Posts Tagged ‘Remington’
This is My Classic Shotgun: Remington Model 17 Pump 20 Gauge
Thursday, February 28th, 2013
James (Jay) F. Gore had fond childhood memories of a Remington Model 17 pump action 20 gauge shotgun, so when he found a used one in good condition at a Missoula gun shop in 2007, he sprung for it. His Model 17 was made in 1925.
That same year, Gore toted the Model 17 on Montana’s pheasant hunting opening day. “I had the poly choke turned to the stop between improved cylinder and modified. I was using Federal 2 ¾ inch shells with ¾ ounce of #6 steel shot as we were hunting on the Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge and steel was required,” Gore said. Seven rounds were put through the Model 17 that day. “Four shots were wasted on my eagerness and shooting at birds too far. When I settled down, my next few shots connected on three rooster pheasants that were ‘puffed’ at 20-30 yards. The little old Model 17 worked like a charm.”
Consider Gore in the camp that believes classic guns are meant to see the field. “It was rewarding finding, buying and hunting with this antique. I’m a happy guy.”
Do you have a classic shotgun with a story to tell? Email a photo to Anthony Hauck, Pheasants Forever’s Online Editor, at ahauck@pheasantsforever.org.
The Venerable Remington 870
Tuesday, July 31st, 2012
I spent some time coming up with one word to define the Remington 870. What came to mind was “venerable.” To save you the trouble of looking up the word, as I had to do, here’s the definition:
ven·er·a·ble adj \ ve-n r(- )-b l, ven-r-b l\
a: calling forth respect through age, character, and attainments <a venerable jazz musician>; broadly: conveying an impression of aged goodness and benevolence
Venerable describes the Remington 870™ perfectly. Brought to the sporting market in 1950 this pump-action shotgun has been a favorite for 62 years with almost no changes other than aesthetic. On April 13, 2009, the 10,000,000th 870™ was produced. It holds the record for the best-selling shotgun in the world, making it the all-time champion. If the Model 870™ were introduced today, it would be hailed as a major advance in pump-action shotgun design – the ultimate in strength, durability, silky-smooth bind-free action and sleek classical lines.
Wingshooters have long loved the Remington 870 because it’s also available in a left-handed model. Photo by Anthony Hauck / Pheasants Forever
Most of you have likely gone afield with a Remington 870™ at some time in your life. For many, the Express model could have been our first shotgun, with a few guns in-between. Today, many have come full circle and have upgraded their love of the 870™ with a beautiful new Wingmaster. Remington currently makes 27 different variations of the 870 to allow hunters to specialize this pump gun for many types of quarry or sport. You can find a specific 870 for pheasant, deer, turkey, waterfowl or the range. The simplicity of the Remington 870 creates such a reliable firearm that it is used by over 18 armed forces around the world and countless police departments.
My personal “full circle” came this past fall in the fields just south of Pierre, South Dakota one beautiful autumn morning when PF’s Joe Duggan pulled a stunning new 870 from its case. It was a high grade 20 gauge Wingmaster with a gloss finish he had won at a Pheasants Forever Build A Wildlife Area event. We were not in the field very long before I asked to give it a try. The gun was light and shouldered quickly. As you can imagine, I was thrilled with this firearm. Just carrying the gun brought me back to days spent hunting waterfowl with my brothers in Green Lake, Wisconsin. When a rooster flushed in front of me, it was as if I had been shooting this 870 my entire life. My old friend had come home!
For those in the market for a new pump-action shotgun, I strongly recommend you look at the venerable Remington 870. Over 10 million users can’t be wrong.
The Pheasant Fest blog is written by Brad Heidel, Pheasants Forever’s Director of Corporate and Special Event Sales. Look for Brad’s column, “The Gun Shop,” in the Pheasants Forever Journal.
Annual Pheasants Forever Shotgun Review Kicks Off Pheasant Fest in Nebraska!
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
The 12 Gauge Beretta Xplor was one of the new shotguns tested in Omaha last month.
On May 13, the Pheasant Fest crew headed to Omaha. We were joined by 30 other Pheasants Forever members for PF’s annual new shotgun test event. We shot 17 new guns on a beautiful sunny (and yes windy) day just outside of Omaha at Werner Valley Shooting Complex on the banks of the Platte River.
First off, I have never shot at a more beautiful facility in my life. The lodge, sporting clays, and 5-stand were state-of-the-art with a leather-appointed indoor range to top it off.
We shot several new models and some slightly older models with upgrades. We shot guns from Beretta, Benelli, Remington, Winchester, Browning, Connecticut Shotgun, CZ, Stoeger, Ithaca, Weatherby, Fausti USA, Verona, Franchi, Ugartechea, Parker, and an optic from Burris. We also took full advantage of the beautiful indoor range and shot a DPMS Panther 5.56 and Kimber .45.
All of the guns performed great; however, there were two that when all was said and done, people wanted to shoot more. The first was the Benelli Legacy 28 Gauge, while the second most popular was the gun with the mounted Burris Speed Bead.
After the shoot, we all adjourned to the lodge to discuss the guns and talk about National Pheasant Fest coming to Omaha next January 28, 29, and 30 in 2011.
To learn more about all these fine guns look for your Pheasants Forever Fall Magazine for my article giving you the specifics!
