My late father-in-law shot a field grade 12ga Model 11. It was short stocked as he bought it from the estate of an uncle who was a very small man and had the stock cut to fit him; Jess never changed it even though he was of more average size. But he could darn well shoot it. Every year we'd get together to shoot hand-thrown targets a few days before the bird opener, and his never-miss on the first target is a family legend, including the last time I saw him shoot, when his eyesight was failing and he could barely see. As always he smoked the first target, turned to a grandson, and said, "Did I hit it?"

He and that old gun were quite a pair, and it kinda reinforced my dad's opinion on gun fit: He'd just say, "Get a gun and learn to shoot it."

My Father bought a 12-gauge 30-inch full choke The Sportsman from Seattle Hardware in 1938 for $35 with his employee discount, about a week's wages. He always talked about the Parker that was in their window display that he could have gotten for $100!!

For 21 years it was his waterfowl gun. By 1960 he succumbed to Jack O'Connor's short barrel writings and had it whacked to 26-inch with a Poly-Choke. Within a couple of years it was gone and he had a 12-gauge, 2-frame, 30-inch barrel VH as his waterfowl gun which now resides in my gunroom.

In 2003 when I was cleaning out his house in Seattle, where I grew up, I found the leather take-down case he had made for his Sportsman. Only seemed right to buy one to go in it and soon found one at the Washington Arms Collectors show at the Puyallup fairgrounds. That led to a 20-gauge in a pawn shop and a 16-gauge in another pawn shop.

Attachment 97267