Woodward/Purdey

Woodward/Purdey

The change from side-by-sides to over-and-unders is unquestionably the biggest shift in game guns during our current era. The undeniable success of the superimposed shotgun at all manner of competition has led most of us who pursue wild birds to believe we’ll bag more...
Most Embarrassing Mistake In Gunmaking

Most Embarrassing Mistake In Gunmaking

For gunmaker Al Biesen, misspelling Jack O’Connor’s name was a tiny mistake, but something he would never be able to live down. Spokane was as far from her family as my rightfully cautious bride would move, at least in the direction of Montana’s elk country, so we set...
Paul Mauser: The Man Who Repurposed the Door Latch

Paul Mauser: The Man Who Repurposed the Door Latch

His rifles armed world powers in titanic wars, and hunters in the greatest game fields on Earth. The spoor, braided at first, was unraveling. “Ready to bed,” John mouthed the words. Short yards ahead, a patch of dried mud came to eye—two feet off the ground....
Double Barrel Doves

Double Barrel Doves

I swore to lock up the 28-gauge Perazzi, safe and sound, and return it when asked. But I simply could not, would not, make this trip without her. I have always been lucky with dogs and shotguns. Or maybe just unlucky with everything else. In any event, one evening the...
A Lesser-Known Name Find

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...
Fall’s Better With a New Gun

Fall’s Better With a New Gun

A long time ago, when I was a younger man, anticipation seemed to be the better part of everything. Everything, it seemed, was better, sweeter, more perfect in the planning stage than in the eventual reality. The “other hand” is that with the passing of considerable...