Pete- another point here, possibly overlooked- in America with many areas open to public hunting- the long range guns were favored- to "beat the other guy" across the marsh- read "Are we shooting 8 gauge guns" by Nash Buckingham--in England, no competition- the "unwashed masses" are not able to hunt, even rough shoot- that is a priviledge of the inbreed aristocrats- they have no competition- a gun writer discovered at a flossy London shooting school the Brits are taught that if you miss your bird with the first barrel, you wish him GodSpeed and find another bird for the second barrel- pleanty of birds in a drive for the wealthy, it's "bad form, Old Boy" to compete for the only Goose that might fly over a public marsh in the entire morning- Nash also described a top Limey gunner, raised on driven birds, and his first experience with flighting doves in a tail wind- believe Old Lord Muckingfutch with his proper "Best" sidelocked gun scratched down 18 for 100 shells fired-Tell you what- I'm no clays man, because the laws of gravity and inertia work differently on a clay disc than a startled game bird-none tougher to kill cleanly awing than a dove, true in Nash's day, still true today- I'll go up against your Limey Lad Mr. Sir Diggory on live birds in a wind- not clays- we each take 100 shells of our chosing- best % wins the pot for those 100 shells. He may use any one of his "fancy schmancy" double guns he favors- I'll use my "money gun"- the 1937 12 gauge Model 12 30" Full Tournament grade with solid rib-and being a "somewhat gentleman- for a working class Mick SOB- I'll only load mine with two shells, same as Sir Digmeister does his- as Nash recalled in one of his early srories about early days at Wapanocca- his father, banker Miles Buckingham, when he observed Nash using the old Irby Bennett "Gift gun" a 12 bore Winchester 1893- "You only load that with two shells when you are sharing a duck stand with a gentleman shooting a double gun".. Live birds only, and I shoot barn pigeons in flight and decoyed crows a lot in the non-Fall seasons-clays-fuggegaboutit!! RWTF
