Awesome, Bruce. Thank you so much for your time, efforts and explanations. You have really helped me. Yep my gun is factory stamped 2 3/4 chamber and pretty certain it was never touched or bored out.
Long story/short but gun was bought in late 70's by my dad and it was only the second time that gun was ever sold. I was 13 or 14 and was with him when he bought it from an older gentlemen at a back water gun show in Alabama selling his family guns. He really did not want to sell them but he could not hunt anymore and had no one to give them to. He told us the complete history of the gun and how his grandad ordered the gun and paid $25 for it. Said it was his grand dads only gun and he used it for everything, but always took care of and cleaned the gun and only cleaned bores and wiped it down with an oily cloth. He said he learned to shoot with the gun when he was a kid and his grandad would threaten to whoop him if he did not take care of it the way he showed him. He even told me stories about how some the dings in the stock occurred and how sick he was when he found a little rust on outside of gun after going duck hunting. I think he knew one day I would end up with it so he wanted me to know about it. Gun is used and worn but has character and knowing a little of its history there is no way I could ever really do too much other keep it clean and use it, when I can.
My dad loved the gun but could'nt shoot it to well. It was too tight on the chokes and he wanted a classic old double to grouse hunt. He thought about getting barrels reamed but never did. His go to quail/grouse gun was an SKB straight grip with a single selective trigger. He got so set with that gun he never could get used to double triggers. He passed it on to me about 20 years ago since I was doing some Continental Pheasant hunts that were perfect for this gun. It takes a bit to get used to the drop but after practicing throwing it on shoulder and remembering where to hit that stock on the cheek I can do allright. I have taken a few birds in a dove field that were loping along with that left barrel that I stepped off close to 60 yards, which still amazes me because they just folded.
Seems like most hunting I do nowadays are these set out birds. I grew up hunting wild quail and grouse, on a flush I can't help myself but to get on birds quick when they flush and shoot quickly in phase. Second nature and almost a conditioned reflex. I tried slowing it down to let them get out there but then I start aiming and that never really works to well for me.
Spent a weekend hunting with a guy named Todd Rogers, his gig was an Orvis employed shooting instructor and as a guide down on a South Georgia plantation. He coached me up a bunch and I learned alot at skeet range and hunting with him. He watched me shoot an awful lot and he tried to get me to slow it down but it just was not natural to me. I guess I got too much nervous fast twitch muscle to slow it down. Plus first double barrel gun I got my dad gave me and it was an old Spainish double that was essentially cyl, cyl. If you did not learn to shoot quick then those dang birds would be out of range toot sweet.
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