Vintage Duck Gun Post

M

Mike Trudel

Well-known member
Saw the post where gun preference was listed. A great collection of primarily autos and pumps. All fine funs to be sure, but lets see some of the vintage guns being used.

Here is my 1876 B, Norman 10ga., a long time Purdey gun maker who made guns on his own late in his career.


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here are my duck guns
1928 LC Smith Long Range, Factory 3in chamber, its my everyday gun.
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On occasion with proper inserts, my holy grail, E.M. Reilly 8 bore
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Manufactured 1871-1876*, 36 ½” 3 band Oxford Damascus steel barrels.

The gun came from the collection of Market Gunner Captain ”Buck” Leight (1856-1935) of Bush Neck, Maryland. Buck was a market hunter and is listed on page 9 of “The Outlaw Gunner” by Harry Walsh as owning a “Big” gun.

Original Owner is believed to be R.B Bayard, which is engraved on the side of the frame. R.B. Bayard was most likely Richard Bassett Bayard, of the firm James Knox & Company, a commission and shipping merchants. R.B. was also a prominent member of the Corn and Flour Exchange of Baltimore where he served with a Thomas Poultney. Poultney was a gun maker and seller from 1860-1876 according to the Gunsmiths of Maryland through a company called Poultney and Trimble. R.B. lived in Baltimore, MD from 1871 until his death in 1878. He was the son of Delaware Senator Richard H. Bayard and a member of a very prominent family from Delaware that include 6 generations of Delaware Senators. The Bayard’s were also noted hunters, with one of R.B. cousins being a known friend and hunting Partner of President Grover Cleveland. R.B.’s mother Mary Sophia Carroll was the Granddaughter of Charles Carroll the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence. Mary S Carroll’s brother Col. Charles Carroll is listed as a member of the Marshy Point Ducking Club ( Baltimore, MD) along with his son Gov. John Lee Carroll of Maryland (1876-1880).

further research is on going on both known owners.

 
Bill,

Really neat that you have that detailed of a provenance on your Reilly 8 bore. If that gun could talk...............

BTW: I saw Mike's Norman on Friday and it is as stunning in person as it is in the picture.
 
Wow Bill, great guns. An 8 ga is my "holy grail" as well, unfortunately it has not been obtained as of yet. The provenance on your 8ga is priceless.
 
VERY COOL thread!

i have always (and i do mean always) wanted to own and occationally hunt with a side x side. but, not a new gun, one like these. other than auctions or getting very lucky in a pawn shop, i have no clue where to look.

hope others post.

justin
 
My back up gun is a 1920,s sxs prewar belgium with a straight hand stock and 5/16" cast off, it is bored 1/4 in the right barrel and 3/8s in the left barrel.This is the gun I like to use for decoying ducks over the decoys but if there are any geese in the area I will turn to bertha my AL 390.
Take care and God Bless
Eddie and Amber
Its all about Building that Bond.
 
I have my dad's first gun, a single shot 16 ga manual hammer Stevens Model 94, given to him by his dad, my grandfather, in 1937.

It probably cost $20 at the time but its priceless to me now.

It has a Tenite stock and forearm (high tech stuff at the time) and probably only weighs about 6lbs and to this day, I almost cringe when I pull the trigger. It was the first gun I ever fired, and because of that ferocious recoil (for a 5 year old) I almost gave up guns forever.

I got over it though.
 
Mike and Bill,
those are sweet! I had a 10 ga Parker in my hands at a shop once and passed.... Dumb. It had twist barrels and was a tight gun.
I have my Fox and look to enjoy the heck out of it this year.


Do you two reload for your guns? What are you shooting in them?

Bob
 
I don't reload, if I need something I have my brother do it for me. I had the chokes opened up on my Smith and shoot steel through it. I found Fiocchi makes some old school steel loads that aren't fast and have low pressures. I'll shoot that for most of the time on decoying ducks. If if need more umph, i 'll shoot bismuth or kent TM.
 
Bob, I have taken the tight chokes out of a number of old doubles so steel could be used, but have now quit that practice, as reloading ITX has worked out well. 12ga ITX loads are about $1.40 per load if you do it yourself and New Era Ammunition sells them for $1.80 per shell.
 
OK here is the best I can do as far as a vintage fowling piece; it is a little rougher than Mike’s. The history behind this firearm was that it was manufactured by an Italian firm, but curiously imported to the United States by a German firearm manufacturer, the details of this manufacturer/importer agreement are not entirely clear since the fog of time has obscured some of the particulars.

The original purchaser bought the firearm around the turn of the century in a small town in central Wisconsin and for its first 10 years of existence was used primarily for waterfowl hunting. Ultimately, the firearm ended up in southwestern Connecticut and is in my possession.

Overall the firearm is in fine condition, but some of the handling marks suggest at least occasional use under harsh, perhaps rocky, conditions. The stock is missing its inlayed maker’s insignia – perhaps lost in one of Wisconsin’s many small duck marshes.
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The receiver has developed a nice patina and marks on the bolt suggest possible use around saltwater.
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Mike,
I shoot a 1913 Sterlingworth and a Model 12 heavy duck. What powder are you using with the ITX shot?
I've been shooting an ounce of Nice shot with Red Dot powder for a couple years. It's a nice load but costs
about $3.00 a shot! John
 
John. I am loading 1 1/8 oz ITX, with 24gr of Hodgdon Longshot. Speed is 1245 and pressure 8400. Also the hull is a Federal, the primer a Win. 209, and the wad is a Gualandi TUWGL12.

The load was tested by Tom Armbrust, owner of Ballistic Research. Tom will test for speed and pressure on any load at $5- per shell.
 
The old "hatchetback" Remington Model 11 12 gauge. First gun I hutned ducks with and shot my first woodie with it. It was my grandfathers and I still take it out occasionaly for the fun of it.


dc
 
Back in the Lead days all I used was a 70's vintage Savage Fox, 30" bbl's, 2 3/4", mod and full. I was deadly with that gun.
I put it up when steel became mandatory, but I'd really like to use it again if I can find a decent non toxic load for it. Considered having the chokes bored out some as I don't reload the fancy stuff.
 
George, I open the chokes on old doubles to .009 in the right barrel and .017 in the left and have used them for many years shooting steel with no problems. This gives you a lite mod and improved cylinder setup that shoots fairly tight with steel.
 
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