Hunting with hammers

[TxHuntermn]

I just cannot imagine why the "peanut gallery" is not clamoring for more info on the 12 bore Husky model 20, 12bore in the first pic, with the beautiful mirror finish polish job on the action, and the gorgeous sanded down wood!

Got that beauty in a Laredo Pawnshop for $100!!!! It is butt ugly, but a hoot to shoot!

[TxHuntermn]

I am such a terrible gun photographer!! I wish I could take a clinic from Bruce Day. Here are a few pics, including one next o a 1 frame DH, to give some scale.. it is a sweet little gun!

[TxHuntermn]

A few more, oh, and 29” tubes, not 30

[Dean Romig]

Those pictures are fine for my purposes Mark.

I'll send you the necessary info for my FFL guy in a PM.





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[TxHuntermn]

Dean, this is one of the few guns I own that I have had to “stiff-arm” guys I have hunted with over the last few years. In my fantasy life, I would peddle the gun for a graded, straight stocked 20 Parker, a straight stocked elsie .410. But........even then........I just dont know!

Back to the original thread theme....I love hunting with hammer guns, but most often I will shoot hammers when shooting from a blind or stand (read ducks and doves). Walking up behind dogs in our country, which is generally thick, and thorny and “cactusy”, and usually with two,other shooters in the flush squad, I generally just feel more comfortable dealing with a hammerless gun. Also, it has been my experience, that when shooting with “new guys” (which due to business entertainment, etc I hunt quail frequently with folks I dont know well), invariably someone sks to shoot my gun on a covey rise. Even after a quick primer on handling a hammer gun, issues occur. Twice in my adult hunting career, fellow hunters have “fanned” a hammer and sent an accidental discharge downrange. This happens, when looking at the pointing dog, while walking quickly over rough ground because th dog handler is urging them to “move up!”, they have thumb on hammer in anticipation. One stumble, and a hammer is fanned. Try to get out a few times a year by myself, with one dog, afoot, and shoot a few quail. Shoot! Those hammerless guns need love too!

[Dean Romig]

I completely get that Mark. Who could fault your logic?! Safety is and always should be paramount.





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[Southpaw]

I think 99.9% of responsible hunters and gun owners will adamantly agree there is not a game animal out there that is worth an accidental shot that could hurt or kill someone, yet it still happens and mostly from slim minority of irresponsible or ignorant hunters and gun owners. I don't know the statistics but for shotgunning, quail hunting and turkey hunting have to be most dangerous. I think its rare to see deaths from hunting with shotguns and with all the mandatory hunter safety classes, but still. Quail hunting I can see how things happen so quickly and with people getting excited in the pursuit, but turkey hunting, I will never get that one.

Hammer guns just have a different technique and mindset to operate safely. My first gun that I got when 12 was a 20 ga H&R hammer single shot. Still have that gun, and have not shot it in over, heck I can't remember last time I shot it buts been decades. Probably because of a love hate relationship. The hammer was so stiff when I was a kid I was terrified that when pulling hammer back my thumb would slip and gun would go off. Or, if I pulled hammer back but did not shoot and had to release hammer, my thumb would slip. That model once gun was cocked you could not open action. I spent hours as kid working that hammer back and forth on an empty gun learning to mount the gun and pull hammer back at the same time.

[C.O.B.]

Mark your 28ga hammer gun looks a lot like my W.R. Pape 28 hammer gun. Eric Eis, Mike Smith and myself just returned from a Quail hunt in Georgia where we spent a morning with just hammer guns. Mike and I had 28's while Eric's gun was a 20. A report on our excellent adventure will appear seperately

[TxHuntermn]

Originally Posted by Rich Anderson

Mark your 28ga hammer gun looks a lot like my W.R. Pape 28 hammer gun. Eric Eis, Mike Smith and myself just returned from a Quail hunt in Georgia where we spent a morning with just hammer guns. Mike and I had 28's while Eric's gun was a 20. A report on our excellent adventure will appear seperately

That sounds like fun! I have never shot quail in the “deep south”, although i live significantly south of there even!! My first english gun was a Pape boxlock 12, the quality was outstanding!! Was hammerless though. That gun sadly is long gone, but I remember it fondly because it was my second Vizsla’s first wild quail hunt.

[TxHuntermn]

Originally Posted by Mark Ray

That sounds like fun! I have never shot quail in the “deep south”, although i live significantly south of there even!! My first english gun was a Pape boxlock 12, the quality was outstanding!! Was hammerless though. That gun sadly is long gone, but I remember it fondly because it was my second Vizsla’s first wild quail hunt.

Geez i was fat then!!!!