Tag Archives: shotguns

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

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

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

Jack O’Connor was wrong

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Jerry Johnson

When I was shooting grouse in Scotland, my British friends thought my Model 21 Winchester, which weighs 7 1/2 pounds, quite heavy. …the guns my British pals shot all had 28 or 30-inch barrels. They thought my 26-inch barrels a … Continue reading →

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Treasured possessions

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Jerry Johnson

That western-style hat on the top shelf of the bureau is a magical storybook. I need only put it on to be spun into the memories of a dozen bird and deer hunts across the high plains of Nebraska, South … Continue reading →

Posted in Hunting, Hunting Keepsakes, Rifles, Shotguns | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Three Guns

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Jerry Johnson

You are granted a year’s leave of absence from work and family responsibilities, handed an itinerary of a few dozen hunts across the North American continent, provided with all the necessary equipment, and are sent forth on this dream of … Continue reading →

Posted in Friendship, Hunting, Hunting Rifles, Shotguns | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

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

She goes where you hold her

Posted on January 18, 2015 by Jerry Johnson

“You shot real nice with that little bitty gun,” he said. “She’ll go where you hold her, won’t she?”            – from Mister Howard Was a Real Gent, a short story in the collection titled The … Continue reading →

Posted in Bird hunting, Shooting, Shotgun Fit, Shotguns | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Falling into a pattern

Posted on January 11, 2015 by Jerry Johnson

Call me eccentric, call me crazy, but I see no sense in measuring patterns at 40 yards because I seldom shoot at game birds at that distance. I want to know the pattern data at 25 yards – the distance … Continue reading →

Posted in Shooting, Shooting Sports, Shotguns, Shotshell Reloading | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Pheasant autopsies

Posted on January 1, 2015 by Jerry Johnson

…it is rare indeed for a pheasant to be shot at distances beyond 40 yards, and rarer still for one to be felled. Most killing shots are less than 30 yards, many less than 25 – even late in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bird hunting, Shotguns | Tagged , , | 1 Comment