all over North America, has died at thirteen. She probably hunted more species than any other living dog; here are some thoughts from George. “Heidi Brown passed away early this morning in the cabin she loved, and knew …
Becasse, Becassine
We had our first cold snap last night and it somehow has me thinking of the family of snipe, mysterious and delicious migrants. Got them on the wall, pictures of hunts past, and memories, but sure would like to hunt either. Snipe are in the state at least; Tom Daly shot these in Colorado before …
Maybe…
Looking at one of these…
Johnny UK’s Gun
I don’t want to overwhelm everybody with gun posts, but this is a good one. Prompted by my dream gun post below, John Hill, “Johnny UK” of our comment section, has sent photos of his “one good gun”, a product of a lifetime of experimenting and trading. It is a Damon Petrick from Herve Bruchet …
Darne!
By cosmic coincidence not one but two of my old French Darne shotguns visited this weekend. Scott Elliot has the shot and ball gun designed for me. In this one you can see the quarter rib and sights… and the unique sliding breech:Then falconer and dog in- law Bodie Littlejohn came by after a duck …
Sporting Miscellany
As the Peculiars are here with grandbaby Eli I shall continue my slackerish blog- sloth for a bit more, but I have harvested a number of cool images to share. So with no further ado: Colonel Charles Askins was a more ambiguous character than the other Golden Age gunwriters; he once described himself as a …