Back in the late 80's to early 90's I was sailing a mid 30+ foot Hunter sailboat in the Chesapeake Bay for a break from school. That was an expensive hobby even done on the cheap. I do not care for easy. I like old, unique, odd and obsolete. I have taken dove and wood ducks with a 20 bore muzzle loader percussion double, built or converted from flintlock in 1825. I broke 80 on a sporting clay's course, with a WR crab joint 12 bore hammer gun, beating a friend using his O/U K 80. He was not happy. Shoot better I told him. I have been shooting a central vision 12 and crossover 12's just for th fun of it. I shoot 42's on dove with short shells. I am going to take a Ithaca 20 bore Flues with 30" barrels dove shooting next rip. It has 2 1/2" chambers and is choked F and F which I hope is a great long range gun for late season dove. I am going to find out. All my guns are bought with the intention to shoot them, even the nice ones.

I have one or more example of almost all American made pump guns that I am shooting skeet and trap with just so they get some use. They range from Bannerman Spencer, to Winchester 97, 12, 42, Remington 10, 17, 29, 31, three Toldeo Arms models, Browning designed pumps built by Stevens and Savage, Ithaca 37's, Marlin 28, 31, 42, 43 and 44, High Standard/ JC Higigns model 20, Weatherby Patrician, Mossberg 500/835 and a few even odder oddballs, that time has forgotten. Pump guns are American gun type for the most part and they have fallen out of favor with many. But they are just fun to use and not very expensive to collect for the most part.

You are right that loading our own shells makes things ever so much easier. I am still working through 30,000 Federal Paper hulls I got from the Olympic shooting training facility over 20 years ago. Nothing is as classic to me as a paper hull, loaded with Red Dot powder, shot on a cool morning. They trim down nicely to 2" or 2 1/2" and look great rolled crimped. It has taken me decades to figure out what are safe and effective load for classic guns and now being able to load them makes a ton of difference. I now have over five thousand 2 1/2" 20 gauge shells loaded up for future use and about the same in 12 gauge. All safe to use in my short chambered, classic guns, without worry about pressure or being too long. It is so much easier to just grab boxes already loaded rather than trying to locate safe factory shells when I want to go shooting.