yep destrey and me had a many of an adventure together...on out last hunt together it was unusally cold and rainy i reckon destrey caught the chills and just could not get over them i knew something was wrong because destrey always gave us the guns a good cleaning before anything else was done when we got home....a few days passed and destrey got worse but before he passed he gave his belongings and us guns to differant friends of his...i was hopeing destrey would get better but it was not to be...destrey gave his old big punt gun to a feller named russ who really only cared for grouse hunting...i could not figure that one out giving a cannon to a grouse hunter maybe destrey thought russ needed to get to the other side of the creek..who know s....... the little 97 was given to destreys nephew i really never knew his name or i ve forgotten it...i forgot to mention the year is now 1918.... as destrey gave me his final looking over i could see that he was very sad i also wassaddened for destrey and i had been the perfect hunting companions...as he passed me over to his friend charlie he told him to make sure and take care of me he told charlie that he only used marbles oil on me and to keep it that away...well nowcharlie promised destrey he would surely take care of me as if he hada bought me new his self...little did destrey know that charlie never did take to good of his guns and hunting equipment... i know was in my third owners arms heading to a new home this was the first home that i went to that hada human female in it..i soon learned she did not think much of me..charlie put me on two nails over the fire place said i was gonna be his show piece...i did not know it but here came some of them little chidren they call boys...i could see from the start i was in trouble at this new place... the boys were told by charlie to never get me down off them nails unless he was around my appreciation for charlie went up a little bit.... i musta hung on them nails a few days when in comes wanna them little boys then another..pete was the older of the two boys and pete said to paul heh dads gone lets get that old gun down and giveher a looking over we aint gonna hurt nothing..i sure was in a fix with these two little fellers wanting to paw all over me...well pete almost dropped me when he got me off the wall it was a close call as you know these old stocks aint made of iron..well was not long before them boys were sighten in on rabbits and squirls and it was not long before paul figured out how to back my hammers lordy be they musta snapped me a 100 times...boys heard somethin pete said daddys home but it turned out it was the mother boy did hereyes light up when she see that pete was trying toget me back on the wall...she said you boys britches aint gonna hold shucks when your paw gets back... well them boys pete and paul wont never forget the day they took me off the wall.. pete said he new now what his momma meant when his britches would not hold shucks... well after the lessons that them boys learned the mama sets in she says charlie you gotta get rid of that old gun before somethin happens..well charlie just could not think about getting rid of his friends gun heck he said i ve not even got a chance to hunt with her...so i was took off the wall and put in the barn on my new nails least i did not wind up in a chicken coop like one of my 20 ga sisters did.. well charlie said after the crops are in im gonna go duck hunting and see what theold swamp angel will do...was not long the crops were in and it had started frosting a little bit in the mornings charlie said saturday morning we are going hunting...well as charlie made ready for the hunt he said he better hunt up the shells and a decoy or two...well charlie got in there lookin at all of the old shells he said i think i ll take these old brass shells for old destreys sake..now destrey had loaded these old shell several years back and never got around to shootin them you know these old black powder shells get stouter with age... saturday morning finall arrived gosh it was chilly but charlie me was ready for the hunt...charlie had a little john boat he kept tied up by these old big slews were we were to go hunting.. charlie said the bottom was flooded no and that them ducks should really come in feedin on them acorns...well charlie got us too a good lookin spot ill have to give charlie credit he really knew how to fix a duck blind..charlie threw out our little band of decoys and then reached down and picked me up and stuffed to of those big brass shells into my chambers ...charlie said i gues wer about ready all we need now is some ducks..charlie fooled me he was about the worst duck caller ever to blow on a call...several flocks of ducks came by but they sure seemed to be scared of them strange noises....after a while charlie got tired of blowing on the call believe he just run outa wind...was not long before two mallards came by charlie backed my hammers and waited paiently they got into about 40 yards and charlie let go with the first barrel which kinda got him off balance as he tryed to catch keep his self from falling outa the boat low and behold he pulls my other trigger what a roar this old black powder shell made..well it was more than old charlie could manage outa that little john boat he went backwards me him both went into that icy water..we came up a kickin and cussin him wet and mad and me just a freezin... i tried to tell charlie it was destreys fault for not shootin up them old black powder shells but do you think charlie would listen to me...charlie finally got back into the john boat and brought me over the side and said im gonna get rid of you you kickin you know what and a few more choice words i didnot catch...it was a silent cold trip home heck charlie did not even look to see if he had killed that duck...i knew i was in for it cause charlie hang me up on the barn wall that night with out even a glance at me it sure was a long cold night...more later ive got to ponder some more... swamp angel
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