A Hunter’s Guide to Classic Imported Doubles (Part 2 of 2)
Click Here to Read Part 1 This is the second half of a two-part article on classic European doubles imported into the U.S. between the end of our Civil War and the start of the First World War. Part I, which was published in Sporting Classics July/August 2025...
A Hunter’s Guide to Classic Imported Doubles (Part 1 of 2)
During the 50 years between the end of our Civil War in 1865 and the start of the First World War, American wingshooters had an extraordinary number of choices in double barrel shotguns, both foreign and domestic. This article is about classic imported doubles that...
A Lesser-Known Name Find
I suspect that most non-shooters view gun trading as some sort of mental or emotional deviance. Gun trading isn’t universal, but it does appear in enough humans to be readily recognizable to those who are not afflicted with the malady. I think it’s kind of like a...
Beretta at 500: Still Too Restless to Grow Old
Travis Haglin stopped me at the Beretta booth during last year’s Safari Club International Convention, moving with the haste of a man who had found something he wasn’t supposed to show anyone. “You gotta check out this room.” Coming from someone with the Beretta...
Winchester’s Haunted House
Said to be haunted by the ghosts of those killed with Winchester rifles, the home is an interesting site even without the superstitions.
Bo Whoop: The Enduring Mystique
It was born of genius, destined for fame, and fated for mystery. Together, to make it the single-most fascinating and enduring legend in the multi-colored history of the American sporting scene. Its name was “Bo Whoop.” A custom-built, ten-pound, twelve gauge,...
My Purdey: Much More than a Gun
Endowed with seven decades of shooting tradition and the souls of two men, Purdey No. 21390 came as a gift and will be passed on as such. But for now, it is a living extension of its owner’s nerves and brain. If a man lives in the gun he loves and shoots, then my...
Uncle Dan’s Last Hurrah
Not many American guns are more thoughtfully designed nor better built than Uncle Dan's New Lefever. Dan Lefever had a knack, if you want to call it that, for getting crossways with business partners. In a career that spanned fifty years, he invented some of the...
Stock Therapy: Preserving Antique Shotguns
As someone who spends a lot of time working to preserve late 19th century and early 20th century double guns, I have thought a lot about why some high quality and once very expensive shotguns have been well preserved and others have not. The formula for the...
Piotti Round-Action
Dan Moore has a long-standing relationship with the Italian gunmaking firm of Fratelli Piotti that goes all the way back to the days of his father, William Larkin Moore. Dan also is a great fan of round-action side-by-side shotguns, especially those from the hands of...