Hey everybody, In reading all that I can about Elsies, I've become curious about something. Frequently, mention is made that the factory would have standard barrels, standard ways of engraving, standard choke patterns,etc., but that the "customer" could have a different barrel, or non-standard engraving, or a different choke pattern. The question is: who was the "customer"? Was he an individual or a distributor? I have a 20 ga. specialty choked cyl/cyl that was "purchased" by H&D Folsom (a distributor) in 1919. My grandfather purchased the gun originally from them, I suppose while travelling, because I don't believe they were anywhere near Atlanta. He wanted cyl/cyl for south Ga. quail hunting, but did he just walk in and find a gun bored cyl/cyl? Or would he have ordered it through them even though they weren't anywhere near his hometown? Could the various distributors have ordered guns bored or finished in a non-"standard" way just to have a variety available? I guess the question really is, how did the "gun buying/selling system" work 75-100 years ago? Sorry for the long post but, I'm really just kinda curious. Chick