Show us what you are working with

[Bruce Day]

Its just my old family beater, a 1921 PHE 16/28 on a 1 frame. About 80,000 rounds through it, still on face, barrels reblued, springs replaced at various times, forend lug resoldered, I refinished the wood, barrels still on face. All kinds of loads through it from 7/8oz to 1 1/8oz, everything from woodcock to geese and all sorts of clay targets. Chokes are about mod and mod, still no wear in the bores. Still original chambers.

It has an old, seen better days, A&F leg of mutton case, restitched here and there, and reproductions of the original sleeves provided by Parker that were made by my mother.

It was my grandfather's, who bought it secondhand from Kautzky's in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Joe, Rudy and Marie Kautzky were champion trapshooters. Joe invented the Lazy Ike fishing lure and made my father a combat knife which he took with him to Saipan and Okinawa. I still have the knife. My grandfather used the gun to hold down barb wire fence strands so he could climb over. I steamed out the grooves, and sometimes now I have mixed feelings whether I should have done that. Its like we all want a gun to look better or even new but sometimes in doing so we take away memories.

Its been with me through all my working days, with me everywhere, through six bird dogs. I have fancier guns, nobody gets very excited about this one, but I think I'll keep it.