QUESTIONS FOR COLLECTORS

[Hammer Gun]

Garry, here is a copy of the letter with the aforementioned gun, It has been a while since I owned it and was wrong it is not a 12 ga it was 16 gauge

[mobirdhunter]

Originally Posted by Gary Carmichael Sr

Garry, here is a copy of the letter with the aforementioned gun, It has been a while since I owned it and was wrong it is not a 12 ga it was 16 gauge

Gary,

Thanks for posting the letter. I always find the letters interesting, especially when they chronicle guns returned for some kind of work. I still wonder about Askins reporting that Parker turned down his request to cut the barrels. I'm sure there's a bit more there than "meets the eye."

BTW, are you still in Floyd? I grew up in the Williamsburg/Yorktown area, and then lived in Mechanicsville for some years before leaving Virginia for good in pursuit of an education...and a job. I still miss Virginia.

Thanks again for taking the time to post that letter.

[Hammer Gun]

Do not know why it is sideways maybe someone can fix that, Gary

[Bill Murphy]

I don't know about the gun with the sideways letter, but I have been hunting the Askins ten gauge for years, and now I know what to look for. I know the serial number and now I know to look for the saw marks, barrels and stock. The Colonel was a cocky soldier and is the kind of guy who would slam his aluminum airline approved gun case onto the hood of his rental car at a shoot, doing hundreds of dollars of damage to the rental company. He would also saw the barrels off a gun he didn't pay for. However, I seem to remember that the ten gauge Parker belonged to the Captain. I will check back.

[Researcher]

While watching my University of Washington Huskies go down to defeat in the Rose Bowl, I was thumbing through The American Rifleman for 1935, and found a couple of good ads featuring Chas. Askins, Jr.

Western Cartridge Co. was fast and got this on the back cover of the August 1935, issue.

Charles Askins, Jr. August 1935, The American Rifleman.jpg

Colt's Patent Fire Arms Mfg. Co. was a bit slower and got this in the September 1935 issue.

Charles Askins, Jr. September 1935, The American Rifleman.jpg

I was looking at Chas. Askins, Sr. articles in the 1935 volume of The American Rifleman to see if he had anything similar there to the Outdoor Life column that started this thread. From the December 1934 issue to the July 1935 issue was a multi-part reminisce about his early duck shooting adventures in Illinois.

[mobirdhunter]

Neat stuff! I just saw a reference to Askins in another thread about long range doubles. I'm looking at his books again with some renewed interest.

[todd allen]

Good shotgun writing can come from surprising sources. Shotguns by Keith was a lot better read than I would have imagined.
When I think of Elmer Keith, I think of large caliber handguns, not shotguns.

[mobirdhunter]

Originally Posted by todd allen

Good shotgun writing can come from surprising sources. Shotguns by Keith was a lot better read than I would have imagined.
When I think of Elmer Keith, I think of large caliber handguns, not shotguns.

Todd,

Thanks for the recommendation. I must admit I've not read Keith's book on shotguns, thinking it would not offer much. I'll give it a try now based on your remarks. Another good excuse to hunt for a first edition!

[todd allen]

While you're on the search, "Hell, I was there", by Keith is a fun read.

[todd allen]

A little swerve back to the topic. I was at one of the bigger shoots in Vegas, some years back, and bought an old, highly modified GHE pigeon gun from one of the vendors, based on it's background, and previous owner. (You let on you want something, you're toast)
I was big on "ring" events, and the equipment used. I would have bought every vintage P-Gun that my meager budget would allow. I paid stupid money for the GHE, and would be lucky to get a % of my money back, but this gun brought me happiness, and even won a few events with it.
A list of mods;
Money Maker Rib
Custom beaver tail fore end
Soft Comb (which was the rage with the trap shooters)
Customized pistol grip
Sites (sp) barrel work
Miller Trigger