I think the ring necks are from China.
I think the ring necks are from China.
Here is a blast from the past: Attachment 3473
This was shot on Miller Island (now part of the large containment for dredge spoil from Baltimore harbor and northern Bay channels that is being turned into a park -- it subsumes both Hart and Miller Islands) in about 1971 or so.
When the gummint mandated steel shot, I gave up waterfowling.
Why is that? Did you not have a gun that would take steel loads?Originally Posted by W3MIV
When the government's boot is on your throat, whether it is a left boot or a right boot is of no consequence. — GARY LLOYD
The nation we live in is the nation we have built by design, each successive generation raising the wall of tyranny a little higher. - Chris Griffin
In those early days of steel shot, there were few shotguns that could handle steel. If you shot an autoloader or pump gun, you could buy new bbls of tougher steels that were being made for steel, but if you look at those images -- a side-by-side for shooting over decoys and an o/u for longer shots from the pit -- those guns would have been destroyed by steel shot. The chokes would have been peened out to cylinder and the soldered ribs between the bbls split apart. No thankee...
As well, the first generations of steel were truly awful stuff. Instead of forming a shot string, the early steel pellets would clump together, hitting the choke like a solid ball. They were also much lighter than lead, and began to yield far more crippled birds than clean kills. In many ways, the policy was counter-productive of protecting waterfowl populations. It took a long while to correct these deficiencies.
Were I to bother with waterfowling today, I would go with one of the tungsten-laden polymers like that made by Kent in WV at the old Activ plant. (I think they are still there.) There is also bismuth, which is very heavy and yet somewhat malleable. Both are very costly, but when you count up what it costs to waterfowl, the price of your shells is bupkes.
I am content now to sit back and take an occasional trek across a game farm when I want to refresh the memories of upland fun. Waterfowl today, however, has become a "big business" on the Shore and it just doesn't make sense to me at this stage of my life. Better to teach the youngsters -- most of whom are more interested in killing Bambi, anyway -- how to conduct themselves in the field safely and ethically.
Yet another from the same period:
Attachment 3474
This one taken in a field in Talbot County in which we had a goose pit. (Why I let my idiot friend who shot this prop my gun against my arm I do not now know -- spoils the shot).
You can never go home again.
You look like a buddy of Papa Hemingway.
I wounded a couple Canucks with 12 ga 2¾" Rem Express "magnum" BBs through a modified choke. Almost bought a single shot 10 ga. Then decided to move outta PA.
Had Canuck honker in Montana at a singles party that was cooked in a marinade (no heat). Unbelievably good. Cut into approx 3/4" cubes. It was the darkest purple/maroon color.
Last edited by kc7jty; 10-31-2010 at 08:48 PM.
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