First Place Pheasants, Dieting 28 Gauges and Pheasant Chicks in Friday Linkage
Friday, May 21st, 2010
"You are looking much lighter these days."
New to Anthony’s Antics Afield, every Friday I’m going to post the stuff I’ve recently checked out and found worthwhile on the World Wide Web. Well, some of it’s worthwhile, anyways.
- My Georgia Peach. I’ll just put it out there: Georgia Pellegrini, I’d be happy to dine with you any time. Georgia has put herself in the running to become The Official Pheasant Chick of Anthony’s Antics Afield. If you have other suggestions, I encourage you to post them below.
- Semi semi-auto. The new Benelli 28 gauge Legacy is billed as the lightest semi-auto available. I handled the model that came in for the annual Pheasants Forever Shotgun Review, and if this thing was any lighter, it’d have to get checked for an eating disorder.
- Sioux Falls Pheasants. Baseball fans who love pheasant hunting now have the perfect team to cheer for, the Sioux Falls Pheasants. Not surprisingly, these roosters are in first place.
- Win a Gun. If, like me, you own a Remington firearm, and made a memory with it, you could win 13 Remington firearms, a case of ammunition for each gun, and a Remington safe.
- HyperSonic. While we’re talking about Remington, they’re the latest to the high velocity waterfowl shotshell party.
- Hunting Regs. A comprehensive site with up-to-date hunting and fishing regulations? Yeah, and that hot tub time machine was real.
- Four! Idiots. The city of Forest Lake is just 10 minutes north of the Pheasants Forever national office, and home to at least four low denominators. Thankfully, we hold PF’s national golf tournament on the nearby lake-less Stillwater golf course.
- The Brees Knees. No matter where it is, Super Bowl champion quarterback Drew Brees is always on target. Fellow Pheasant Blogger Andrew Vavra’s NFL lookalike also makes this gallery. Seriously, tell me they don’t look alike?
- Great Cover. Let’s end the work week on a high note.
Enjoy your weekend outdoors!
I’m Just Dating my Shotgun
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
The author poses with the shotgun he's just dating and his best gal, Trammell.
Yesterday, I posted the following request to the fans of Pheasants Forever on Facebook: “Tell us the Story of your First Shotgun.” As the lengthy comments extolling the virtues of their favorite scattergun stacked up, I came to the realization that I don’t have a relationship like these folks with any of the three shotguns I own.
I mentioned this to co-worker and fellow blogger Anthony Hauck. Unlike me, Anthony is in a committed relationship with the Remington 870 he’s owned since it was passed down from his pops; as evidenced by this link to his shotgun love story. What Anthony and I came to determine was that I just haven’t been with any of my shotguns long enough to take my relationship to the next level.
You see, I grew up using my dad’s classic Ithaca model 37. I really “liked” that gun, but it wasn’t my own. When I had saved up enough cash, I purchased a .12 gauge Ithaca model 37 of my own. But I made a mistake; I ordered my own Ithaca with an English stock. Ever held a shotgun with a straight stock for an entire day in the field? It ain’t comfortable. “She” just never felt quite right.
A few years back, my folks surprised me with a .20 gauge Remington 870 for my birthday. A fantastic present, its short 24 inch barrel has been a great scattergun when I’ve needed to get through the thick tangles of the September grouse woods. Sadly, I’ve never shot the gun particularly well. Blame it on the shorter barrel, less BBs in the .20 gauge shell, my confidence with it in hand, or my skills; but “she” has also just never felt right.
Enter my current girlfriend – er, I mean shotgun – my Beretta 686 Onyx .12 gauge over/under. She’s got curves in all the right places. In fact, this was the first shotgun I ever took into a gunsmith to have professionally fitted to my alligator arms. With a little length removed from the stock, the gun shoulders better than any I’ve ever handled. I’ve also never been more deadly than during the two years I’ve owned the 686. NOTE: I would highly recommend getting your firearm professionally fitted if you have never done so.
But, there’s just this one thing that has me hesitant about taking that next step and “falling” for my Beretta; I bought the model with “extra wood” because it was in my price range. You see, extra wood looks good from afar, but upon closer examination you can see that it’s not real wood. I know, I know, I’m being superficial, but I’m just trying to be honest about my feelings. I just don’t know if I can fall in love with something that’s, well, fake. And besides, I’m a multi-dimensional guy. Sure, the majority of my hunting is done behind a pointing dog in the pheasant fields and grouse woods where an over/under is a classic choice, but am I really expected to take this “gentleman’s” gun into the mud of a goose pit or slough of a duck blind? I think not!
As a result, I’m currently in lust with a .20 gauge Franchi Renaissance Classic with a beautifully engraved receiver of flushing gold game birds. The $2,000 price tag and high maintenance finish probably isn’t the best fit for my Yooper roots though. And, yes I know, she won’t solve my waterfowl issues, but she sure does look pretty on my shoulder.
What I do know is that my bird dog, Trammell, does “light up my life.” Yes, the bird dog/hunter relationship makes my imperfect shotgun relationship manageable afield. Besides, maybe Anthony is right and ol’ 686 and I just need a few more birds in the bag to take our relationship forward. We have had some good times; there were the triple doubles on Huns in 2008, the three magical Montana island roosters last year, and the first of everything over Tram. There’s definitely potential that she’s the “one.”
Yes, I think Anthony’s right, Beretta and I are just dating . . . and that’s just fine for now.
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