cordite
.333 member
Reged: 29/01/07
Posts: 341
Loc: NW Montana
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Just about every gunshop and pawnshop in America has a few old cheap single barreled shotguns for sale. Often they were made by Savage or Stevens and the most common gauges are 12 and 20. 16 gauge and 410 can also be found. So when looking through the offerings at a local shop I really wasn't paying much attention to the half dozen single barreled guns on their rack. But one caught my eye. Light and trim, I thought it was a 410 but to my surprise it was a 28 gauge in wonderful condition with a plain walnut butt stock and a beautiful figured walnut forend.
To my surprise, it was priced the same as the other single barreled guns in more common gauges. The owner admitted, as I was buying it, that he had never seen another. Neither had I.
[image]http://s1102.photobucket.com/user/cordite_lee1/media/20150923_132927_zps5ztcjk9y.jpg.html] [/URL][/image]
I can't think of a better gun for hunting grouse in the mountains where you may walk a lot of miles for each grouse you see. Just wondered if they are as uncommon as I think.
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sbs470
.333 member
Reged: 15/04/04
Posts: 378
Loc: Sheffield Tasmania
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Funnily enough I picked up seven boxes of Fiocci shells the other day. The owner said they were in the stock when he bought the shop 10 years ago. Not a real fast mover down here in Tasmania.
I don't own a 28g.Just grabbed them for a mate who has got one.
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lancaster
.470 member
Reged: 06/05/08
Posts: 9409
Loc: There's a lighthouse in the mi...
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allways good to take a look at everything because you never know
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Norwegian hunter misses moose, shoots man on toilet
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bringing civilisation to the barbarians
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HistoricBore
.300 member
Reged: 28/09/11
Posts: 230
Loc: United Kingdom
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They are like hen's teeth here in England...
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xausa
.400 member
Reged: 07/03/07
Posts: 2037
Loc: Tennessee, USA
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Decades ago, back in the early '70's, I made one of the few deals I have ever made in a pawn shop for a pre-64 Model 70 Winchester and a Merkel 201E O/U 12 gauge. I was shooting a lot of skeet at the time, and the lightweight little Merkel seemed like a great addition to my collection of skeet guns. However, when I took it to the range, I soon discovered that it was too light. It's lack of weight forward made follow-through difficult, so I stopped using it.
About that time I lent my Winchester 101 28 gauge to a "friend", who unbeknownst to me, was having a drinking problem. He did not return my gun immediately and I let things slide for some time, until finally I asked him for it back. To my total shock and amazement he told me that he thought the gun was a gift and that he had sold it.
Insurance paid me for the loss of the gun, but I was unable to replace it. When dove season rolled around again, I suddenly thought of the unused Merkel 12 gauge and the possibility of fitting it with 28 gauge insert tubes. Some Briley "Companion" tubes were available at a very reasonable price and I bought them. They have remained in the Merkel ever since.
The additional weight of the tubes was all it took to change the light weight 12 gauge into a really lively and well balanced 28 gauge, and the dove population suffered accordingly until the owner of my favorite dove field passed away and with him the tradition of an annual opening day hunt. I have had invitations to hunt in other fields, but I am reluctant to hunt in a field full of strangers. I have tried it a time or two, but the negatives finally outweighed the positives.
I think the 28 gauge, unlike the .410, which is really not suitable for wing shooting because of the lack of a reliable pattern, is the ultimate challenge for a shotgunner, and someone who can bag his limit with a single box of 28 gauge shells can justifiably feel a real sense of accomplishment.
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DarylS
.700 member
Reged: 10/08/05
Posts: 27512
Loc: Beautiful British Columbia, Ca...
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Good find, I've never seen one.
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Daryl
"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V
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