earlier this week I planned on getting out into some my favorite grouse coverts. My gun of choice would have ben either my 16 gauge SIACE hammer gun or my old 12 gauge William Read Belgian Guild gun. Unfortunately that ain't happening.

Thursday a two long burn small forest fires on my mountain went from a hundred or two acres to now something near 100,000 acres. They have evacuated communities just to our east and we are under a pre evacuation order. We're packed and ready to load the dogs and get out of dodge if need be but honestly looking at the forecast I don't think we are likely to have to leave.

The worst part is due to a number of fires this summer and now this fire most of my close by coverts have been scorched. Plus we're staying close to home if we need to button up and go.

Maybe we can get out next weekend. Oh, well it is way to hot anyway. October and November are really the months to hunt grouse here in Utah.

http://a4.pbase.com/o10/10/209910/1/...nnpheasant.jpg

http://a4.pbase.com/o9/10/209910/1/1....Siace16ga.jpg

I took this yesterday. We live just at the base of the ridge on the right of the frame

http://a4.pbase.com/o10/10/209910/1/...the_canyon.jpg

From the back porch

http://a4.pbase.com/o10/10/209910/1/...y_mtn_9_15.jpg

I hope you and your family remain safe and out of the path of the fire. If there is a positive note fire regenerates growth and your coverts may come back better than before.

well I love it HOW MUCH Dean.:bigbye:

Stop by the Fox booth at the Vintagers next weekend and we will 'heathen' you right the hell up!!

Just say'n you Parker only guys should consider Fox small bores---a couple of 20ga CE's

Sssssh Craig, you know there are'nt enough Fox smallbores to go around. They seem happy with their Parkers.:nono:

I'm the onlty Parker guy I knoiw who doesn't shoot anthing else unless it is from London. Those Fox 20 bores look wonderful, But after all is said and done, they are not Parkers. I have a stgrong bias for Parkersn since I grew up with them. When I was only ten, my grandfather took one of his DHE's out in the yard and let me shoot it. It kicked me like hell but I would never admit it. Fox small bores are great, no doubt about it, But I would feel dirty if I took one into my grouse coverts. :)

I think I'll stay away from the Fox booth at the Vintagers. It would break my heart to see Kevin there and not at a Parker booth. He was a mainstay at Parker booths for many years. Seeing him at that booth is akin to General Washington seeing Benedict Arnold wearing a British uniform.

Well, after more than two decades sitting in the safe, I will be taking my little 20 gauge Trojan up into the Idaho grouse trails this fall.
Over the past 20 years or so of taking grouse up there, I have carried a Winchester M-97, a Model 21, and an H&H Royal SLE.
This year, there will be a couple of M-21s in camp, as well as a very nice Underlifter. I feel pretty strongly that the Trojan needs to be there.
If we could get National Geographic to send a photographer along, there might even be a Parker Pages moment.

Those little 20 gauge Trojans are jewels! What length are the barrels, 26" or 28"?





.

My grouse season began in February when I made a long straight through run up to northern Wisconsin to pick up Buzzy. Buzzy being a first generation merica born to English Setter immigrants. We formulated a plan on the 16 hour voyage home, the pup somehow made the white outs a little less tense. St. Pat's day John Nagel and I trolled the aisle of Baltimore where a Scotch Yankee had a long barreled DHE 20 ga. Gee ya think I can swing this thing in the Aspen John? Spring training started at Hunting Hills with the Ole Grouser himself Harold Pickens, and moved south to Drakes with Anderson, Eis, Smith &Co. Where I was out shot by a girl, Sara LaFever, that made me move over to Deep Creek and just look at guns for two days before Uncle Bob and his buddy Tom lured me back onto the course . A few weeks latter and the not to be missed Ribfest in the Endless Mountain's at Ernie's was the backdrop for more grouse gun practice. Here I did better. I couldn't say it was Ernie's scotch as some suggested, because that came latter honest. But Uncle Bob was chilled out on something because I witnessed him run a 47 all on camera because we had Paul Fuller filming and shooting with us. Humbled again I had nothing to loose and grabbed the speed gun a Parker GH Damascus in the process as we say, with Brian Dudley. Rough shaped and no trigger guard it was sure to illicit comment. Rich you really were missed, and missed a wonderful opportunity. Ohio SxS and I took it to the pattern board, where the drops proved out wonderfully and then I splattered my glasses with paint when repainting the board and couldn't get all of the paint off. The group of Edgar, Chuck, Allan and Longbarrel 28 Daryl and .410 Smitty were kind about my gun, I feel certain it was the first time they had shot with someone spotted with whitewash. And I shot a good for me number, where were you then Sara?
All my shooting was done with what my current view of what a grouse gun needs to be. All 0 frames, 28, 20,16 VH, GH and a DHE and all Parker Bros. made in Meriden.
It'll be me and Buzzy heading back up to Wisconsin mid October, to take another long gone man's Parker for a walk. Wishing everyone good luck in the King's court!

