Got the Autumn 2012 issue of Sporting Classics this weekend.
Very interesting story about Nash Buckingham and a SxS 12 ga.
A.H.Fox shotgun he called Bo Whoop. The shotgun was made during
the Roaring Twenties. Nash was kind of the John Barsness back in the day.

Anyone see the story or remember Nash Buckingham ?

Those stories are legendary.....a lot like "whats his name" and the 270 Winchester back in the 50s...

In the back of my mind I was thinking that Bo Whoop went missing, so looked it up.

http://gardenandgun.com/article/legend-bo-whoop

To me this story alone was worth the price of the magazine. As part of the story,
they talk about the barrels being regulated by Burt Becker.

What does it mean to regulate a shotgun barrel ?

Start with the choke you desire, then shoot it for pattern. If it is not what you want you hone the barrel with a knowing hand, then shoot and pattern again. Repeat until you arrive at the desired even pattern with no holes. The old standard was at least one pellet in every square inch of pattern.

Fellow by the name of Ken Eyster used to do it and many competition shooters would let no other work on their barrel. His son carries on the business today. When you had a barrel done by him, you could claim your barrel was "Eysterized".

It was a process that was individualized for one specific loading or brand of shell.

http://jimeyster.com/choking/choking.htm

battue -
The story does say that the barrels had been regulated for the then new - 3" 12ga mag.
Thank You

Nash was a great shotgunner..I have quite a few of his books, when one reads of some of the old hunts he was on it makes me want to sit down and cry..In one of his duck clubs I think they imposed a limit on the members of 50 ducks a day and maybe 25 geese,, I am not sure about the goose part..He truely lived in the golden age of shotgunning..He and Major Charles Askins wrote some fine stuff..

Nash was of a moneyed family and you can still google on some property holdings out of Memphis.

I read all of Nash's work and just loaned my leatherbound set to a young waterfowl hunter. Much of his hunting was in the flooded timber and the duck camp and boats were operated by black employees.. Much of his writing included their dialect.

Nash would travel to Memphis from his East Coast home by train and his special order Winchester 1-3/8 oz load ammo preceded him by rail.

Bo Whoop was back bored which was an entirely unheard of process back then thus creating the bo-whoop noise as the wads went up the barrel. I have a Stan Baker Big Bore barrel that makes a similar sound.

Bo Whoop was made without a safety as it wasn't considered a requirement for his type of hunting.

"De Shootinest Gent'man" by Nash Buckingham: A time gone by, never to be revisited by mortals.

Addition: I stand corrected. Once upon a time a man of more than a little means-and one who had a true hunters heart-invited me on two different occasions to shoot all wild Quail at his place in Georgia. He spent a fortune on making it like the old days. 15-20 coveys morning and the same evening. Mule drawn wagons and bird dogs that snapped on point. He even let me use my Springer Abby to flush a few coveys and do pick-up work. I doubt if Mr. Nash had it any better when it came to Quail.

His Daughter was a jewel also, but it wasn't meant to be.

for those that don't know, the story goes something like this...

Nash's orginal Bo Whoop was an XE engraved, HE Fox. The HE Fox was an "over built" Fox made specifically for long range shooting. Early Fox advertisements indicated a "guarantee" on its tight patterns. The HE Fox was built to use the "new" Winchester Super-X 3" shells and while there are some exceptions, most would measure out as having an 11 gauge bore and a TON of choke. Many a claim exist of 70-80 yard waterfowling shots.

Anyways, Bo Whoop was lost in Arkansas after Nash was checked by a game warden. He and his hunting partner went back shortly after realizing it was left behind but it was never found. A second gun was made for Nash, commonly called Bo Whoop 2. The "original" Bo Whoop was "discovered" a few years ago, restocked and then auctioned at James Julia. As I recall, it was the most expensive American made SxS ever to sell publicly at that time... topped a short time later by another Fox made for Teddy Roosevelt. I put original in ""'s b/c there is a good bit of speculation about whether the one that recently came to light is actually the original gun or not.

Both Bo Whoops are on display at the DU museum in Memphis.

Those original Super-X 3" shells were not loaded as hot as our modern 3" magnums, more like what we expect out of current 2 3/4" heavy field loads. If one encounters one of those early 3" guns (ie: Super Fox, L.C.Smith Longrange, etc.) don't assume that 3" shells off the shelf at WalMart are hunkey-dorey in them. Aside from barrel/choke issues related to steel shot in modern magnum loads, there is the equally destructive nature of the violent recoil associated with them- stock heads tend to crack/split in pretty short order, and I wouldn't guarantee them not to come off face sooner than later.

