Go-To Guns

[Bruce Day]

Photo Friday here and I thought I would show a few pictures of my everyday grab and go gun, a PHE 16ga. Nothing special except it is a family gun. I've had it since the 70's and I suppose well more more than 50,000 rounds have been run through it. Its still tight. I had DelGrego reblue the barrels and I steamed out dents and put some finish back on the wood long ago. It is now getting a new set of dents.

Its nothing special, its what got me membership in the Bottomfeeders Asso., but it always shoots well and is an all around gun. I've shot about everything with it, from ducks and geese in North Dakota to quail in Arizona. That's what I am holding in my whatever you call it picture at the left of me holding a prairie chicken in the Nebraska Sandhills.

Its shown with the ammo I use. All the discussion about chamber length made me think I should check, but then I thought better about it and nah, I'll just fire away.

Maybe others have everyday guns they could post?

[Carl Beers]

Bruce....your every day gun is better than my best gun. Thanks for sharing and posting the pictures. Always fun to see what others are doing with their Parkers. Hope Foto Fridays will get more action now that we're approaching the various hunting seasons....Best always, Carl Beers

[Bruce Day]

I don't know about that Carl, you have some nice Parkers and I know you are pursuing a 410. But thats all right. I have a personal in with the president of Minnesota Bottomfeeders and I can get you a membership recommendation.

[Dave Miles]

Bruce, at least the go to gun is of the proper gauge. :)

[Bruce Day]

True, Dave. And I also own a BB gun and a 10ga so I have the Michigan boys covered from micro bore to big bore.

I'm going ruffed grouse hunting in October in Minnesota. Are there any secret grouse hunting tips from the Michigan boys I should know about or should I stay right by the truck, scratch myself with thorns and tree branches, trip and bark my shins, and pretend I was grouse hunting? That way I wouldn't get lost and I could drink a beer.

[Dave Miles]

Just keep the dogs close, I hear the wolves are pretty hungry in October. :)

[Dave Suponski]

"Go to" grouse gun.PH 16ga.26" Titanic barrels(it in a back issue of the PP)Started out as a 12ga. gun.

[Rich Anderson]

My go to Grouse gun is a 26 inch DHE 20 with little or no choke, straight grip, splinter forarm. The next is of the same configuration but a VHE 28 with 28 inch bbls choked skt in/skt out:) After these its what ever I feel like at the time. My goal this year is to shoot either a Grouse or a Pheasant with the 12 and 16ga lifter's.

Bruce take some light clothes, short barreled guns with little or no choke, some bandaids, mercurochrome (?sp..where is that spell check feature?) a box of 8's no Ive seen you shoot two boxes of 8's:rotf: and have a great time. After a little close order drill in the Grouse woods those big open praries will be a piece of cake.

[Dave Fuller]

I too am heading for MN in October to grouse hunt with my go-to Parker gun (20 ga Repro). I would suggest the following training regime: Get on a tread mill at about 2 mph and have your wife repeatedly smack you in the face with a 1/2" thick willow switch for several hours per day. To cool down, sit under a tick infested cedar tree until 30 or 40 ticks have had a chance to set up shop. To practice shooting... try hitting some bottle rockets. Truth be known I love to grouse hunt, they are the king of all game birds, but the training is hell. Have fun Bruce and everyone else who is headed to the grouse woods soon.

[Dean Romig]

Get on a tread mill at about 2 mph and have your wife repeatedly smack you in the face with a 1/2" thick willow switch for several hours per day. To cool down, sit under a tick infested cedar tree until 30 or 40 ticks have had a chance to set up shop. To practice shooting... try hitting some bottle rockets. .

Truer words were never spoken!

But you will need someone to toss a log or branch in your way every ten steps to simulate some of the slash and blowdowns we encounter. Also, alternating with the willow switch should be some healthy blackberry vives and hawthorne branches. We need to get accustomed to bleeding a bit.

[Francis Morin]

Wow- I haven't hunted grouse here in MI for years, forget the heavy cover and the branches- I do some "boondock" sneak shooting for mallards, and the mud and muck and possible rainy weather are a factor, but I'll tip my L.L. Bean camo duck cap I bought new in 1977 to you die-hard grouse guys.

I can't really mention my favorite "go-to" shotguns on this forum, because neither is a Parker. Let me just say my favorite duck gun was built in New Haven (same State as holds Meriden in its boundaries) and my favorite pheasant gun has two barrels, two triggers and was made in Fulton NY--

But- as I have just gotten the 12 GHE project gun "in hand" and have been crunching area barn pigeons with it, I plan to use it for river and farm pond decoying ducks with the Hevi_Shot for Classic Doubles loads, and also for the "pick-up" pheasant hunts after the Tower release shoots, so by next year, that resurected GHE 12 may well be my "Numero-Uno"- Good luck to all of you hunting "Sir Ruffs" anywhere this Fall- grouse and flighting doves, and I am sure, box bird pigeons- toughest targets awing- IMO of course--

[Fred Preston]

My most effective grouse gun is one the Market Hunter might approve of if he were inclined to indulge; a 108 year old VH #2 frame 12ga with barrels sawed off at less than 26". A few years ago, before I paid attention to anything as important as barrel wall thickness, I put a couple of #5 shot Win 1&1/2 oz mags through it to "fill out the pattern" for pheasant and blew out the left barrel at the end of the forend. I took a count and still reached five. Kirk Merrington sleeved in a couple of tubes of the same length, choked skeet in and skeet out and it was back in business, though it cost me about twice what I paid for the gun. I can even use steel in it if needed. It's a little heavy for the Michigan guys (aside from Destry), but it does take out a fair amount of foliage and a bird if it happens to be in the pattern.

[Destry L. Hoffard]

I've handled that gun Fred, it's a sure killer I'm certain.

Destry

[Fred Preston]

Just got back from 3 days (including driving) hunting G&W in MI with that gun. Saw no woodcock and three grouse; one was shot at, no confirmed kill. Had a chance to meet Bill Bolyard; a really nice guy with fine dogs, friend and family. For the first time Ringo decided he wasn't going to take any more crap from a Porcupine and wound up looking like John Muir. He's confronted them a few times in the past and always held his point till collared. At thirteen you'd think he would know better; took me more than an hour to get all the quills out of his face, neck and inside his mouth. He was reeady to go in the morning though, and even with a sore mouth, he regained his appetite.

[Destry L. Hoffard]

You boys are hardcore, I'll barely squirrel hunt in this kind of weather let alone thrash around in the brush after birds.

Eric's dog had a big run in with a porky last year by all accounts. I believe they are now on the "kill at all costs" list in his book.


Destry