doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Disertations On The Perfect Grouse Gun

Of course any dissertation is subject to what the particular writer chooses to write about. I have found the English guns to be better made and lighter per gauge than the American guns.

I would say this 12 gauge Daw shotgun is close to perfect in weight and configuration. Hammer guns are also more appealing to me with their timeless elegance and craftsmanship.

This shotgun was made in 1866, extremely early in cartridge firing gun development. George Daw had a patent on center fire outside primed ammunition and that helped usher in the cartridge gun, early, while percussion guns were the standard of the day.

2 1/2 inch chambers and it is lethal on birds of all kinds, having been used from grouse to turkeys…

Chas. Askins the elder had a couple of NIDs he wrote about, a fully optioned 16-gauge No. 5E --





and he got the first Magnum-10 NID, serial number 500000 a sort of No. 4E+.





Both of those guns went on to Elmer Keith who wrote extensively about them.

The author Lon B. Smith, Shotgun Psychology, had a couple of NID trap guns he wrote about with very tight grips and outrageous Monte Carlo combs.

Those buttstocks look worse than death eating a cracker.

The late Mr. Woolner made a case for the Model 59 Winchester auto, which came in 12ga only. Quite light to start with, and he made changes to reduce even more weight.
Sorry, minor error. The 59 was meant to introduce the 14gauge. That didn't go so well, so Winchester marketed them instead as 12s. At one point,it seems the 12ga 59's had a cult following at a gun club where I ued to shoot in Iowa. I managed to avoid falling victim.

I've read Woolner's book and I appreciate his approach.

I'd like to think that better doubles weren't readily available to him and that he resolved the problem with this Winchester autoloader but...who knows. Since my own recent shooting-eye challenges (along with a few others here) I've come to realize that if you want to keep enjoying the grouse woods in autumn, you do what you can. The theme here normally is fine doubleguns, domestic and otherwise, and it has been an immense pleasure to be able to pursue that specific route over the years (in both conversations & afield), but...the bigger pleasure (at least for me) is the walk in the woods on a beautiful fall day, anticipating a flush. I've discovered (& only in the last few years) that the type of gun used is secondary to that reality.

My own experience with autoloaders isn't all that positive, so I have my biases, but I have lived long-enough now to have watched several of my hunting partners age out. I have also watched their ordinance choices change (to extract those few final-but-sweet years afield) so I'm far-more sympathetic to autos now. A fellow I've known and hunted with for many years, a dear friend of my late father-in-law (who has carried a little Italian 28 auto for the last ten years or so, and for all of the usual reasons) just recently informed us of a cancer diagnosis that will likely mean that last year's hunt will probably be his last year afield.

Death informs us of so many things that we've managed to ignore or avoid until it ventures near. When I step out of my old pickup this coming month, and I close my action on a pair of shells, I will smell the sweetness of the fall woods and drink-in the sights and sounds of the world around me before setting off. I will count my blessings and hope for a continued adventure in this beautiful place, but if it all ends tomorrow...it's been a darn good ride.

My friend Mark in St. Elmo has a skeletonized 59 like Woolner's. I've not used it, but it looks cool.
My friend Mitch uses an 870 Special field that sounds like a machine gun when it goes off.
I have a model 97 riot gun I might give some attention to this season.

Where there is lead in the air there is hope.

shrapnel, great images...

together they should win a prize for content an quality......

how did you git dat ole griz to holt dat gon an pose wid dat turkey?

stan, hits calt function over form...

but, ah agree, day are ugly...

kinda like ah square pie...

My real grouse gun is a 4E Flues, very different from those in the photos. 24" barrels with a swamped rib. Killed a woodcock with it last season. Never had any chances on grouse. Hoping that changes this year.

The combs aren't that outrageous when you look at the drop of the butt stock. The owner must have had an awfully long neck, I suppose. Or maybe he grew up near a power line and his eye was extremely high on his forehead.