Thought I'd try a "Longfellow Look"--
Parkers and Smiths and Foxes had their roots in the Northeastern States
And which of them is the best shotgun is a subject of endless debate
The Parkers were the very first, from a man who made coffee mills and vises-- And developed by the genius of Mr. King, a man skilled in all mechanical devices
Smith & Wesson's loss was Mr. Parker's gain, King was a master gun designer--And Hayes would later refine the guns; quality and function even finer
With Starret mikes and Nicholson files; lampblack, gravers and benches
And the engraving room, its walls adorned with calenders of winsome wenches
With further North in Syracuse lived Mr. Smith, a financier of some fame
He invested in a Baker gun design, the shotgun then bore his name
The first guns had outside hammers, then came the sidelock hammerless design-- New owners the Hunter brothers built a factory in Fulton, with efficient production in mind
But the Battle Island venture soon took its toll, the Hunters sold the firm
The fickle finger of financial fate hit them hard, and made their creditors squirm
But the great Elsies lived on, winning shooting awards and medals replete
Until the Great Crash of '29, when the Grim reaper took over Wall Street
While Ansley Fox was a first-rate wingshot, but somehow lacked financial accumen--But he produced a first class shotgun, soon the favorite of sportsmen
They were well designed with fine steels and walnut, truly a gun for the ages-- With sculpted frames, piano wire springs, and made only in standard gauges
LC Smith stayed in Fulton in the '30's, but both Fox and Parker would move-- Fox went Utica, Parker to Ilion, in hopes that profits might improve
WW11 was the doublegun's death knell, Dec. 7 1941 was the key
As America now fought the Axis, in the air, on the land and the seas
Our returning G.I.'s favored repeaters, the older guns now put aside
But class and quality will always show, a fact not to be denied
For scarcity and the law of supply and demand may here be the truest of tests-- But the prices now paid for such treasures may not denote which are the best
So in answer to the question: Fox, Smith, Parker- which is the finest to be found?-- My answer is like the tree in the forest- if it should fall with nobody around--
'Tis a question impossible to answer with logic, like an affair of the heart
The burl of fine walnut, the cold glint of blued steel, that's where the attraction may start
Fine guns stir the soul like Mozart, each of these makers denoted as grand
And the one that I love for the moment afield is the one I am holding in hand---
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04-29-2010, 08:08 PM
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