A Note About Suitability.....

[Dave McCracken]

As often happens on my days off, I was on Range 7 at PGC yesterday when a couple folks turned up.

I had shot with Christof a few times. He shoots a Franchi auto well and loves wobble. A 30ish, average sized guy, he and his shotgun are a good match.

He brought a friend. Amy is cute, young, nigh pixie in size and has one of the Browning B 80 Upland Specials in 20 gauge.

Imagine a straight gripped, short barreled, alloy frame auto weighing less than 6 lbs. It has choke tubes, nice lumber and moves like a cutting horse. Not an ideal trap gun, but Amy made it work.

Despite being new to wobble, she gave a good account. The story was that she had shot some growing up, pasture clays with her Dad. The shotgun had been given to her sister, but she used it not and Amy ended up with it.

The stock was just a hair long. Other wise, it fit her well.

After a few rounds of wobble, Christof invited me to join them at skeet. I stuck a skeet choke in and grabbed my last box of reloads.

It took Amy a few shots to groove the stroke in. New skeet shooters oft think themselves into misses and find they hit the doubles better than the singles. We all had fiun, and the look on Amy's face as she prepared to take the Station 8 bird was reminscient of a good mouser cat at a hot mousehole. Total concentration.

And while her shotgun's not what we'd pick for an afternoon of clayslaying, it works for her....

Another shotgunner is born....

 

[sm]

Amy, what you wanna do
I think I could stay with you
For a while maybe longer if I do
-Pure Prairie League

A B 80 Upland Special in 20 gauge , and "daddy's little girl" named Amy 15 years old arrived in the parking lot. Granted 'daddy' was thankful to be stopped -as Amy had driven them and not many freeways down on the farm to practice some driving skills.
"Gal can drive backroads, farm roads, not get in a ditch...on the freeway that gal likes to race Peterbilts for some odd reason".

City Slickers in fancy get up , not sure whether to whistle , trip over tongues or make fun of the gal, her daddy, the truck, or that odd shotgun.

I tossed a $50 bill in the cigar box with Amy's name on it - other bills were tossed in too.

"Uncle Steve, would you pull please" - I didn't need the hug, the kiss on the cheek, still it didn't hurt none.

Daddy watched with some other folks, grinning. "Daddy's little girl" in them jeans too tight, tennis shoes, blue oxford shirt , and well worn shell pouch she had stolen from 'daddy'.

The three city slickers put money up , grinning, and admiring their attire and guns.

Amy, what you wanna do?

Amy ran 'em, 100/100.

City Slickers paid up, and left. Amy handed 'daddy' that cigar box.

What Amy wanted to do was, well daddy was going to get another truck , found one about 3 years old and Amy wanted 'daddy's truck as she was going to be "legal" at 16 to drive all by herself ...note the word "legal" in that by herself part.

"Little twerp done stole my B80's, both the 20 and 12, she is right partial to that 20, ain't get getting my truck unless money changes hands"

*snicker* , *laugh* Yeah right 'daddy' you talk tough and all...

Amy was a tyke when she started shooting a BB Gun hit ping pong balls, eggs, golf balls, pine cones...dog poop in the back yard. She'd hit Vienna Sausage cans hanging off a bush , small tree blowing in the breeze.

She got bigger and "stole" that B80 in 20 ga, daddy got himself a B80 in 12, she stole that one too.

Momma no help, stealing guns of her own...

Cow pasture clays, and Amy had everyone wrapped around her little finger. She learned, she practiced and she did odd jobs to get ammo, clays and one could see a group of teenage gals not talking boys, and makeup - instead hold points and foot positions - dusting clays - sometimes daddy or momma wondering where their truck or car was...gals not 16 and still yet the gals and vehicles just "magically appeared" at the cow pasture range. Local Sheriff might make sure they did...just what one did.

Amy could shoot period, she had a way of stealing daddy's guns, rifles, handguns or shotguns, the gal could shoot, still can.

That cutie latched onto that B80 in 20 ga and for used skeet, quail, doves, , deer, you name it - that gun was an extension her. Excuse me I believe the words were "It is so cute. Can I have it [B80]?" Daddy got a peck on the cheek, his knee slapped and Amy was gone with his gun...just sitting there wonderin' "what happened?"
Momma laughing her self silly. Unitl she noticed her car was heading down the drive...again.


She really did not care for trap, she could shoot it, she could play dumb real good too...trap sometimes was for fun, sometimes to get money for shooting or working on that truck. She "had to have" that MEC reloader some City slicker was wanting to sell to get a Ponsess Warren.

*Someone* suggested they shoot 50 rds of trap for it.

We had already stuck the reloader in Amy's truck, she was going home with it, just she had to shoot for the heck of it.


A Note About Suitability.....

Yeah, has to do gun fit, training, correct basic fundamentals...being a cute teenage gal not required, don't hurt none tho'

Thanks Dave.

Steve

 

[LightLoad]

Thank You Dave

That was me along with Amy the pixie....
Most kind description, and most gentlemanly conduct one could ask for.