The non-standard boring techniques employed at the time by both Fox and Hunter Arms (Smith) truly made for some astonishingly tight patterns, as I'm here to attest to. But it's best to stick with lead or a similarly soft non-toxic shot.

By chance, I ended up with Charles Askins Senior's personal Browning Superposed 12 ga., built to his specs by Browning and delivered in 1932 to his address at Ames, OK.

I'm in New Orleans and will post the link when I get back to my home computer. Bo Whoop was mentioned by posters on that forum. There have been over 32,000 hits on that site since Nov., '07.

DF

Dirtfarmer, what a buy..I would be awesome to have something of the great shooters of the past..the Major was certainly one of the finest shotguns to comedown the shooting trails..

He was the highest paid gun writer of his era. I've able to acquire some old, vintage books by the Major. It's amazing how advanced those guys were regarding scattergun ballistics and such. You'll see when you get onto the link, how far we were able to take this thing and all the info that was uncovered. Pretty amazing stuff on the Major and the Askins family, including the Col and his son, Bill, now living in San Antonio. Bill was able to add a good bit of otherwise unknown info about his Grandfather. I learned a lot about Col. Askins, good and not so good. He sure was a polarizing force, but that's what made him what he was and for sure, sold copy. The Major was a much easier going guy than his son. The Colonel's mother was a " cantankerous Irish woman" by his own account. Like they say, opposites attract. Seems Charlie Junior was more like his Mom, from whom he was estranged most of his life. He adored his Dad.

DF

Dirtfarmer, any of this stuff you would be willing to share about the Askins, either the Major or the Col. I would love to read..both were very interesting men..The Major always seemed like a very kind human being..I think in one of my old books it says he also wrote childrens' books..In one of his old books he mentions a dog he trained for some wealthy owner..He had the dog had been inseprable from the time the dog was a puppy..I believe his name was Doc Hicks..anyway the owner ordered the Major to ship the dog to Washington, as the owner had sold him..The Major, who had been the dogs trainer, was pretty broken up over it..I felt the dog was also, for it seemed he did not live long.The Major said he never trained another dog..
The Col. on the other hand was a pretty tough customer..I have his Autobiography, and I also think there was a discussion of him on this site..The Col. killed something like 27 men..and seemed to enjoy it..But he sure was a darned interesting man..
A good friend of mine met the Col. several times..A gentleman who knew the Col. very well ask my pal how he liked the Col..He replied something like we got along well..He was told to remember the Col. is a very dangerous man..
I read several of Bill Askins articles in Gun World, but it seemed he dropped out of the writing game after a short time..

Bill has done well, selling real estate and airplanes in San Antonio. Although raised in the shooting/writing business, he's more interested in fancy horses and dressage. He's had some health issues and lost his wife this year. So, he's been through tough times, but being an Askins, is a pretty tough hombre, himself.

DF

Seems that we're hijacking the OP's thread about Nash Buckingham and Bo Whoop, although this topic is somewhat related.

We can start a separate thread if he wishes.

In the meantime, answering your request, here are links to the Shotgunworld 1933 Superposed link and to James Flynn, Gunsmith.

When I got this old Super, the finish was caked, was beginning to orange peel and needed to be re-done. The metal showed honest wear, but was OK. I was in the process of stripping the old finish, as I do a lot of that type work myself. When I found out who had owned this gun, I immediately took it to a high grade gun restoration expert, James Flynn. His link and a link to a piece about him by Terry Wieland are listed below.

I chose to go with a leather covered pad, as it's vintage and period correct. I hate white line recoil pads. Photos show the Major with a period pad and this gun obviously didn't have the original one. It had probably been through several pads since 1932. Instead of an ugly Hawkins or other reproduction pad, I chose what you see. Otherwise, I tried to stay with the spirit of what the Major would have chosen. Besides, James Flynn is one of the best in the country for leather covered pads.

DF

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/vie...amp;sid=102bc88fa4e0be3742b3fa9a18d44556

http://www.doublegunshop.com/flynns_custom_guns.htm

http://www.terrywieland.com/James-Flynn-bio.htm

Thanks, I will check this out..thanks again..

I have been reading some of the info. on these sites..great stuff thanks a bunch..Hope you are enjoying that shotgun..I cannot imagine what it would be like to make a find like this..best wishes with the gun and hunting..

It has been quite an experience. Great folks over there on the shotgunworld forum, lots of knowledge, like here on the Fire. I've learned a lot and enjoyed every minute.

