Gary Greene’s Memories from an Old Hunter ………..#9
If you are near my age of 65, you should remember one of the hit TV shows from 1957-1963. The TV show was, “Have Gun-Will Travel.” As I was looking back at that western, I started thinking that the name of that show could also pertain to all the hunters I hunt with and their guns. I see each gun being an extension of that hunter.
Many times, as I was sitting on the top basement steps, I watched my father come up those steps with his Browning shotgun in one hand and toting a box of shells in the other. He would give me a kiss on the forehead and head out the door, for places at my age, I could only dream about. To me, that Browning represented as much of a part of my father as, say, his right arm or a leg. Every time I see the “Humpback” of any Browning shotgun, it reminds me of my father.
During my research, I learned that my dad’s model was the Browning Auto-5. Then I found that today’s Browning Model A5 and my Benelli Montefeltro have the identical internal working mechanisms. From that statement, I made the following conclusion. The gun shot by my father in the 1950’s and 1960’s, has progressed into the gun of his son. That is not to be confused with, “Son of a gun!” Now that’s a bit of a stretch, and it does not appear to be haunting. However, with the hundreds of models and manufacturers on the market, there is an uncanny relationship between the two guns.
Gary and son Nate (J.C. Higgins bolt action) with Libby and the 42 game farm pheasant harvest. (2002)
My oldest son Ty inherited my old, side by side, F.I.E. shotgun. F.I.E. stands for Firearms Import and Export. Ty is not a hunter, but he is a shooter. We enjoy the sporting clays courses and this past year, we shared a successful fishing trip to Canada’s Lake of the Woods. We caught the usual northerns, walleyes and perch. We felt like we were smuggling carp across the border, as our fishing guide and the border inspectors continually questioned us as to why we wanted perch. To us, 12-15 inch perch are fantastic eating. The shore lunches were as good as we anticipated. I can breast out a pheasant in less than a minute, but I filet a fish as if I’ve sprouted ten thumbs. The afternoon Deer Flies gave us quite a challenge, as they grew to the size of nickels and bit like teething puppies.
Ty’s shotgun has gone on to a better place. I had a gunsmith work on it, but it has died. It now hangs above a neighbor’s fireplace mantel. I can’t think of a better place for that old gun. Currently, he shoots a similar side by side, the Stoeger Coach Gun. I have not witnessed many other side by side shooters on the sporting clays’ courses, but with Ty, it is tradition and it’s just plain fun.
My son Nate‘s first gun, similar to the gun I was raised on, was a bolt action, J.C. Higgins Model 10 (1946-1958). Some of you might recall the gun was made for Sears, Roebuck and Company. When he was 17, we merged a coupon, a sale, and the Model 10 trade in to get a great price on his current Berretta model AL391. He has used it ever since and the gun has served him well.
To me, as Ty is the side by side, Nate is the bolt action.
After a Horicon Zone hunt......Paul Wick, dad Jim Wick, Gary, Jesse Jablonski, and dad Brian Jablonski and the dogs are Jim's Beau, Gary's Schmiddy and Nyjer, and Jesse's Abbie and Nellie. All dogs are offspring from Gary's matriarch Hershey.(2014)
Lynn has been my pheasant hunting partner for 43 years. The entire time, he has used the same Remington, 870 Wingmaster. I’ve watched him fire that gun thousands of times and he even hit a few birds. I’ve seen that gun with the barrel down, vertically stuck in the mud of an Iowa cornfield, after his boot got hooked up on a makeshift electric fence and the direct current pushed him on to his back. As he was screaming in pain, I was on the other side of the bush and tree lined fence row. I was searching the skies. I thought he was yelling rooster! That 870 Wingmaster is Lynn.
Nearly his entire life, hunting partner Brian has used his old Remington 1100. I recall a released 16 bird pheasant hunt at a local hunting club, with Brian, his son Jesse, and Nate and I. On that cold January day, that 1100 was a blazing, as we ended up bagging 42 pheasants. We have never again, experienced that many extra birds. Not long ago, Brian won his war with cancer. The hunting fields and I would have greatly missed him. His shotgun has seen better days, so he recently purchased the Benelli Ethos, but Brian is that Remington 1100. I will miss that gun being in the back of the truck.
Jesse, sports a Benelli Super Black Eagle 2. He has even named one of his dogs Nellie, an abbreviated version of Benelli. Both of his dogs, Nellie and Abbie are puppies from two litters from my chocolate lab, Hershey. His dogs are family, and Jesse, over the years, has become like family. Jesse has to be a Nellie/Benelli. Also, Jesse has become our taxidermist. He has an eye for creating beautiful, life like mounts that relive our time in the wetlands.
Gary and son Ty and Canada's catch of the day.(2015)
Jim, another hunting companion of mine for the last 20 years, hunts with an over and under shotgun. I have held that gun for him, when going over and under fences and packing away pheasants in our game bags. I have watched him clean his gun on my bed in a South Dakota Motel 8. As two Canada Geese cupped into our decoys from about 15 yards away, I recall seeing his gun out of the corner of my left eye as we both sat up from our layout blinds. We both took aim and fired. I dropped the one on the right and Jim dropped the one on the left. I remember my goose had a band and Jim’s did not. I always enjoy that thought. For the life of me, as I write these memories, I have no idea what make of shotgun Jim has. Jim is that over and under and I know that well, but as I grow older……… I begin to forget.