Grouse gun

[Merimac]

What gun is your grouse gun?

Mine has been an old 12 ga. Ithica pump that my dad gave me when I went to school in Marquette.(NMU) It has a deer barrel and is a bottom ejector. the Safety is left handed( I shoot Right) the butt is worn and every bit of it looks to say please retire me I am old and beat.. I have never named it but it sure deserves the respect. Me and my ol Penny dog walked many miles in search of the king of the woods. It also rode with me and Addie to our first hunts together. I just got a new gun. A sharp 20ga. sxs. Although I am excited to use it, My old gun feels much like like my ol dog. There is much history and I dont want to put it down. I understand that there isnt quite the same relations between a gun and human, like a dog and human but the history and the care or sometimes the lack of seems like there is an unexplained contract. Each fall when I would take it out for the 1st time my dog would hear the chamber pump. She would stand up like there was a drill sargent screaming attention! I knew that season was starting. I cant wait for my new gun to look this bad! 
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[UncleDave]

Cheap old Holiday 20 gauge single shot.  Gets the job done.

[Faceman]

I mainly use my Ruger Red Label O/U but sometimes I go back to my old beat up but very faithful Mossberg 500 pump.

[thunderpout]

It's now a 20g Weatherby D'Italia SxS, made by Fausti Stephano Arms in Breschia, Italy(go figure, eh?) It was weird...spent about two years researching getting a new grouse hunting gun, had about half a dozen guns in mind but never saw any of em in stores, just in articles in all the shooting and hunting mag's...and one day I had to stop into Joes sporting goods and a gunsmith I talk to alot to there, yells at me "hey...your guns here... a guy ordered a gun from Italy and couldnt swing paying for its all yours, take her home!)  When he told me how much, I said dont even show it to me because he'd get me in big trouble...too late... a kid came around the corner wiping the grease off it and handed it to me..it was all over!  The gun fit like an old baseball glove, swung like a dream like my first grouse gun I bought as a kid...put $$$ down and got it later that summer.  Ended up using it shooting competitively in sporting clays tourneys and leagues that year because I shot it better than my serious 12g clays gun, to my and my shootin buddies amusement!  But after shooting like 2000 rounds thru it in half a season, I figured I was gonna wear that pretty little grouse gun out before its time doin that, shes retired to hunting and special occasion clays abuse.  Yeah Merimac, shes got a name...Giovanna, after one of the Stephano sisters that runs/owns the Mfg. in Italy...When I unzip the Duluth Pack case I bought for it...Light pours out and ya hear angels sing! :ROTFLMAO: love2.gif           -thunderpout happy2.gif

[Merimac]

It's now a, made by Fausti Stephano Arms in Breschia, Italy(go figure, eh?) It was weird...spent about two years researching getting a new grouse hunting gun, had about half a dozen guns in mind but never saw any of em in stores, just in articles in all the shooting and hunting mag's...and one day I had to stop into Joes sporting goods and a gunsmith I talk to alot to there, yells at me "hey...your guns here... a guy ordered a gun from Italy and couldnt swing paying for its all yours, take her home!)  When he told me how much, I said dont even show it to me because he'd get me in big trouble...too late... a kid came around the corner wiping the grease off it and handed it to me..it was all over!  The gun fit like an old baseball glove, swung like a dream like my first grouse gun I bought as a kid...put $$$ down and got it later that summer.  Ended up using it shooting competitively in sporting clays tourneys and leagues that year because I shot it better than my serious 12g clays gun, to my and my shootin buddies amusement!  But after shooting like 2000 rounds thru it in half a season, I figured I was gonna wear that pretty little grouse gun out before its time doin that, shes retired to hunting and special occasion clays abuse.  Yeah Merimac, shes got a name...Giovanna, after one of the Stephano sisters that runs/owns the Mfg. in Italy...When I unzip the Duluth Pack case I bought for it...Light pours out and ya hear angels sing! :ROTFLMAO: love2.gif           -thunderpout happy2.gif

Sweet Jesus.. Sounds like a charm!  I am gonna look that baby up and see what it looks like.  Thats a great story thanks for sharing....

Is this it?

[thunderpout]

Yep... thats her...aint she purrty?        -thunderpout 8)

[Merimac]

Yep... thats her...aint she purrty?        -thunderpout 8)

Really nice what are the chokes?

[thunderpout]

It actually has screw in choke tubes...so I have skeet-full! (I did have a heck of a time ordering the skeet tube from Italy..)  -thunderpout

[Merimac]

Here is my new one... Just finished shooting its picture

[thunderpout]

Cripes! Thats some kind of round action dickenson scotish gun! ( or a really nice copy!)  If thats your grouse gun, you wont be using it to push the thorns and thick stuff when brush bustin... you'll be carrying behind you, probably in a case, in which you better have a really good pointing dog that'll wait for ya to unzip your case and walk up on his point!           -thunderpout

[thunderpout]

Wait...that may be a Famarms round body (rbl) I think they're like 20 grand.....        -thunderpout

[Merimac]

Wait...that may be a Famarms round body (rbl) I think they're like 20 grand.....        -thunderpout

Connecticut Shotgun RBL

Not nearly that much..

[thunderpout]

No they're not that much...it's a beautiful gun, almost borderline too nice to bust brush with, but you'll get over that quickly, as I did.  Did you order it?  I had issues ordering an expensive gun thru the mail, mainly because I really need to hold, mount,swing & feel a gun before I'd drop the $$$... But there aren't that many places in MN to actually see/handle that type of gun...just Cabela's gun rooms or Pugleases in Duluth maybe... But yeah, I've read alot about your new SxS, and talked to a guy at a RGS clays shoot who recently got a RBL like yours and a Kimber 28g, and he loved em both...as Im sure you do...is it a 20g or a 28g?  good luck with it and give her a good name...                  -thunderpout

[Merimac]

No name yet..  I did get a scratch.  I certainly dont want it scratched but it should be used.  The obvious is Use = Scratches.  I try to be careful and thats the best I can do.

mac

[rosiesdad]

Yeah Merimac, shes got a name...Giovanna, after one of the Stephano sisters that runs/owns the Mfg. in Italy...When I unzip the Duluth Pack case I bought for it...Light pours out and ya hear angels sing! :ROTFLMAO: love2.gif           -thunderpout happy2.gif

Thats how a gun is supposed to fit

[DontShootMe]

Here is my new one... Just finished shooting its picture...

Wow.  Looks nicer than most some jewlery. 

[thunderpout]

Nope...there is no jewlery, doesnt matter it's worth, that is prettier than a nice SxS....   (an official thunderpout quote!)    -thunderpout

[thunderpout]

Man, hit the Pheasent Fest and visited theCZ booth... really loved the 28g Bobwhite.  They said they're comming out with a grouse and a partridge model soon!      -thunderpout