DF

The best, in my opinion, book on Buckingham is his autobiography "Mr. Buck". Its an interesting read and there is a chapter on Bo-Whoop describing its loss and it shows a photo of the newspaper ad that was run trying to find it.

I'm still amazed how Bo Whoop could be AWOL for so long and suddenly be accounted for.

Someone needs to do some heavy duty explaining, IMHO.

DF

Dirtfarmer - I started this thread just to jump start a very laggard shotgun/24CF section. Feel free to talk
about anything shotgun related. My main interest is getting an old SxS this year or next.

Thanks, Hotload. Just didn't want to walk all over your post.

Has there been any explanation of how Bo Whoop was AWOL for so long? Someone had to know that possession of that gun wasn't Kosher.

DF

The story I read said the gun had Nash Buckingham name on it.
So...YES...someone had to know the first time they picked the shotgun up.

And all the anguish Mr. Buck went through after losing that gun, makes it even worse, IMHO.

They'll get a chance to explain all that in the hereafter, maybe to the man himself...

DF

It was found by a worker driving a logging truck.It was later(years) given to the company owner,where it remained in his family for many years.It was stated that it was unusable in it's present condition,then restored by a grandson/nephew by a master of Fox shotguns,then auctioned off by James Julia Auctions for a LOT of money.All this was detailed at the auction,the family had no knowledge of Mr Buckingham in the beginning.

Well, that sounds a little better.

What did they do when they found out who the real owner was?

DF

bo whoop brought $175k IIRC........please do yourself a favor and read "De Shootinest Gent'man"...Dr. Chubby Andrews from Memphis hunted with him at the famous Beaver Dam club in Mississippi and wrote a book about it....Nash also wrote Tattered Coat, Hallowed Years, Blood Lines, Mark Right, Game Bag, and Ole Miss. His books are a delight indeed....

If you are near Memphis, cross the river into Arkansas and go north about 10 miles to Wapanoca. It is a wildfowl refuge now but was a club in Mr. Nash's day. Limit was 50 mallards a day per gun IIRC.

Those were the days. Across the river on the Tennessee side and up stream is Reelfoot Lake, formed by the 1811 New Madrid earthquake. Witnesses said the Mississippi River ran backwards for a day, filling the gap caused by the quake.

Those were great hunting areas. Reelfoot was such a desired spot for hunting that when land owners tried to control the shoreline and hunting, a local "war" broke out. Authorities had to step in to put down the violence and the lake was subsequently declared public domain.

A few years ago, I was given an A. M. Bowles, hand made walnut duck call. Mr. Bowles was from Little Rock and was one of the top call makers before and after the war.

There were a lot of call makers during that era and duck hunting was a real big deal. I learned that this call is worth $1,200-$1,500. It's displayed in a shadow box in my office.

Quite a time in duck hunting history, to say the least.

DF

As I recall, Bo Whoop was purchased by Dr. Andrew's son who donated it to the DU Museum.

Regarding the 50 bird limit, Nash was one of the first to realize that without restrictions the future of hunting would be bleak and helped begin the advocacy for limits.

Drew - your recall is correct.

I posted an update on the Shotgunworld.com Forum, 1933 Superposed thread, linking to this site.

DF

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=124719&p=2689318#p2689318

Bo Whoop was bought by Hal B. Howard Jr., son of one of Nash Buckingham's best hunting buddies, Hal B. Howard Sr.

Where is the DU Museum located?

DF

Dirtfarmer,

I'm curious as to the barrel configuration in that great old Superposed. Are they a constant taper with no choke near the muzzle, like my old 1950's gun?

I'm glad you ended up with it and are doing justice to the gun.

It came from Belgium, choked full and full and is so marked. The Browning gunsmiths in the US opened the chokes to the Major's specs. It's 45% lower, 50% upper. The Major liked open chokes for the desert quail he loved to hunt.

IMO, they are conventional chokes, measurements are .007" lower, .018" upper. Experimenting with various loads, I learned a lot. Some of the posters on the SGW forum are very experienced shotgunners and they taught me a lot. I learned that a light modified choke can have a dramatic response to the type load being shot, improved cylinder to a lesser degree.

Using #9 high powered loads, it shot a Skeet pattern. Using slightly larger shot at slower velocity, like 1,150 fps, I got a tighter pattern. Evidently this is a well observed phenominon, just wasn't known by me.

DF

Here's a link to page 19 of the 1933 Superposed thread. It gives the info referred to above.

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=124719&start=360

DF, its in Memphis, TN.

Thanks, 99. Is there any info avaialble on the Museum and what is being displayed?

DF