It was a Great Day!

[Stan Hoover]

Was able to enjoy a great first day of dove season here in PA again, my favorite time of the year is here again. We had exceptional weather with low humidity, hunting was a little slow but the doves started to show up in the evening.
What's not to like, some great action, an excited dog who loves to bird hunt, and being able to shoot a vintage SxS that was meant for bird hunting!

[Randy Roberts]

Nice work Stanley. Looks like a very cool Grade 3 possibly ?

[Stan Hoover]

You are correct Randy,
It is of course a top lever, about as close to new condition as I've had the opportunity to acquire.

A 3 frame, 12 of course, and weighs 9 lbs 6 oz. Why only 30" and only regular chamber length?

It seems like it could have been a special order gun due to it being a 3 frame, but nothing noted in the Letter>

[Chris Robenalt]

Vintage style hunting for sure Stan! I enjoy a hammer gun day. I may do one this first season myself. Are the dove flying pretty well back there?

[Stan Hoover]

Originally Posted by Chris Robenalt

Vintage style hunting for sure Stan! I enjoy a hammer gun day. I may do one this first season myself. Are the dove flying pretty well back there?

Hello Chris,

The dove seem to be a little less plentiful here local, we spent a few hrs after them yesterday but only saw a little action in the evening. It is all about being where the dove are, that being where cornfields have been harvested currently.

[Stan Hoover]

Hope you guys are all having fun out there, doves are a little sparse but we're enjoying some beautiful weather here in PA.

[Keavin Nelson]

That Parker certainly has some beautiful wood on it!

[Kevin McCormack]

Nice dove stool\can\seat\perch, Stan. First started using them duck hunting in shortgrass marshes in the late 1970s; legs never dug into the soft muck because there aren't any, they carry a lot of stuff, they are waterproof with a tight-fitting lid, and can act as a myriad of tools in a waterfowling environment (boat bailing, dry storage, emergency toilet, temporary livesaving device if the lid is watertight). Adapted them to dove field use after a couple of soggy hunts a few days after a soaking rain set up beside a picked corn field. The traditional pipe-framed dove stools sunk into the soft ground either fore or aft, sometimes pitching the gunner at the crucial moment of shooting, often when they had drifted off to sleep during extended lulls in the action. One thing we found the world is not short of is a surplus of 5-gallon pails!

[Stan Hoover]

Great analysis Kevin,
I must have this particular bucket for 15 years or more, the lid is cracked and doesn't stay on very well. It has served me well.

Originally Posted by Kevin McCormack

Nice dove stool\can\seat\perch, Stan. First started using them duck hunting in shortgrass marshes in the late 1970s; legs never dug into the soft muck because there aren't any, they carry a lot of stuff, they are waterproof with a tight-fitting lid, and can act as a myriad of tools in a waterfowling environment (boat bailing, dry storage, emergency toilet, temporary livesaving device if the lid is watertight). Adapted them to dove field use after a couple of soggy hunts a few days after a soaking rain set up beside a picked corn field. The traditional pipe-framed dove stools sunk into the soft ground either fore or aft, sometimes pitching the gunner at the crucial moment of shooting, often when they had drifted off to sleep during extended lulls in the action. One thing we found the world is not short of is a surplus of 5-gallon pails!

[Stan Hoover]

My brother in law called and said he found another farm that could be dynamite! So we gave it a whirl, many dove feeding when we arrived, but they weren't real happy about us interrupting their feeding and cleared out pretty quickly.
So it was a rather slow evening with some high flying birds, but the 32" 20 gauge proved it was up to the task