Pheasant guns - a tool or something else?

landman

landman

New member
To me a gun is simply a tool that I use for hunting. If I find a gun that I like better I usually will sell or trade the old gun away. I don't have any guns from the by-gone days - none with fixed chokes or holding sentimental value. All my childhood guns are long gone. I don't have any really expensive guns either as gold or silver engraving means little to me. All I want is something that fits and shoots well, afterall its just a tool.

Yet I hear from a lot of folks who keep their guns for years and years and like to shoot guns from long ago just for the sentimental value. Some folks find added enjoyment in shooting guns that are very fancy and expensive.

Which side of the equation are you?
 
Last edited:
I have my very first shotgun my dad bought me. 410 single shot Winchester. No reason to ever get rid of it even though I never shoot it. I killed a lot of pheasants, quail and rabbits before I could afford my first 870 pump. I now have a couple of brownings citori's and and a few SxS but nothing very expensive. I like to use a different gun just because I have them. I am not really attached to the newer ones and would sell or trade them if the right opportunity came up.
 
I don't think I could ever get rid of the first shotgun I was given. I was given it for my golden birthday at 14. By no means the best, a browning BPS but it works well and means the world to me. I do hunt with others who see a gun only as a tool.
 
My guns are among some of the most important things in my life. I have none I use like a shovel. I avoid dings, scratches or any other flaws at all cost but don't get me wrong I do use them. In fact my Browning Cynergy camo 3.5" O/U took a dunk in a South Dakota duck slew this fall. Saved my ars from going in the drink. All but the end of the barrels went under. The butt sunk deep into the mud. Thought to myself, damn I hated it but now is when this duck gun should show me what it's made of. Worked flawless the rest of the trip. Pulled the stock off, checked and lubed the trigger mechanism, cleaned and swabbed the barrels after getting home.. Good to go.

My Pheasant & grouse guns will never see a duck boat or ride around in a truck uncased but I have crawled on some snows one time with my Weatherby Athena well Pheasant hunting. Just made sure I was setting it down on soft grass with each move forward. Did get shooting but they were just a hair far for #2 steel.

onpoint
 
Last edited:
I really dont think that I could sell some of the guns that I have. For instance I dont think that I could sell my first gun a single shot 20 gauge from my 10th birthday, or the .410 that my grandpa left me when he passed away. Its not a matter of shooting them, because for the most part I probably won't, but the guns mean more to me just being there than the money I could get out of them to get newer guns.
 
landman said:
To me a gun is simply a tool that I use for hunting. If I find a gun that I like better I usually will sell or trade the old gun away. I don't have any guns from the by-gone days - none with fixed chokes or holding sentimental value. All my childhood guns are long gone. I don't have any really expensive guns either as gold or silver engraving means little to me. All I want is something that fits and shoots well, afterall its just a tool.

Yet I hear from a lot of folks who keep their guns for years and years and like to shoot guns from long ago just for the sentimental value. Some folks find added enjoyment in shooting guns that are very fancy and expensive.

Which side of the equation are you?
Click to expand...

I feel sorry for you. You are missing so much. My guns aren't tools. We've spent too many good times together. I'm just glad I'm not one of your dogs. I bet they're just tools too.
 
If they are tools, then can I deduct them on my taxes along with the saws, drills etc that I buy for my business? It would be sweet to be able to write off the guns, wads, hulls, brass, powder, bullets etc. Heck, I wouldn't even mind putting in overtime.:D
 
I almost bought a Monte this year. Arguably a better gun than my 1187 special field. But I just could not do it. The old 1187 and I have just shot a lot of birds and it just comes up and points well for me. The bluing on the top of the receiver is just about all gone from resting on my shoulder which adds some of the character to the gun.
 
Tools - Snap On or Craftsman?

I used to feel the way you do, the gun is a tool, a functional piece of equipment.

But.......there is a difference between Craftsman and Snapon and I feel the same thing when I have the guns in my hand.

Thus the 1100's the 11-87's have left the stable and a pair of Fausti SxS's have replaced them.

