[John B White]

A couple odd balls added this year. Both are restorations.

The one with the recoil pad is a 1917 s/n. My research letter shows it as a 16 ga VH with 28 inch barrels. This gun sports Titanic 12 gauge 30” barrels. The engraving and the checkering are certainly not V grade. Regardless, it’s a pleasure to shoot, though the top lever is a bit left of center, it locks up tightly. A definite candidate for some attention to bring it back to spec. Whatever that is.

The second is a lesson learned the hard way. This is a lovely and tight DHE. Pics of it were sent to me from a trusted source who was visiting the Tulsa gun show earlier this year. The price was (I thought) very reasonable. An impulse buy. When I measured the chokes, I found them both to measure cylinder. When I received my research letter, it stated that this gun left Meriden with 30” barrels. They now measure 28”.

As I said, lesson learned. It’s very lovely to look at and locks up tight. Have not shot it much. That skeleton butt plate has a bit steeper pitch, and the heal bruised my shoulder the one time I took it to the range. I did put several guns through their paces that day.

Considering using for the Skeet events at the SXS shoot in Lynden, WA on August 15th.

After that, I may port the barrels, have them threaded for extended chokes to bring them closer to 30” and replacing the rib with a raised and ventilated one.

I kid, mostly.