Bo Woop

[George Davis]

Spent yesterday at Ducks Unlimited Headquarters and was privileged handle Nash Buckingham's famous shotgun "Bo Woop". Beautiful display to the man and his gun.

[Rick Roemer]

You are a lucky man. Would love to see that big piece of history.

[Stan Hillis]

I haven't seen it since it was auctioned and went to the DU museum near Memphis. But, I was extremely fortunate to have been able to spend an hour with it before it left Savannah, where it had lived for about 50 years, before being "discovered" by gunsmith Jim Kelley.

I was able to disassemble it and measure the bores, chokes, stock dimensions, etc. I took many pics of it myself, but the most prized pic I have of it was taken by a friend in his office of me mounting the gun and looking down the barrels. When I did so I had a keen awareness that I was looking down the very same barrels that Mr. Nash had looked down so many times. My heart was beating out of my chest!

Me and Bo Whoop ........

https://www.jpgbox.com/jpg/71433_766x574.jpg (https://www.jpgbox.com/page/71433_766x574/)

[George Davis]

I'm not a big duck or goose hunter but this gun does make your heart race.

[Kevin McCormack]

Bo WHoop!

[Stan Hillis]

Jim Kelly told me that after he finished restocking it he and another fellow took it to a nearby river swamp. The other fellow was instructed to walk aways into the swamp, while Jim stayed put, and to fire it a couple of times. Jim wanted to see if it really made an unusual sound, like Bo Whoop! I waited for his verdict. He just smiled and shook his head "No".

[Rick Losey]

Jim Kelly told me that after he finished restocking it he and another fellow took it to a nearby river swamp. The other fellow was instructed to walk aways into the swamp, while Jim stayed put, and to fire it a couple of times. Jim wanted to see if it really made an unusual sound, like Bo Whoop! I waited for his verdict. He just smiled and shook his head "No".

maybe it would with the correct vintage loads :corn:
someone with a similarly spec'ed Super could try it

[Mike Koneski]

Jim Kelly told me that after he finished restocking it he and another fellow took it to a nearby river swamp. The other fellow was instructed to walk a-ways into the swamp, while Jim stayed put, and to fire it a couple of times. Jim wanted to see if it really made an unusual sound, like Bo Whoop! I waited for his verdict. He just smiled and shook his head "No".

Ah yes, another "urban legend" dispelled!! Thank you Myth Busters!!

[Frank Srebro]

Calm down Mikey. :rolleyes:

It would be nice to hear Mr Buck's Super-Fox sound off with fresh Western progressive powder behind fiber wads and 1-3/8 ounce of bare shot. Same load that he favored. But that proprietary Western powder hasn't been made for many many decades, and vintage Super-X paper 3-inchers have stale or sour powder. Also, modern double-base powders have different burn characteristics. Net, there’s no way to duplicate that loading and check for Bo Whoop sound.

[CraigThompson]

Calm down Mikey. :rolleyes:

Would be nice to hear it sound off with fresh Western progressive powder behind fiber wads and 1-3/8 ounce of bare shot. Same load that Buck favored. That proprietary Western powder hasn't been made for many many decades, and vintage Super-X 3-inchers are loaded with powder that’s gone stale or sour. Also modern double-base powders have different burn characteristics. Net, there’s no way to duplicate the loading and check for BoWhoop sound.

I know where some original Winchester 1 3/8 ounce loads happen to reside . Saying for that friend again :bigbye:

[Chris Pope]

Perhaps Mr. Cleveland could mix up a batch of his famous black powder in a brass shell and that might make it go bo-WHOOOSHP !

Quick question- how do you pronounce Bo-Whoop? Ba-WUP? Or, BO-wuup? Or some other way. Just checking.

[Daryl Corona]

Perhaps Mr. Cleveland could mix up a batch of his famous black powder in a brass shell and that might make it go bo-WHOOOSHP !

Quick question- how do you pronounce Bo-Whoop? Ba-WUP? Or, BO-wuup? Or some other way. Just checking.

Bo Wuup.

[Stan Hillis]

Quick question- how do you pronounce Bo-Whoop? Ba-WUP? Or, BO-wuup? Or some other way. Just checking.

One would have to be Col. Harold P. Sheldon, and have heard the report of two shots taking down two high "mallets" over the marsh some 150 yards away, to know exactly. Sheldon gave the iconic gun it's name and only he knows exactly how it sounded that day.

https://sportingclassicsdaily.com/teller-of-tranquil-tales-colonel-harold-p-sheldon/

[Stan Hillis]

Thinking about it more I would bet that what caused the unusual reports that Sheldon heard that day were the weather conditions and the location, combined. I have shot doves early in the morning when there was a fog hanging over the field. The sound of those guns going off across the field, in that fog, is vivid in my memory to this day, from nearly 50 years ago. It was indeed a hollow, echoing sound.

[J. Scott Hanes]

I think the distance does have something to do with the report heard. I have hunted in the Louisiana marshes and at times the distant shotgun reports do have a 2-tone sound; like an echo.

[Dave Noreen]

I know where some original Winchester 1 3/8 ounce loads happen to reside . Saying for that friend again

Winchesters won't cut it!! Bo Whoop was built four years + before the Olins acquired the defunct Winchester Repeating Arms Co.

120886

Got to be 12-gauge Western Super-X 3-inch.

120887

Two years after Bo Whoop was built, Western introduced their Lubaloy shot and that became Nash's favored load.

120899

With Nash's connection with Western Cartridge Co. and the Olins he may have been getting Lubaloy shot earlier than the general public.

[Stan Hillis]

With Nash's connection with Western Cartridge Co. and the Olins he may have been getting Lubaloy shot earlier than the general public.

I'd wager good money that you are right. I've always believed that.

[Bill Murphy]

Harry, I think we determined that the top lever was acting as a musical instrument. I put some tape on my lever to identify the problem, but then took the tape off and enjoyed the music. Some tape under the lever seemed to quiet the sound.