Re: Reference to an Elsie post from the dark side! Archived Message
Posted by John Kuhn Bleimaier on January 4, 2008, 10:11 am, in reply to "Reference to an Elsie post from the dark side!"
I took the liberty of copying the post from the Parker site and am reproducing it below. The author is Christopher Lien. I don't know him but he appears to be a pretty fine writer. Here's what he said:
"The holidays were good this year and everyone had a nice Christmas... A phone call came in a few days before Santa was to arrive and the voice on the other end explained that Uncles old (inherited) 12ga Trap gun had sat in the closet long enough and needed to find a new home where it would be appreciated... The local gun shops had laughed at them saying they were not interested in such a rough looking old shooter, and Cabela's had offered them a $200 trade-in store credit... Being and old softy for well worn doubles with character and interesting provenance, I decided to adopt this misfit nobody wanted... Not able to afford those (spendy$) shotguns like messrs Murphy, Suponski, Davis, and other high rollers in the double gun fraternity, I remembered Rich Anderson's unique theory of selling blood, and others who spoke of shoveling winter snow from elderly ladies sidewalks to earn extra funds for those special dbl-gun acquisitions... So, after moving lots of snow and liquidating some assets, old silver dimes, early baseball cards, a gold filing, and a few pints of AB-, I finally had enough to buy O'l Joe's pride and joy...
"The story goes that Joe was the recipient of many Gun Club awards over the years, and his favorite thing in the world was entering Money shoots with his battle scarred Smith double OO grade... Joe's serious shooting attire usually consisted of everyday overalls and his best Sunday tie... Folks at the Gun Club remembered Joe as a rather quiet and soft spoken fella who was always polite, even when the affluent O/U crowd with their high end P & K guns snickered and made jokes about his "antique" double barrel... Joe was once heard to say it was the snide remarks that made taking their money that much sweeter... O'l Joe has long-since gone on to his greater reward and greener pastures, where good Hunting Dogs never grow old and flocks of Wild Birds are always on the horizon...
"I finally had some time to shoot a round of trap with Joe's early Smith the other day, and later examined patterns on the board... The tight f/xf chokes were dead on at yardage, and actually a little high in the upper fringes, which is just right for me... Over the years Joe had made some "subtle" modifications on his Smith to keep up with the innovations of modern day competition shooters, the comb was raised with a do-it-yourself Monte Carlo adjustment, and someone (perhaps Joe?) had also done a world class tune on the triggers with pulls that are exquisitely fine and crisp, snap! snap!
"She may not be the purdiest girl at the party, but she moves very well and I could dance with her all night long... She's a bit hefty, but it all balances in the hands just the way I like it, and when she fires, the low moaning report sounds like the ground just swallowed up a land mine... When the Parker's need a rest, this is my New stormy weather fowler, occasional trap teaser, and late season long-range Pheasant pulverizer... Her name is "Double-O-Moana", she's thick in the breech, choked extra tight, her bores are clean, and she's buxomous in all the right places, what more could you want from a Lady?... Sometimes the Older Gals need a little love'n and attention too, and this O'l Smith Double will live to shoot another day... I am Smitten with a Kids grin!
"Take Care, & Happy New Year to All... Poor-Boy dbl-gun admirer, Chris"
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