doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com What's in your butt?

I bought a new Flues 28" 20 today. Very high condition, little used gun with the exception of a crusty Hawkins pad for $759. I think that's a decent price? It's a later gun made in 1922. The gun felt heavier than my 1909 flues so I put them both on the scale. There was a 1/2 lb. difference. I took the pad off and the stock was hollow as expected. I decided to take the plate off of my earlier gun and see if it had more wood taken out. What I found was interesting.

Pieces of a crumpled up newspaper from November 30, 1944. It's incomplete but had interesting stories. First night bombings of Japan. Axis prisoner totals including mention that only the Germans ever tried to escape. The Japanese were fond of "Hari Kiri". The Italians apparently stayed put. We had 281,344 Germans, 51,032 Italians and 2,242 Japs. The 9th army had just captured Lindern. An 88 year old Mexican woman was reported to have given birth to her 16th child on Nov. 20th. The masthead is incomplete but says "...ph News-Press". A google search suggests the St. Joseph (MO) News-Press and that city is named in one of the notices.

After removing the newspaper there was still an object in the butt. It was stuck pretty good but I worked it free. I was a cloth bag with something heavy in it. Gold? Diamonds? Hidden treasures? Not this time. Just 1/2 lb of lead shot tied up in a shirtsleeve to get the now 5lb 5 oz gun a little more weight. My new one weighs a full lb. more with the weight removed.

Anyone ever found something interesting?

I have heard of some finding a one hundred dollor bill behind their butt plates before. All I ever found was dist and air.

Regards, Gordon

I may have to put something in each of my guns for posterity. Someone else will probably own them all some day.

Maybe I should put the paper back? It was slightly oily and very well preserved for 65 year old newsprint.

Never found anything that I remember in a gun butt, but I found a pack of matches in the handle of a used bicycle I bought as a kid. I saw a plain Flues 20ga at an aution in great shape, but the wood finish was crinkled all over. It was very light and had me guessing as to its weight. 5.5lbs may have been it? It went for $500.00, but then there was a boxed WC Scott sidelock gun with two sets of barrels that went for $950!

A cork and two short pieces of bamboo?

Under the pad on my 1931 Superposed. Previous two owners are friend and acquaintances. Neither new they were there. I put them back so the next guy can wonder about them.

Are the grips on the two Flues the same? My 1911 Flues weighs 5 lbs 7 0z. Choked C/F, 28" tubes, HRBP. Nothing but dust in mine. These are nice guns IMHO.

Mike

1934 Kansas hunting license in an A5

A couple of years ago I went to pick up a gun at a local gunsmiths, I was having a pad put on another shotgun. This guy always had a rack of used guns that he would sell, mostly Mossbergs, old worn out Winchesters, Stevens, Remingtons, etc., nothing ever extremely interesting. He had a couple of A-5's on his rack and I noticed one that had a really skinny barrel, I figured it was a 20 gauge. I asked to see it and he told me that it was not a A-5, but a Remington model 11 16 gauge and that a old fella walked in his shop and wanted to sell it to him. He sold it to me for what he paid the old man for it...$250

The gun looked brand new. When I took the gun apart at home to clean it up..it still had dried cosmoline/packing grease on the magazine tube and on the bolt..the bronze friction rings shined like new. It did have some dirt on the buttplate screws, so I took them out to clean the screw heads and oil them, when I removed the buttplate, a blue piece of paper fell out....
It was a hunting license from West Yellowstone Montana, it looked like it was just put in there yesterday. It even had the game wardens name and signature on it as well as the licensee's name, address, and signature signed in pencil!! The date on the license was 1940. Looking at the serial number on the gun dates the gun to 1934. Kind of a cool year if your a duck hunter, the first year of the duckstamp. I still have the gun, it still looks brand new and the license is still in the buttstock where it should be.

Here's a pic of my Dad, using the 1934 Remington Model 11 last season during a Utah Chukar hunt..

neat stories kinda like a time capsule for gun guys ! I think I may have to hide a c note just so you have something to laugh about when you get to the other side.