I still use the 870 Remington Wingmaster I've had since I was Thirteen. I paid $140 for it, it came with two barrels, a box of shells and a nice rod and real that I had for years. (guy had a tax bill he needed to pay) Although I do admit it's not my only shotgun or the one I shoot the most skeet with anymore. I tend to use a twenty, especially if I'm going to be at it all day. I'm not that hot anymore either, eyesight's part of it and we just don't do it as much as we once did. Now it's a couple time each summer, in the past it was almost every weekend. I did the reloading as a kid, my way of paying for the shooting, that and clean up the beer cans. LOL
My first shotgun was a single gauge 20, killed a lot of ducks with it before I bought the 12. A sixteen is nice for small game in the woods around here too, I've got a nice light pump action that does the trick. I've used a 10 for goose hunting too, that's a lot of fun, especially out on Saginaw Bay. But if I could only have one it would be my old faithful Wingmaster.
Hi Brad, Thanks for your great stories and descriptions. My Dad grew up with a single shot 20 gauge. Simple gun. The safety was pulling back the hammer.
Dad started me of with a .410. Then he gave me the single shot 20 gauge while he used a 12 gauge pump. Dad was a dead-eye shot.
He asked me Mom to buy the trophy for the Skeet Club where Dad belonged. Mom bought a cast iron Mallard. Dad came home with the trophy.
When my Dad was in his sixties, he and Mom went on a Holland American cruise ship. The Dutch had a skeet gun on the fantail with a launcher. Dad booked it one morning for 20 targets. The Dutch steward gave Dad a double-barreled 20 gauge, but only one shell for each target.
After my Dad hit all 20 clay pigeons, the steward was impressed, "Vould you like to go for a double?"
Dad was given two shells. He hit both targets.
Dad bought me a Browning Citori over-under 20 gauge many years ago. It is a beautiful gun.
You're welcome and thanks for all the comments. I had my eyes on a .410 when before I got the 20. I had cousins who owned a gun shop and they had one called a Snake Charmer hanging in the shop. I saved up money from farm work and almost bought it but a dirt bike caught my eye. By the time I'd saved up enough money again I was big enough to handle the 20.
The good old days might not have been perfect but they were pretty darn good.
PS: I own a $2500 skeet gun and know how to load it. I can even hit what I'm aiming at most of the time. My eyesight isn't what it used to be.
I still use the 870 Remington Wingmaster I've had since I was Thirteen. I paid $140 for it, it came with two barrels, a box of shells and a nice rod and real that I had for years. (guy had a tax bill he needed to pay) Although I do admit it's not my only shotgun or the one I shoot the most skeet with anymore. I tend to use a twenty, especially if I'm going to be at it all day. I'm not that hot anymore either, eyesight's part of it and we just don't do it as much as we once did. Now it's a couple time each summer, in the past it was almost every weekend. I did the reloading as a kid, my way of paying for the shooting, that and clean up the beer cans. LOL
My first shotgun was a single gauge 20, killed a lot of ducks with it before I bought the 12. A sixteen is nice for small game in the woods around here too, I've got a nice light pump action that does the trick. I've used a 10 for goose hunting too, that's a lot of fun, especially out on Saginaw Bay. But if I could only have one it would be my old faithful Wingmaster.
Hi Brad, Thanks for your great stories and descriptions. My Dad grew up with a single shot 20 gauge. Simple gun. The safety was pulling back the hammer.
Dad started me of with a .410. Then he gave me the single shot 20 gauge while he used a 12 gauge pump. Dad was a dead-eye shot.
He asked me Mom to buy the trophy for the Skeet Club where Dad belonged. Mom bought a cast iron Mallard. Dad came home with the trophy.
When my Dad was in his sixties, he and Mom went on a Holland American cruise ship. The Dutch had a skeet gun on the fantail with a launcher. Dad booked it one morning for 20 targets. The Dutch steward gave Dad a double-barreled 20 gauge, but only one shell for each target.
After my Dad hit all 20 clay pigeons, the steward was impressed, "Vould you like to go for a double?"
Dad was given two shells. He hit both targets.
Dad bought me a Browning Citori over-under 20 gauge many years ago. It is a beautiful gun.
You're welcome and thanks for all the comments. I had my eyes on a .410 when before I got the 20. I had cousins who owned a gun shop and they had one called a Snake Charmer hanging in the shop. I saved up money from farm work and almost bought it but a dirt bike caught my eye. By the time I'd saved up enough money again I was big enough to handle the 20.
The good old days might not have been perfect but they were pretty darn good.
Virginia Woolf is correct. Sadness and loneliness come from knowing the truth about the world and humanity.