Still got the gun? Still use it, to good effect?
A few times in my life I had this surge of nostalgia and thought I should find an English double with sound damascus tubes, to shoot boutique ammunition at game birds. I start shopping on the interweb thingy that Al Gore Jr. graciously built for us all, thinking of how wonderful this new, old gun is going to be.
Looking at the crap that is out there, usually at name dealers, where it has been sitting, going on a decade, always seems to cure me of that notion.
This fall, I will drop two rounds of 20 gauge ammunition into a little Darne V19, without regard to who made the stuff. It might be promo loads, it might be older Winchester AAs in 7 1/2, a load that always worked well for me grouse hunting, or it might be a stiff 1 ounce load left to me by an ancestor or friend who no longer needed them (I’d never buy 1 ounce 20 gauge loads with my money, but, damn if I will let them go to waste when we still have very wild pheasants about). Built post 1964, the Darne was proofed at the same level as a 3” magnum, even though is has 2 3/4” chambers.
I’ll have to console myself with that. The damascus thing is behind me.
Best,
Ted