I also continue to keep a Benelli M1 for those wet miserable days and for waterfowling.
 
sneem said:
I feel sorry for you. You are missing so much. My guns aren't tools. We've spent too many good times together. I'm just glad I'm not one of your dogs. I bet they're just tools too.
Click to expand...

Whoa, let's not criticize or jump to conclusions on this subject because neither view point is wrong. I've hunted with a lot of folks and some treat their gun more like a tool, sort of like a tennis racket or golf club, while others treat their gun with a much higher importance, more like a family heirloom or old friend. For me personally, I'm drawn more to the experience of the hunt, the habitat, scenery, challenge, the land, the dogs and my friends. I use the gun to shoot the pheasant, that's it. Not that I don't like a nice gun but I'm impressed by its functionality more than its look or history. On the other hand, I can understand the attachment to the gun itself and that is OK too.

oh, on a related subject. My pickup is viewed the same way as my guns.
 
Last edited:
Tool Camp vs. Sentimental Camp re Guns

landman said:
Whoa, let's not criticize or jump to conclusions on this subject because neither view point is wrong. I've hunted with a lot of folks and some treat their gun more like a tool, sort of like a tennis racket or golf club, while others treat their gun with a much higher importance, more like a family heirloom or old friend. For me personally, I'm drawn more to the experience of the hunt, the habitat, scenery, challenge, the land, the dogs and my friends. I use the gun to shoot the pheasant, that's it. Not that I don't like a nice gun but I'm impressed by its functionality more than its look or history. On the other hand, I can understand the attachment to the gun itself and that is OK too.

oh, on a related subject. My pickup is viewed the same way as my guns.
Click to expand...

I'm more in the tool camp with you. I have a cheap Stoeger o/u that shoots just as good as my Citori and 101. In fact, the 101 is a bit fancy for my taste but I got it so I'll shoot it. I got my first gun long after I started hunting so I have no guns handed down or from childhood. Had I, I might be more in the sentimental camp than the tool camp.
 
My Super Black Eagle is a tool. Duck and slough gun for shooting steel.
I have 2 Ugartecha-12 and 16 ga., 1 Grulla12ga , AYA RB #2 16ga., Zabala 20ga., Franchi Destino(never fired) and a Fulton Arms Hunter. The Grulla and the Fulton are retired.
I have had the Grulla since 1963 when my father brought it back from Spain. I shot it for 30 plus years and it has literally killed thousands of pheasants, Huns, sharptails, Prairie chickens ducks and even a few geese.
The AYA is the queen of the pack. One sweet gun. The Zaballa has been carried a bunch since early '90s and has accounted for a bunch of birds also. Did not use it much after early season this year.
sxs are tools and art.
I am hardly a well to do individual, but then we all have our passions/vices. I could use a couple more Grulla's!
________
BMW S14 HISTORY
 
Last edited:
landman said:
To me a gun is simply a tool that I use for hunting. If I find a gun that I like better I usually will sell or trade the old gun away. I don't have any guns from the by-gone days - none with fixed chokes or holding sentimental value. All my childhood guns are long gone. I don't have any really expensive guns either as gold or silver engraving means little to me. All I want is something that fits and shoots well, afterall its just a tool.

Yet I hear from a lot of folks who keep their guns for years and years and like to shoot guns from long ago just for the sentimental value. Some folks find added enjoyment in shooting guns that are very fancy and expensive.

