On Unpopular Shotguns....

[wardmclark]

I've got a really cute little H&R Topper in 12 gauge that I picked up at a pawn shop for $35. It's in perfect mechanical condition, bluing isn't bad.

The stock was a mess when I got it, but I went to Midway, got a black fiberglass stock for it. That helped.

I got a buttstock shell holder plate, screwed that to the stock. Cool.

The stock had sling swivel studs, so I got a cheap nylon sling, again from Midway. Neat.

Then I decided that I didn't like the 28" modified choke barrel. To the gunsmith - now it has an 18" cylinder bore barrel. Neater still.

It's a great, lightweight toy to sling alongside my day pack when I'm in the high country scouting for deer, elk and bear; a blue grouse makes a fine high-country lunch.

My friends, however, have accused me of making it to shoot rabbits out of the truck window, and have named it the Ditch Witch. I confess I like the name.

 

[Dave McCracken]

foghornl, that's not quite what I meant by unpopular. Sounds more like an uncomfortable shotgun(G)...

kotengu, I knew one Noble fan, he swore he could make shots with it he couldn't with other shotguns and kept fixing it when it broke. He probably had the price of a WM in it just for welding the action bar.

Ward,welcome aboard. Toppers are quite common, and I've run across a number of these with major customizing over the years. I call these woods runners, great for toting, bad for kick, and they last forever.

 

[redneck2]

This thread...

fits into kind of a dilemma I have right now

I just got (yesterday) a JC Higgins (I believe H&R made it) bolt action in 20 ga full choke. Barrel has lots of surface rust and minor pitting but the action works. Got it for $25. A little oil and 0000 steel wool and a lot of rubbing and it should be looking OK. Clean the bolt and action well and I'll be good to go

Reason I got it was, well, most of my firearms are in extremely good to perfect condition. Wanted a "loaner/beater" in case a newbie wants to hunt and ends up dropping it in the mud or bottom of the lake

Thinking of whacking off the barrel to 18 1/2 and putting on a new bead. Open choke and shorter barrel would fit my needs better (deer mostly)

Anyone done this for slugs and how did it work???

Open to advice

 

[TrapperReady]

redneck2 - Some of the JC Higgins guns were recalled. I did a search, and you should be able to call 1-800-817-9165 and check to see if yours is on the list. IIRC, the problem involved a failure of the locking lugs and could result in the bolt flying back when fired... so I'd recommend not shooting it until verifying this.

 

[foghornl]

Dave:

I take it you meant unpopular in terms of not many sold, or discontinued quickly, or were somehow "Funky" and soon got a bad rep.

And your assessment of my old family Savage/Stevens 94B as an uncomfortable shotgun Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

As I sort of vaguely recall, it was not a lot heavier than my Nylon 66 .22LR

One of my hunting buddies was running down the old 16Ga as a "popgun"....Sooooo, I snuck in one of my heaviest #4 Bird loads that I used in the duck blind, and let him try it. after that, he called it a foot-a-more gun....knocks ya back a foot or more when ya shoot. (He owned & operated a Remmy 1100 in 12ga, had never fired a single-shot anything before)

 

[Dave McCracken]

redneck2, in the floating threads at the top of this forum is one called "The Ugliest Shotgun in Howard County". That's a Mossberg, but you get the idea.

TR, goodlookingout.

foghornl, I used the term for distinguishing those from the Usual Big Four, etc. Been fielding queries off line on a plethora of shotguns, some of whom I know little about.

 

[sm]

< raises hand>

Nevermind -
I HAD a really good idea for another susbmisson for Unpopular...but I promised Correia I wouldn't ...I really wanted to...I won't...wanna guess?