Re: Field Grade 12 Ga Side by Side - What to do with it? Archived Message
Posted by Kraft on July 26, 2007, 6:22 pm, in reply to "Re: Field Grade 12 Ga Side by Side - What to do with it?"
Hello Destry; Again, you are right on buddy --- Not enough money indeed. Thought about that long and hard, and finally decided to put in a couple cents. Am now in "possesion" of a pair of Winchester 97s -- both had belonged to my grandad - both 16 guages - the first "rode hard and put up wet" many times for a couple of generations. I had no choice but to restore it when it was "handed off to me" -- only way to keep the pitting from getting worse. Same weekend, took it to the trapshoot, "black stock and brown metal", and magically shot a 23 from low gun. Just as good as I usually shoot my Remingtion 3200 "trap gun". In it's lifetime, that old gun shot enough ducks and geese to fill this room I am sitting in. No B.S. Thought about having Ken inlay his name in gold on it for a while, but as I remember him, he would have had a fit about that -- "only paid 20 bucks for it" -- "gun aint worth it." (Oh yes it is -- now.) The "other" gun is a pristine "in the original box and brown paper wrappings" clone of the first one. My grandmother ordered it for him for one of his birthdays long ago. Ordered it from Herrcke's Hardware right here in town, I think. It is a Black Diamond grade. Metal looks like black chrome, and a bueatiful russet colored stock and trap fore end. We used to have sort of a ritual about all the kin going out hunting on Thaksgiving morning (back when there was still plenty to hunt along the fence rows and railroad south of town). That is the only times I can ever remember him using it -- and then not much - (always let the rest of us take the shots, and when we all missed, he would "pillowcase" the pheasants at 40 plus yards with it.) Doubt if it has had a couple boxes of shells through it. "Too nice to take it down in the raspberries and horse weeds -- should have brought the old one." It has one blemish. One time, he got it out to show it to the "Chicago Duck Hunters." I was about 9 or 10 at the time. I asked if I could put it together, and he nodded. Well, the forearm wasn't all the way forward up on the retainer spring, and I gave it a twist, and put a nick in the edge of the reciever. He gave me that look over the top of his glasses (the look that makes a guy feel like change from a penny) --- You know -- and then he said, " Well, nobody who ever put a Winchester together aint done that at least a coulple times." That was it -- never another word said about it. Have agonized over that nick since and thought about trying to fix it, but know I could never match that finish. Will leave it as is. Would take the gun out and shoot it if I knew I could make it "walk the walk" the way he could. But that is not to be. Those boys had a lot more practice in their day - and they were all deadly shots. And they all shot 16 guage 97s -- all the old geezers up and down Hopkins Avenue - "Pa", Bob Boehn, Old man Harker, Willard Hamm (river rat extordinair), Doc Hartman and the rest of them. Maybe they knew something that I am finally starting to figure out. Suppose this has no buissness on this board, but you all get the picture - they are not Elsies, but they are "priceless" as Destry said so well. And no, I have not been drinking - yet. Will send pictures of both if Dr. Hause would be kind enough to put them up for me. Some things money can't buy. As always, hoping this finds everyone well: Respectfully, Bill Kraft
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