Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
We were leaning on the fence behind the Wobble range at PGC, waiting on the trap to be reloaded. I had seen him a few times before, but this was the first time we had shot one on one. My TB was racked next to the two Perazzis he had out.
Zane's an older shooter about my age, and he was neatly dressed with a good vest over a sweater and shiny shoes.
My fashion statement was Early Lumberjack, wool from head to foot and finished off with Beaners. It was quite cold but I was warm enough to shoot without gloves.
We admired each other's guns. The TB is quite pretty, with sumptious wood. His Perazzis, were plain models but nicely stocked and with the lines one expects from a maker whose prices start well into 5 figures.
Zane stated he had a pigeon shoot coming up and wanted to see which shotgun was working best for him. One MX 12 and an MX8, IIRC. I know MX stands for Mexico City, where P-guns first took an Olympic medal and that Dan Bonillas had some input in their design, but that's about it.
I can ID a pumpgun half a football field away, but O/Us require much closer inspection, often close enough to read the name.
We shot a round then, and Zane crushed the birds. I hit 21/25, shooting from low gun. After Zane switched guns, we shot again. This time, there were a few less smokes according to Zane, but he still came close to running them. And like pigeon shooters need to do, he took them close. Good shooting by my lights.
After racking the guns, Zane said he had one more to try, and headed back to his vehicle. He returned with one VERY pretty Perazzi.
Ever hear of Angelo Bee? He was one of the best engravers ever. This was a Bee job, with 8 game birds in gold on the receiver and banknote scrolls on everything. Tiny little nicks on the birds simulated feathering that looked real. I put my readers on to check,and this was a class A job.Wood was marblecake walnut, of course. Lethal art.
Zane said this was a skeet gun he hadn't shot for a long time, and never with the 12 gauge barrels on. Inference, there were barrels in 20 and 28 gauge and 410 bore.
Then, he asked with a grin if I'd like to try a shot or two. Heck yes.
So, I stood there with his Perazzi and busted three birds in a row before handing it back to him with gratitude. Got on them fast and the skeet choke wasn't much of a handicap. It handled like the TB. Zane tried out the TB and said the same thing. Go figure...
We were then joined by two of the Geezer Squad, met by happenstance. The guns on the line included a Parker 20 gauge made in 1938 and engraved nicely and Al Clark's Model 21, a class act SXS indeed. We shot some more, with the variations on wobble mentioned here before, like two shots on each bird if wanted, (Full Use of the gun). Much fun ensued before I had to head back home.
While driving home, I fell to musing. How many folks get handed a shotgun to try out by a casual acquaintance that cost more than the vehicle I was driving?
Chalk it up to luck or Karma.....
Zane's an older shooter about my age, and he was neatly dressed with a good vest over a sweater and shiny shoes.
My fashion statement was Early Lumberjack, wool from head to foot and finished off with Beaners. It was quite cold but I was warm enough to shoot without gloves.
We admired each other's guns. The TB is quite pretty, with sumptious wood. His Perazzis, were plain models but nicely stocked and with the lines one expects from a maker whose prices start well into 5 figures.
Zane stated he had a pigeon shoot coming up and wanted to see which shotgun was working best for him. One MX 12 and an MX8, IIRC. I know MX stands for Mexico City, where P-guns first took an Olympic medal and that Dan Bonillas had some input in their design, but that's about it.
I can ID a pumpgun half a football field away, but O/Us require much closer inspection, often close enough to read the name.
We shot a round then, and Zane crushed the birds. I hit 21/25, shooting from low gun. After Zane switched guns, we shot again. This time, there were a few less smokes according to Zane, but he still came close to running them. And like pigeon shooters need to do, he took them close. Good shooting by my lights.
After racking the guns, Zane said he had one more to try, and headed back to his vehicle. He returned with one VERY pretty Perazzi.
Ever hear of Angelo Bee? He was one of the best engravers ever. This was a Bee job, with 8 game birds in gold on the receiver and banknote scrolls on everything. Tiny little nicks on the birds simulated feathering that looked real. I put my readers on to check,and this was a class A job.Wood was marblecake walnut, of course. Lethal art.
Zane said this was a skeet gun he hadn't shot for a long time, and never with the 12 gauge barrels on. Inference, there were barrels in 20 and 28 gauge and 410 bore.
Then, he asked with a grin if I'd like to try a shot or two. Heck yes.
So, I stood there with his Perazzi and busted three birds in a row before handing it back to him with gratitude. Got on them fast and the skeet choke wasn't much of a handicap. It handled like the TB. Zane tried out the TB and said the same thing. Go figure...
We were then joined by two of the Geezer Squad, met by happenstance. The guns on the line included a Parker 20 gauge made in 1938 and engraved nicely and Al Clark's Model 21, a class act SXS indeed. We shot some more, with the variations on wobble mentioned here before, like two shots on each bird if wanted, (Full Use of the gun). Much fun ensued before I had to head back home.
While driving home, I fell to musing. How many folks get handed a shotgun to try out by a casual acquaintance that cost more than the vehicle I was driving?
Chalk it up to luck or Karma.....