Wow Brett, that should have been a Parker Pages article!

Wish I was there.





.

Bill, Best of luck to you.

:bigbye: :rolleyes:

I've tried in the past to explain to you easterners that this is a grouse gun --

Attachment 65676

but you just don't seem to be grasping the concept.

Tom, That may well have been my gun. I bought it at the Old Safari Outfitters, and never once took it out. I gave it to Gary to sell for me and I think he sold it at the Orvis (Sandanona) Game Fair. (coincidentally, this weekend is their big to do)

It could well be the same gun. How many CE 20 bore guns with 25" factory full choke barrels do you see. I bought the gun from Gary, but not at Sandanona or the Connecticut store. Gary had one of the Invincibles on display in Connecticut. People doubted that it was a true Invincible and was probably an upgrade. But Gary always insisted that it was the real deal and time has proved he was right.

Dave - in the East we prefer to shoot our grouse on the wing....:whistle:

Maybe the "Partridge type sights" has you confused??




.

That’s a Canadian grouse gun. My Saskatchewan French Canadian friends shot a lot of grouse by riding the wooded area roads in the evening and ground swatting them. They were in it for the meat and usually shot .410 shotguns, but a real purist would use a rifle or handgun. I rode with a pretty young lady one night for the heck of it. She whacked three that evening and I was cringing, especially when she steeped on the wings and pulled up on the legs to strip off the breasts. It was barbaric. Only the breasts were loaded into the car. Her mother told me she was brought up on eating grouse and never wanted to eat another. She was incredulous when I said I hunted them with my setter. She responded, “why would you do that? You can get all you want riding the roads in the evening”. I didn’t try to explain. It would have been lost on her. The folks up there are meat hunters, pure and simple. Most don’t have a lot of money and grouse on the table means lower food bills.

Most of the ducks and geese I shot each day went to the aboriginal people. I also left most of the moose and bear I killed with them, only taking about 75 lbs. home. The aboriginal’s loved to eat ducks and geese but they don’t shoot them because of the cost of shells. Each shell has to account for a lot of meat. They save their cartridges (mostly 30-30) for moose and deer. They loved me for the ducks and geese I gave them and became close friends. They would watch my setter for me when I was off hunting larger game. They gave me permission to hunt all tribal lands. I appreciated the gesture, but I could hunt anywhere up there. However, it was an honor and I was grateful. They are wonderful people.

Trojan number 228335 is a 28" BBLd gun. It's a sweet handling little gun, that's been neglected for far too many years, in deference to it's higher graded kin that it has shared safe space with for all these years. This gun deserves to go North this year to do what it was built for.

I also have a 20ga Trojan 28" and everyone who see's it can't believe how good it looks and feels.

I agree with you wholeheartedly! It needs to get out there and be allowed to 'do its stuff'...

Dave Suponski has a great little Trojan 20 with 28" barrels too and you should have seen him put the "smack down" on a quickly disappearing grouse. I couldn't believe he hit that bird (and others) as it disappeared over a knoll in the Vermont uplands... but when we got there it wasn't even twitching. A very pretty cock bird!





.

My 20 gauge Trojan also spends most days in the safe, and it's in nice enough original condition, I'm not sure that the grouse woods are the place for it. It has really tight chokes and 26 inch barrels, so I keep telling myself that I would never hit a grouse anyway. Logic is wasted in the face of the irrelevant (with apologies to Mr. McQuarrie).

That is a beautiful Trojan! Maybe too nice to hunt with. Mine is in okay shape, nice and tight, etc, but certainly not too nice to take to the field.
The backstory on my gun, I bought it back then to fill a niche in my meager collection. It sat in the corner of my safe, unfired by me for close to 25 years. One day, my buddy comes out to do some quail hunting. I open the safe, to grab one of the usual's, which means usually my 32" VHE. The little Trojan winked at me, and I said what the heck.
I walked a sandy river bottom, a GSP on each side, and my buddy blocking from the top. We got into a covey, one of the dogs pushed em out, and I was banging 25 yard crossers.
The first shot I ever fired out of that little gun smoked a Gambels - mid river. We collected a small hand full of birds that day, and I never touched the back trigger. I have to assume the left barrel works too.
I have to give up ejectors, to hunt with the Trojan, but nothing else.

Not having ejectors is no handicap at all.





.

Todd,

It's a funny thing how a gun can "have its day" and make you feel like you can't miss. I've also had other days with a "pulled from the safe" gun where I couldn't hit anything. Obviously changing guns is tough on your shooting, especially when the guns have different dimensions, but, hey, it makes for great excuses when you miss...and for a memorable day (like yours) when things work. The clean left barrel and a decent bag is a day to remember for sure!

