doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com DUmagazine article FUBAR

Oops- my bad- in 1919, WRA first offered the raised ventilated rib as an option-and std. rib until about 1950 on the Black Diamond and Pigeon Grade Trap guns--I have a Model 12- 12 gauge nickle steel field grade made in 1921 (by Madis sn. records) and it is a "money gun" 28" full choke- by "money gun" I mean that it always performs "right on the money"- and to have Simmons and crew install a ventilated rib on it would be akin to giving Dolly Parton a breast enlargement operation-

I had two 16 gauges and one 20 gauge Model 12 and while slicker than butter on a hot July day the 16 gauges gave me some trouble. They seemed to dislike the newer 16 gauge shells and jammed in the port on occasion. I don't know if the port was originally cut for the older 18 gauge shells and those shells were shorter in overall length, but the 20 gauge was flawless.

I liked to freak younger shooters out at the gun club by bringing it in a take down case. They never saw a takedown pump before and always gathered around while I pulled her out and put her together saying I must be some sort of covert government assassin. They always wanted me to 'slam' fire her but I would always say that doing that was just way too hard on the gun. Another guy with a Model 12 would 'slam' fire his keeping up with or just plain beating a bunch of Jam-O-Matics.

I never could get use to where they put that safety so I sold them.

The only reason to stick an aftermarket rib on a gun is to improve function; I can consider that valid. And Simmons does good work. However, as to adding value as in recouping the cost-of-service plus cash-in-hand, when you get your gun back from, the whole will have been reblued with all the attendant buffing wheel polish deemed necessary to get the job done. Tough sell.

The late Herb Parsons, like the late Jimmy Robinson, was both a gambler and a raccoon tuner of note- He'd take his M0del 12, remove his Stetson, and bet anyone in the audience $50 he could load it with a trap load and shoot into his hat, without any damage- some sucker took him up on that- so, with the safety on, he's rack a Federal Champion taken from another sucker (s0 no one could accuse him of using a rigged WRA shell- then take down the gun, place the receiver with the protruding hull into his Stetson- pull the trigger- poof- and a 1& 1/8 ounce of of no. 7.5 lead shot rolled around inside the hat,no damage- except to the poor fool's wallet-- One born every minute--

I don't understand the fuss! The article in question was about a Remington 870 and had nothing to do with anything Winchester. I read it with some astonishment and decided it was intended for an audience under the age of 30. The author spent enough on "improvements" to buy another 870 and, to my mind, didn't increase the value at all.

But then.... I'm an "old guy".

R.

Mr. Fox: at the risk of offending an entire generation, the loose definition of a "Millennial" is a person who came of age at the turn of the current century. History begins for most of them in 1980. Anything before that is fairly meaningless to them. World War II, the Cold War, and even Vietnam are obscure concepts. Most have been raised in an urban setting and educated by liberal teachers and professors.

My fellow Iowan Phil Bourjaily isn't an old guy as outdoor writers go, but he's older than a millennial for sure. Some folks here that have reached or are approaching senior citizenhood--as well as maybe the youngster set, if they seek out "classic" outdoor writers--may have read stories by Phil's dad, the late Vance Bourjaily. Wrote an interesting book on hunting called "The Unnatural Enemy".

Yes- and he completely trashed a fine Beretta S0 12 bore his wife gave him. Phil wrote about having Orvis restore-repair it as a keepsake-his Dad also dropped his older Belgian Browning A-5 into a lake while out duck hunting- Ooops- Yes, his original thesis was buying a well-worn 12 gauge 870 Magnum and "improving it" his $ his choice- but where our paths diverge is his addendum about "Improving" a vintage Model 12-

How do you improve a: Steinway Baby Grand, a Strad violin, a 1956 Mercedes Gull-Wing, a Porsche 911, a case of Chateau LaFite or a fine Napoleon brandy. I'm writing a letter to DU soon, asking for a retraction from Phil on this potential Model 12 Fubaring- I also recall, a few years ago, how Phil's article locked me out of a Fox- a 1911 Sterlingworth pin gun with ejectors- Local gun shop had it in on consignment at $1750--50% ble, no case, 40% wood, stock pinned with a bolt, ejectors way out of timing, 6# trigger pulls-30" M&F and of course, 2&5/8" chambers-

The consignor had read about a Fox Sterlingworth (DT, Ext) beater that Phil bought from Scheel's for about $800-and had Simmons refinish it, and told the whole F&S readership that it was now worth $1800-what a crock of scheise--No wonder he is no longer on the mast head of Feel & Scream magazine--

If DU can fire one of the best writers going, E. Donnall Thomas because of cheap shot politics-apparently Don pisses off some major $ donors about Colorado access to rivers- well, as a very serious Model 12 man, I am a tad ticked off about the potential ruination of many "safe queened" Model 12's in the possession of the liberal piss-head coupon clipping trust funded millenials- glad I ain't one.

Betcha Thomas C. Johnson is rolling over in his grave at the thought of this degrading of his "Perfect Repeater"

"The Unnatural Enemy" by Bourjaily is a wonderful and thoughtful book. He is a pleasure to read because he writes so well. When you find a writer who writes well about the things you love and does so with intelligence and style, you know you'll never be without that book. I have thousands of books on various aspects of shotgunning in the Uplands and Lowlands going back two hundred years. It's one of my favorites.

Vance Bourjaily was also a professor at the University of Iowa, teaching in the prestigious Iowa Writers Workshop. Very talented "mainstream" writer who also did outdoor writing. These days, however, some might frown on showing up for class in hunting clothes and with a Lab.