Greg
Beautiful Model 42!
Steve
Thanks, Steve. I do most of my considerable hunting with side-bys as noted above, however a season is never complete unless my paws spend some time wrapped around the old 42. I've owned it for a very long time. It started as a well-worn field grade and morphed over time into the gun you see. Mr. Bee did a truly great job on the dove and quail inlays - they look like they are going to fly off the gun, even when viewed closely.
Over the years, the 42 has occasionally sat at home while I've owned and attempted to hunt with various .410 sidelock SxS's built to scale, but they are just too small and light for me to shoot well. A 42 is "just right". With the screw chokes, it is great fun for causual target shooting, too. It, along with the other guns above, will probably be in my estate when I die.
At one time, I used the 42 for "wild" bird hunting. No more. These days, it only sees pen-raised birds - but it sees plenty of those. Within its range limitations, it is fully effective. Here's a tailgate pic of part of the bag of an end-of-season clean up hunt at the preserve where the dogs and I guide. The dogs and I killed 28 birds with the 42 that day - everything from cock phez to quail, without losing a single bird.