I have not dabbled in skeet in well over 3 years and the first round reminded me all too well why I stick to trap. I might like it better with time, it's just not going to be a complete rapid transition...

I will forever remember that round of skeet given that I had 2 Scotch doubles at Stations 1 and 7, the rest just being a complete fustercluck...
I readily forget many 24/25s in trap, so there is something to this strange game of skeet.

Girly instrument in question is a Browning B-80 in 20 ga, assembled 03/19/1987.
Straight English stock, angled receiver (very uncommon and exceedingly pretty combination), 6 3/16 #, lightning fast pointing 21 inch barrel.
It is really a Browning-logo'd twin of very well thought-of Pietro Beretta 303.

It has received an unprecedented level of attention from me (about +18 hours) during which the checkered stock has been lovingly anointed with Tung oil, every metal part brushed in Hoppe's #9 powder solvent (the type that gives you colorful visions of rainbowy shapes when you sniff it), thin coat of Teflon-PTFE dry grease applied to friction points, trigger sear polished with 000 steel wool on the Dremel, in other words, it emerged somewhat rejuvenated and VERY itching for fleeing targets of opportunity.

I tried not to overload the temperamental lass with a boatload of instruction... slight bruise on the biceps was enough reminder for her that she needs to practice-mount and swing, and in short order things will no doubt improve. Most important thing is that she was left slightly hungry...

Once again Dave thank you for the hearty welcome and I'll shoot with you whenever, wherever and at whatever you'll deem worthy of perforation.

LightLoad (that's because I shoot 7/8 oz. from 12 ga. at almost everything)

 

[IDriveB5]

Sounds like another good day at PGC. I made it out saturday and shot a few rounds of trap and finally made it to the patterning board with the new 870 Adjustments to be made...

In other news, Dave, I just made my schedule for next semester... no class on Fridays.

 

[Sven]

Great stories!

 

[sm]

Sweet!

LightLoad,


Welcome to THR.

Thank you for posting that picture - that is one sweet shotgun!!

<One of those "antiquated" guns that gets traded in for "newer", "better", "faster" and "gotta haves" ...and one would be wise to play real stupid and offer the "best can for such an old gun" to a fellow with the "I gotta haves" on a new-fangled offering ...*ahem*>

 

[Dave McCracken]

Thanks, Steve, BTW, one member of PPL if you don;t know is country singer Vince Gill.

Back on topic.

Light Load, anytime. I often,uh, perforate on Fridays, if your work schedule allows. Usually I start up on 9 with the Geezer League. And welcome aboard.

B5, off on Fridays? Heh.heh,heh....

Sven, if you ever get down this way, join in. Wobble flurries, ummm....

 

[sm]

One of these days...

I need to come up and just pull suitable targets...like Crazy Quail.
*ahem*

Yep some great musicians are great shooters...

Great shooters are made - not born - Misseldine

New blues song defines how some try to buy skill and targets.

...baby might might be good looking but baby ain't got a clue...
- Charlie Musclewhite
Delta Hardware Album

You like Mississippi Delta Blues, harmonica...listen to this great blues artist.

 

[Brian Williams]

I love that little lead pump. That would get me back on the skeet range, well maybe an Ithaca mod 37 too. Great stories again guys.

 

[sm]

Brian,

That little B80 is one of those guns, I really really try to NOT talk about, they are that sweet!

Same reason one is wise to NOT talk about 3" K frames, or Ithaca 37s ...

I have been quoted numerous times here - Don't let wife, daughter, girlfriend...etc., handle much less shoot a 28 ga.

Well these Upland B80s are the same way.
Why some are doing Serious Situation duty and have attended defensive instructions.

Ya'll gonna make me tell about the time my intentions were not honorable with them gals and one was shooting a B80, Yep I mean Amy...*snicker*

 

[9mmMike]

Is the comb on that Browning B-80 as low as it looks? I like it. Very nice looking, for an auto........

 

[LightLoad]

It looks rather low to me too, like a "dog-leg" shotgun.
If the stockfitter agrees, I'd like her to have a parallel stock on that thing, but that's just me. It is her instrument, I have no desire to play it. I'll just feed it its prescribed yellow lozenges.

Soooo.... 9mmMike, what's your beef with autos? have you any pictures of 9mm SxS? pray tell...

 

[Dave McCracken]

Steve, you're welcome to come pull targets and shoot them also.

Bring ammo.

Glad you liked them, Brian. Now go shoot some skeet!

Mike, it is low. That's part of why it works for Amy. Suitability again.

Lightload, she's happy, she's hitting, leave it be. Trust me on that one...

 

[9mmMike]

Low is good. Now that I have my own '55 WM wedged to where it fits me, I am so much happier. Looks like crap though. I wish I could come up with an affordable way to lower the comb that looked good.
Shot a 72 on the A stations last week at Lehigh. I'm gonna need to cut back soon though. I went up three times in one week earlier this month. Between fuel and ammo and range fee's......

LightLoad, nothing against semi's for girls but I like my ol' 870 Wingmaster too much to leave it in the safe. It gets better every time I shoot it and if I were to shoot something else, I'd always be a session behind getting it broken in "just right".

Mike