Category Archives: Bird Guns

There’s a point (of impact) to all this

Posted on January 3, 2020 by Jerry Johnson

Certain that the old Lefever 16 gauge must be shooting low (I missed two shot at pheasants one cold December morning) I spent this overcast January afternoon doing a point-of-impact test to prove the inaccurate shooting was the fault of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bird Guns, Bird hunting, Lefever Shotguns, pheasant hunting, shotgun patterning, Shotguns | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Opening day

Posted on November 2, 2019 by Jerry Johnson

Abbey shifts into overdrive when I take her bell out of the box. It’s impossible to buckle the collar while she is doing her happy-dog spin-and-twirl dance, so I give her a couple minutes to calm down and then order … Continue reading →

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On the road to recovery

Posted on February 7, 2019 by Jerry Johnson

The road to recovery from obsessive compulsive disorder is a long march over rocky ground, and support from caring friends speeds the journey. Sometimes this support arrives in a package marked “tough love,” but the gift is no less valuable … Continue reading →

Posted in Bird Guns, Hunting Rifles, Project Guns, Rifle Shooting, Rifles, Shooting Sports, Shotguns | Tagged | Leave a comment

Grandfather clause

Posted on January 9, 2019 by Jerry Johnson

1925 – the year this Lefever Nitro Special was manufactured in Ithaca, New York. 2019 – the year the old 12-gauge was still taking pheasants on the wing at 94 years of age. Maybe the elderly double gun should have … Continue reading →

Posted in Bird Guns, Bird hunting, Late season pheasants, Lefever Shotguns, Shotguns | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Pheasant loads

Posted on January 2, 2019 by Jerry Johnson

Late season pheasant hunts can test the character of the hunter, his birddog, his resolve, his equipment – and his shotshells. When the temperature at midday refuses to rise above nine degrees, the wind picks up to 15 miles per … Continue reading →

Posted in Bird Guns, Bird hunting, Late season pheasants, reloading, Shotshell Reloading | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

A brace of woodcock

Posted on November 27, 2018 by Jerry Johnson

A BRACE of game birds: plural, two wild birds of the same type that have been killed for sport or food; from the Middle English or Old French word brace (brah-say), meaning “arms” hence a pair; a sporting term that … Continue reading →

Posted in Bird Dogs, Bird Guns, Bird hunting, Woodcock, woodcock hunting | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

File marks

Posted on March 23, 2018 by Jerry Johnson

File marks Look closely and you may see them: file marks. The faint traces of file marks are barely visible on the water table of this old Lefever Nitro Special 12 gauge double gun. The marks are the final cuts … Continue reading →

Posted in Bird Guns, Hunting, Lefever Shotguns, Shooting, Shotgun Engraving, Shotguns | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Snow bird

Posted on December 13, 2017 by Jerry Johnson

Abbey began to lecture me: “Wahrl-arn-wahrl-yawl!” which, translated from spaniel French to North Country English means “Pheasant season only lasts eleven weeks, you know, and every day spent in the Clubhouse is wasted, lost forever and cannot be regained.” Snow … Continue reading →

Posted in Bird Dogs, Bird Guns, Bird hunting, Uncategorized | Tagged | 3 Comments

Last call

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Jerry Johnson

It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true; it’s called ‘Life.’ – from the novel The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett (1948-2015), English author of fantasy novels Last call It is … Continue reading →

Posted in Bird Guns, Bird hunting, Grouse hunting. Springer spaniels. Bird Dogs, Hunting Memories | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Better is more

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Jerry Johnson

The greatest adventure in creating a bird gun that is uniquely mine was the decision to have the receiver engraved with scroll and images of game birds.  Better is more The seed of understanding true value was planted some 50 … Continue reading →

Posted in Bird Guns, Bird hunting, Shotgun Engraving, Shotguns | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments