[stumpstalker]

Joe:

Here is a photo of the engraved shield on the 12-gauge, 1 ½-frame, 1915-manufactured DHE that my father purchased from his sporting goods store buddy as a pre-owned piece about 55 years ago. I own the gun now.

I do not know who “S. F.” was, and my attempts at researching who he was have yielded nothing to-date.

But I would never consider effacing these initials. For me the engraved shield is inestimable art and history, and the initials of this unknown-to-me shooter or hunter imparts an element of mystique that is at the heart of what attracts me, as temporary steward, to these guns.