Lowell,
My dad grew up in the depression. Game went on the table. They don't get much more salt of the earth than that old marine (2 tours in the Pacific in WW2). His gun was a 12 gauge Ithaca M-37. Full choke, solid rib and corn-cob fore-end. I have no idea what kind of gun he used before the war, but I imagine it was a hardware store variety single shot. Whatever got the job done for the least investment was the order of the day for him and his type.


Humpty Dumpty,
It's not you.