As the ranch slowly transitioned from horses and saddle guns to pickups and scoped rifles it seemed natural to switch out the Winchesters for the pump '06.
My first was a well worn hand-me-down rifle rack version with Tasco 4x and a cracked stock that had been pinned and a thick coat of polyurethane applied. Slung over my shoulder it'd sometimes drag over an occasional unnoticed volcanic rock that peppered the Big Empty. Of course it didn't fit me; not even close and it kicked me like a sum bitch. That one was when I started to dislike mag boxes because at that that age I was misplacing the dang thing and rummaging around looking for it.
But a few years later I took my money and bought a new one and boy, that was one sweet shooting rifle that I used for everything from coyote control, to tidying up after errant hunters that I guided. There's not a lick of bluing left on that one.