Except on desert quail. They have two shot and reload timing down to an art. Lone bird flushes. Bang bang - empty - then the birds start flying, with the easiest shots timed with an empty gun. Seen it too many times.
Quail can count to two ; )

Yeah, that excuse works both ways. If you're at a big shoot, and one of the vendors hands you a nice (read expensive) gun, and says "try this one for a couple a rounds" You're in trouble! Chances are, you will shoot that gun lights-out, at least until you actually own it. Then the "new gun" thing can double back on you, especially if you're trying to impress someone with your shooting prowess. Then you can claim the "new gun" excuse for missing.
Ask me how I know all this.

Brett on your to or from Wisconsin stop by and we can do a hunt.

I'm just over a week away from heading to camp for a month or so. I have the guns picked out....well sort of but this I know for sure my first trip to the coverts will be with hunting buddies old and new. It will be Ike's debut for grouse and I'll have Gunner's gun along to guide the way.

Rich

Many Thanks!!! It's on my list of must do things. Hope you and Ike cerebrated his birthday the 13th. Just like you and Ike, I am looking forward to this first season with Buzz. Weather has been hot and making it a little tuff to get as much work in as I would like. Those footsteps in the leafs you are certain to hear at some point, our boys never leave us so long as we take our memories of them along. Something we never have to worry about forgetting in the truck. Good Luck.

Brett you have the cell number just give a call Ike and I will be there.

Went out yesterday in the mist with my 28" Damascus GH, choked skeet and IC. Flushed 3 birds, all back in the trees. Never saw them, just heard them. There was an enormous rainbow as I walked down to the car, it was nice even with no shot fired.

Is this a bona fide Grouse gun?

If I can break away and get upcountry next month I will certainly be taking the 0-framed, 26” barreled, 16-gauge VH that I bought a few years back. It is one gun in my small battery that I won’t need spreader loads for, as it is factory-choked cylinder and modified.

It was originally sold through the old-time Boston sporting goods retailer and importer, Iver Johnson. Shipped in July of 1907, I can only imagine where it might have been; what game it might have taken and what outdoorsmen (or, outdoors-lady) might have owned it.

Below are some pictures. It was restored long before I bought it, and no one seems to know who did it. Neither the Bachelder; Del Grego nor Turnbull shops have any record of having had it.

well, I'm getting in a little late here, but Garry, I have your dream grouse gun-- a
DHE 16 O frame 26" cyl/Mod, straight grip, from 1905, weighing in at 6 lbs on the nose.
Ive just got a new laptop and don't have any of my photos downloaded yet.
Russell, I have a VH 20 with 26" cyl/M--a great choke combo

I happened upon a basically unfired, custom 20 ga. Francotte a couple of years ago. 25" barrels and it weighs 4lbs 11 oz.. That will occompany a Parker Repro 20Ga., 26" Barrel Q1 - Q2 toy!

Harold,

Yikes!! That sounds like a darned nice Parker. Post photos when you get the chance so I can really "dream" about it. My DH 16 is on a #1 frame and on the heavier side, but it's still a joy to use. When I hunt in the mountains, I carry a lighter gun so that I can hold the gun in one hand and hang on for dear life with the other. I am sure you know exactly what I mean.

I really do have about as perfect a grouse gun as there is but what fun is that?
I call it the "meat gun" a DHE straight grip 20 with 26 inch tubes cyl/IC. I bought it years ago and it's my first graded Parker.

Grouse guns? I don't think I have posted here in eight pages. OK, here goes. My shortened, chokeless 24" DHE 16 that I bought on this site, #1 frame, not the lightest, but maybe the best. My 24" original Damascus GHE 16, part of an original three barrel set, lighter than my DHE 24" 16, but not a bit better in the grouse woods except a few ounces lighter. My Francotte 28 gauge Knockabout ejector, 4 pounds, 13 ounces, uncomfortable to shoot with USA standard loads on the skeet field, but just right in the woods. Last, and maybe the best, my probably unique J.P. Sauer 10 gauge 26" six pound four ounce Krupp steel wonder gun with a bit of choke. None of these guns are probably worth anything in any atmosphere but the grouse woods, the first three maybe in the quail fields, but in those places, they truly excel.

Bill, I think you showed me that 16 GH three barrel set when we had dinner at Jeff's. As I recall, that was a high condition gun and the barrels were original Parker black and white in new type condition. That was a beautiful gun and I remember thinking "where the hell does he come up with this stuff".

Rich, that does sound like the perfect grouse gun--I've probably seen it, but just cant recall.
Bill, I had a little Italian Breda 28 ga OU w/ double triggers 4 lbs 14 oz, that would beat the snot out of you--after you pulled the first trigger, you didn't want to pull the back trigger. I traded it at Hausmanns to a gun dealer who loved it, and with alittle extra ended up with a GH 16 O frame Damascus that I shoot a lot.

For grouse and woodcock here inNew England it has to be a 26 inch barreled Parker, Fox or LC Smith 16 ga.