Which side of the equation are you?
Click to expand...
I guess I would say I am on the fence, I had to switch to OU for trial shooting, safety reasons and rules. I can't afford to stock the case so I traded my SBE in for the Cortona, it is expensive as many OU's are but I would not have spent as much if I could have found a gun that fit cheaper. Ceasars and Cortons had the only modles the fit me. hence the spendy purchase. The only gun I have thats old is my Grandpa's old Remmington pump hex barrel 22 cal. rifle. Some sentimental value to me on that one and will never get rid of it. It is kind of cool besides, and it's an antique, still shoots fine. But all the other guns I have had have been traded in to get another, every time up to a better quallity gun. I have always used them without too much worry about dings including the Cortona. If I had extra cash I would most likely get a few I would treat more tender as some of the other guy's do. But when it's your only gun, your forced to use her.
PS donations excepted:D
 
Last edited:
I guess, I'm what you call an "undecided". I view my gun as a something I use for entertainment. I like Trap Shooting and Hunting, I get a lot of pleasure from both. So in the board view I think some would say I use as a tool for entertainment. But I take real good care of my gun, I hate to see the wood get scratched. I clean it after each use and that sort of stuff......Bob
 
I would say I'm a tool guy but could easily be swayed to the other side. I just bought my first "nice" shotgun before the 2009 season. A Benelli montefeltro. Have never even come close to spending that much for any firearm before. Prior to the Benelli I shot a 12 gauge pump for the previous 27 years, a 20 ga single shot for the 2 years before that.

I hunt the same with the Benelli, but I do wipe it down after each use and I am much more careful with it in the pickup.

Two shotguns I would love to have.

#1. Winchester model 97 12 ga. Friend of mine shot one on numerous trips to South Dakota between 1983 and 1996. He died of lung cancer in 2001 and his brother now has the gun. Really would like to buy that one. My plan would be to hunt with it until I shot the first bird of the South Dakota trip each year.

#2 Browning Sweet 16. My uncle owned this and he died in 2007. He bought it for his son, (my 1st cousin) for his 16th birthday. His son died years ago at the age of 33. My aunt has it now, I really want to buy that one also. No plans on shooting it.
 
I'm with you on this one Landman. My gun is like a screwdriver to me. I like the way some feel and don't like some of the others. I don't care for my gun like I care for a being or the sport I love so much. Feel the same way about my truck. As soon as it stops getting me from point "A" to point "B", I'll gladly replace it and won't remember it unless I'm looking through old photos.
 
I like the guns I have and take very good care of them. I hate when I get a scratch in one. But with that said, I don't have a gun around that I don't use. And while I like my guns to look nice I'm not one to own a gun just because it's pretty. I've won a few guns over the years and if I didn't have a need/use for them I sold them.

Of course over the years I've sold some that I regreted later. The one that I constantly kick myself in the a$$ for was a little Browning BSS 20 ga. that I sold in the mid 80's for $285. I had bought it for $250 in the mid 70's. Sure wish I had that BSS today. Now they're $1,500 - 2,000.

This is another one of those subjects that we all will never agree on. So each to there own. What ever "trips your trigger" is just fine.
 
I have a fairly old 12 gauge pump that is stamped Sears and Roebuck on the barrel, although it is actually a win 1200 I think. It was my first real shotgun, and I've carried it more than all my other shotguns combined. It now has extractor issues, but I'd never sell it. Can't imagine it'd be worth much anyway. I currently use an 870 special purpose most, and I'm not afraid to go anywhere/do anything with it either. Those are what I consider to be "meat guns". I still take good care of them, but I won't cry over a scratch. I'm also quite proud of those spots where the obvious wear from carry shows. My dad bought a nice O/U with a special piece of wood, and scratched it on the first duck hunt. He's hardly used it since.... At this stage in my life, I have no use for a safe queen (rifle, pistol, or shotgun), but that doesn't mean that I'm not sentimental or careful about my field guns.

I love and appreciate a beautiful gun with a nice piece of wood, however, I'm fairly serious when in the field, and don't want to spend all day babying my gun, or avoiding thick brush. Those beautiful stocks are more for controlled settings IMO.
 
hee hee heeee.. I used to tell my hunting buddy, "Fer krise sakes, it' just a tool. Toss it in the back with mine."..:thumbsup:
...then I bought an expensive o/u, :rolleyes:..and by "expensive", I'm meaning in excess of a grand.
I now clean and oil it after 'every' trip, even if only to the trap club for a few rounds of clays. It got a new nicely padded case, and never rides in the back of the truck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top