My Unmatched Pair & Etcetera Guns

Browning BSS's in 20 & 12 Gauges

A matched pair of "Best Guns" is only really a necessity at formal "Driven "Shoots" (and that could be red grouse in Scotland, pheasant in England or Central Europe or partridges in Spain) and both, Best Guns and Driven Shoots are luxuries that few people can afford (including me, unhappily). However, it is unlikely that a single gun will meet all your shooting (translation from UK English: hunting) needs, and that is where an unmatched pair will shine.

In our rather stupid time, the majority of the hunters prefer the over-under or auto-loading shotguns, while a dwindling number stick to the "All-American" pump-action, but I am part of a certain minority that are passionate about side-by-side shotguns.

Clearly there is an elitist cult around the "Gentlemen's Gun", and many side-by-side shotguns sell not only for thousands of dollars, but for tens of thousands of dollars, but so do many over-under shotguns, and even a few auto-loaders and pumps (Winchester Model 12 Skeet 28 gauge anyone?)

On the other hand, there are very affordable side-by-side guns that are completely functional, even if less than refined, and perform very well afield (although they probably would scourge the elitist or purist side-by-side aficionado). Several times while hunting perdiz (Nothura maculosa) in Uruguay I had great shooting days using nothing more than a Stoeger Uplander, both in 20 and 28 gauges. This gun is made in Brazil by E.R. Amantino (a.k.a. Boito) as the model A-680 and retails in the US for no more than four hundred dollars.

But let's get back to the unmatched pair. Bird hunting or shooting is as diverse as the species we pursue and although we could use your waterfowl gun for upland birds or vice-versa, the result may not be the best. Luiz Alves Flores in his short-stories "Caçadas" (http://www.estacaocapixaba.com.br/temas/memoria/cacadas/) tells of a gentleman that ordered two Sauer shotguns from Germany, a 20 gauge for upland (or forest) birds and a 12 gauge for waterfowl.

And this is the approach that I took. My first unmatched pair was a set of Spanish made Laurona box lock shotguns. I bought both used at On Target in Kalamazoo and initially they had Prince of Wales grips and cheeckpiece combs. Eventually my friend Bill Berghuis transformed the stocks into nice straight grip or English hand and removed the cheeckpiece that virtually eliminated any cast-off.

But several years ago I acquired a Browning BSS 20 gauge on a trade with another friend, Mitch Garvey, and since then I've had a fixed idea of having another unmatched pair. The BSS may not be the quintessential "game gun" as they have pistol grips, single non-selective triggers, beavertail foreends and are somewhat heavy, but they are among the most robust and durable side-by-side shotguns ever built; maybe a poor man Model 21.

Well, earlier this year during an unplanned and not to be discussed visit to Cabela's Gun Library in Dundee, Michigan, I completed my second unmatched pair, when I acquired a Browning BSS 12 gauge. While I've used the BSS 20 extensively on clay pigeons, perdiz and doves in Uruguay and woodcock and grouse in Michigan and Ontario, so far I shot the BSS 12 very little, a couple rounds on Five-Stand and not many more on Skeet. The one problem I faced was often trying to find a second trigger for the left barrel, especially while shooting Skeet, and I have not faced the same issue with the BSS 20. I definitively have issues on how my brain is wired.

The BSS 12 would make a great watefowl gun, if I ever find time to hunt waterfowl, or for late season pheasants in the Dakotas, and for sure a great target gun for side-by-side shoots. In order to get optimum performance I may have to ask my friend Del Whitman to open up the current chokes (Modified and Full) to something more forgiving like Skeet and Improved Cylinder.

And with the help of the "inserts" shown in the photo above, either gun could also become a nice small game collector and survival piece. On the center is a 22 LR "insert" that can be used in 12, 16 or 20 gauge shotguns (I will talk about it in detail in the future) and just under the decoy is a 12/410 insert.

