The Ultimate Duck Gun......

[Old and Reliable]

Destry- great stuff indeed. If you grew up South of I-64 does that mean you could get grits and cathead bisquits with red-eye gravy for breakfast? You are indeed what the Spanish would call a "Rey Del Mundo Hombre" - King of the World Man- with all the trips to Beaver Dam and your interest in the life and gunning experiences of the true "Shootin'ist Gent'man" T.N. Buckingham.

My major references for the research question I am posing are: The Best of Nash Buckingham by George Bird Evans 1973 Winchester Press, and Mr. Buck, The Autobiography of Nash Buckingham- edited by Dr. Dryk Halstead and Steve Smith 1990 beaver Dam Press.

The second book I listed details on page 249 "Presentation of 1962 OUTDOORSMAN Of The YEAR Award- To Nash Buckingham By Lowell E. Kreig ---- Lockhaven Country Club, Alton, Illinois. No mention of a hotel in Alton. Is it possible there was a hotel there prior to the building of the Country Club?

Back to the G.B. Evans book, in the forward from Nash's close friend John M. Olin "If a man ever found the fountain of youth, it was Nash Buckingham. I remember how he looked that night of January 18, 1963, at the Lockhaven Country Club at Alton, Illinois----

You have seen and handled the M21 Duck 12 bore- "The Award Gun"- As this is a Parker Forum, not a Winchester Forum, we'll let that pass, ditto the possible interest in the whereabout of both his Becker-Fox magnums.

One thing I will never quite understand is why the Game Agent needed to check Nash's first Becker "Bo-Whoop" back in Dec. 1948. If Nash had been shooting a pump or an autoloader; certainly, for the Federal mandated 3 shot plug, but a double- not needed.

On barn pigeons, my favorite target awing (as MI will never have a legal dove season in our lifetimes) where did you find pigeon decoys? I use dove decoys, have also seen pigeons drop in my crow decoys in the snowy cornfields in late winter-early spring. I've also used the old Indian trick of propping up dead pigeons on corn shocks for "foolies"

A retired MI State Vet. taught me the "tender-taste-test" for pigeons: Squeeze the deceased bird with your fingers straddling the rib cage- if the rib bones spring back, it is a squab or a young bird, and will be tasty. If not, it is a old-timer and feed it to your cat.

I baste the filleted breasts with olive oil and coarse pepper and like with teal and wood-duck, grill on a hot charcoal fire-maybe 2-3 minutes per side-mighty tasty, not quite as good as dove, but a close second.

I'll possibly have some more paper 10 gauge 2 & 7/8" Remingtons by the next MI side-by shoot at Lapeer, Sat. July 18th. Hope to see you there.