...and then sometimes not!
Would some of the grumpy ol'men say the field grade is the essence of hunting, as opposed to the trappings of the English sidelock ejector gun.
A tool in the blinds, or pride of ownership in tweed?
Great! Thanks so much for setting me back on course. Now I don't have to buy that Ithaca 5E that I drooled over this morning.
The essence of hunting is finding something edible and convincing it that it won't mind being et.
jack
How about a tool/work of art that you can be proud to own? I'd be proud to own and use a nice Beesley, wouldn't you? Is it really either/or?
I bet he would...especially one with nice long barrels.
Don't kid yourself Lowell no one prefers a field grade anything.
Oh tut-tut you say h0miej0e - they're the best way to rub shoulders with the work-a-day world past.
...altho' a nice gun, is nice.
Think of it this way j0ie, a monger "working at the bench" hacksawing-off barrels and putting his mark on the gun forever with his no-name tubes - whoever he was, your now rubbing shoulders with him.
Not an either-or world just yet, Thorny. Why not both?
Hey, anything that was best in the eyes of those worshipful guys isn't found at my house-it gets in the way of deposits to all those things that have the letters IRA after 'em that they say I'm 'gonna need when I get to be Larry Brown's age. Well, that, and I'd feel weird bending the stock to the left on a real big dollar, historical gun. But, I've got a pretty nice 20 that would take all the money earned in one financial quarter of the year at my pay grade to replace-it lives next to the pumps and other low end guns in the safe.
I use them all. You should use all of your's, too.
All the guys who want to see that word "sleeved" on a repaired gun should take it one step further, and demand watchmakers tritium be inlayed in the stamping as well, so no-one can miss it, night or day. We could call it the safety inlay. What do you think?
Best,
Ted
I will and do Ted.
My field grades have taken their place front and center.
None of my everyday people before me have had best made guns - a rural like past, is what I'm after.
Happy Harvest Home is around the bend.
Mr. Glenthorne:
I agree. A field grade was a tool in rural or semi-rural areas. It wasn't any different than an axe, a hammer, a hoe or a saw. Sandwiched in time between the bicycle craze and the typewriter craze(or whatever the next craze was), the doublegun was an item that a business man, thru a tool & die shop he purchased or assembled, could sell to the masses hoping to sell many higher grade guns with more file marks in order to make a profit. Field grades just paid the bills. Our culture has changed and there was a migration of folk to urban areas where they accepted the doctrine of the area. Now the urban areas are migrating toward the rural areas preaching their ideas. When is the last time one has seen an arm carried as a tool other than law enforcement? I consider myself fortunate to see one of these tools on a weekly basis; although, it usually isn't a doublegun. Considering shotguns(all types), the USA does not support a gunmaker as far as purchasing it as a tool and the hunters and shooters have to take up the slack.
I not putting the field grade on a pedestal or comparing it to higher grade gun. It's merit should be determined by comparing it to its peers.
Kind Regards,
Raimey
rse
I like field grade guns. Hell, there's nothing I'd rather do than find a whole passel of like new Smiths, Foxes, Parkers, Ithacas, --- hell boys, get real. We all wish they were back in the hardware store and sporting goods stores' racks. They are a part of who we are (or were, maybe). Chops
I used to have a couple of field grade NID roller stampers. They're gone. Got a Flues 4e with lgtwgt swamped-rib barrels and them little Froggie ramps either end [sidebar: Walt S. says Ithaca collectors are getting smarter; I'm counting on it] and a Flues SBT. Nothing that will set the world on fire but walnut stump wood and chisel work that was done with a graver rather than an awl does get in your blood. If the bore mic doesn't drag over too many pits midbarrel, it's a bonus. I feed the need the best I can and hope it won't mean stuffing cardboard in my shoes.
jack
Happy Harvest Home is around the bend.
Lowell I hope you get to harvest more than a key bOard this year.
Most people want to progress in life...seems Lowells wants to regress with his field grades.
I like field grade guns. Hell, there's nothing I'd rather do than find a whole passel of like new Smiths, Foxes, Parkers, Ithacas, --- hell boys, get real. We all wish they were back in the hardware store and sporting goods stores' racks. They are a part of who we are (or were, maybe). Chops
As a child I was happy to get a field grade gun and proud of it...but given the choice even a young boy would choose the higher grade.
I use in the field the nicest gun I can get my hands on!
JC(AL)
FINALLY! My H&R singleshot is compared to a Best gun! Whooda guessed. Good thing I kept it around.
They're hard to beat for killing key boards...just ask Lowell.
All the while you've been on the keyboard h0mie, knocking the keyboard - I've been on the tractor cutting my road for the Glorious 1st.
Didn't shoot, but the Kimber was there for vermin and poacher alike.
h0meless0ne, are you club bound?
"Most people want to progress in life," now there's a hoot h0mie.
By the time the Golden Era of shotgunning had arrived, your guns were already too old.
I have a 20ga L.C. Smith field grade. I think it's an elegant gun---plain. Fine lines, good performance. I wouldn't want it dressed up as a chippy with hinges on its heels, at any price. I thought all men felt the same way about women.
By the time the Golden Era of shotgunning had arrived, your guns were already too old.
And just when would you say "the Golden Era of shotgunning" was ?
Edwardian Era 1901-1910....as in the Vintagers.
Will you have your knickers on come the 1st ?
...but no breeks, nor wasitcoat laddie!
AH Fox AE 12g, with something old from LL Bean no doubt.
Too bad there are no quail....you could use the Beesley.
Very few have been around the place of late.
Five or six years ago, there were a huntable number for only an outting or two.
I didn't want to add to their woe with a season's worth of pressure.
'bout this time, I became interested in ducks - shot a couple with the Beesley thru the years.
I would just as soon shoot a bird with my Sterlingworth as my X grade! Bobby
What's the matter Bobby don't you like finely engraved Anglaise a Bouquets?
They also produce very good wine, cheeses, and chocolates.
Some think the fine gun as mere trappings, and the spirit of the hunt can only be found in the field grade.
Could be - could be!
BUT!
The over-view would be to have and use both, as nothing would make you more appreciative to either's lot in life.
Don't forget shells you use. I just picked up 2 cases of Fiocchi 2&3/4 dram eq. 1&1/8oz Paper shells to shoot through my Sterlingworth. They have that 'sodbuster' of yesteryear look about them, very retro.
Don't forget shells you use. I just picked up 2 cases of Fiocchi 2&3/4 dram eq. 1&1/8oz Paper shells to shoot through my Sterlingworth. They have that 'sodbuster' of yesteryear look about them, very retro.
Jagermeister- I did the same thing! However after shooting 2 rounds of skeet with those loads, I will not use them in my SW. This Fiocchi load for some reason seemed a bit hard kicking to me and I think I will go back to 1 oz loads. I just love the way paper shells smell when fired (it takes me back to my youth), so I'll use them up in my M12 instead.
Doug
Some things can't be improved upon.........black coffee and red paper shells, for instance.
Mike-
Like your Fox's stock can't be improved on. I love the wood on your shotgun...very nice...perfect in fact and it looks almost too good to be real!
Doug
Nice looking Field grade with High grade wood. Would you call it a Mid-Grade ?....You might as well get some scratching done on it.
That doesn't look like my Sterlingworth!
Looks like theres been a Walnut in the woodpile.
Still just a field grade....goes afield often, rain or shine!
The way prices are climbing on small gauge SW's, the wood looks a little more appropriate every year