Well, I need to go now as I am getting ready to travel to South Africa this coming Friday for a week of bow hunting for plains game (what a misnomer) and bird shooting, and provided communications are available I will provide daily updates about this adventure in the Dark Continent.

Of Wild Flushes and Wild Meals

Woodcocks on the way...

Yesterday Del and I went out bird hunting again. It was a fresh and moist morning and the fall colors were glowing in a particularly beautiful way. I love the burnt reds and coppers.

In the early part of the hunt we had a lot of walking, which should please Dr. March as he insists that I exercise daily, some false points and many wild flushes, mostly woodcock, but also one young and illegal whitetail buck with short spikes over its head. The buck was illegal because we had shotguns for the birds we were after and it is now bow season for deer, and because of the new antler restriction regulations based on Quality Deer Management principles that protect bucks until they have at least three points in one side.

After coming back to the car we drove around to another area and let out both Gina and Zap, and we went out in another long walk. Finally when we were no more than one hundred yards from the car the dogs started pointing woodcock one after another. We would have had a limit between the two of us if Del's auto-loading shotgun had not misfired twice and if we had found one of the birds I shot.

I think that Del knew all along where the birds were, but he is under orders of Dr. March to make me exercise and walk every inch of the Michigan north woods, or at least every inch of Grand Traverse, Benzie and Leelanau counties, before we can collect a couple three birds for dinner.

For a change we did not go out for lunch in respect of our respective diets.

For dinner I prepared the woodcock (beccaccine) skinned (poultry skin is bad for triglycerides) and cut in half, lightly browned over just a bid of lard, and then cooked with shallots and cipollini on a white wine and rosemary sauce. As contorni I had grilled eggplants (melanzana) white beans (fagionlini) salad. The wonderful dinner was washed down by a glass of I Tre Vescovi, and excellent Barbera d'Asti.

There may be more pleasurable things in life, but few can surpass good friends, hunting and a wild game dinner.

to become a meal!

A Nice Fall Morning

Zap & Gina with woodcock

It is no secret to anyone that knows me that I endure most of the year to really live and enjoy fall, as fall means hunting season is open, and that translates into spending time outdoors with friends.

I was able to take sometime out this morning to go bird hunting with friends Del and Dan. We met at Del's around 9:00 AM, which is one of the beautiful things about "upland bird hunting" as we don't need to wake up well before the stars dim out as we need to do when deer and duck hunting.

We enjoyed some small talk while getting ready and loading Del's German short-hair pointers, Zap and Gina, in his Honda Element, which is really a nice little hunting car, and then drove in a generally Southwest direction to get to the same plot of state land where Del and I hunted almost a year ago.

When we got there we parked where we intended to end the hunt and walked the dogs on leash to the covert a half a mile or so to the beginning of the covert where we released the eager Zap and Gina, loaded our guns and started walking through the ferns, already burned, but bravely resisting the passing of the season.

The first part of our walk was quiet, for the lack of a more sedated word, but just so suddenly Zap and Gina started to go on point, sometimes at the same time but a hundred yards apart. Over the next two hours or so we may have had twenty or twenty five woodcock flushes, and maybe we got legitimate shots at half of them.

Dal was shooting  a very nice Benelli Ultralight 28 gauge semi-automatic shotgun that he own at the Ruffed Grouse Society banquet last month, while Dan was using a side-by-side 20 gauge SKB and I had my Browning BSS, also a twenty. Del had one misfire and another time he forgot to chamber a shell, and even if I say so, I enjoyed an inspired day, and got my share of the action and of woodcock.

By the end of our morning stroll when it was already quite warm, if not hot, we had bagged six birds, while we could not find two other. We also had a single wild flush from a grouse, but neither Del, Dan or I could even had a good look at it.

We finished our morning with excellent burgers at Jodi's Tangled Antler, a great hunter friendly and antler decorated northern Michigan bar. After that, back to work...