Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns When you were a kid, what shotgun did you want most ???

As a teen-aged gun nut, the shotgun I really wanted was a Bernardelli Italia, or maybe a Brescia would've suited me. I never got one, but the next dream gun on my list was a Winchester '97. I've had several of those over the years

I rescued my dads bolt action 20 ga from the barn when I was 12 and killed many pheasants and quail with it. my buddy had an 870 wingmaster.and ohhhhh I had to have one, I worked harder for that gun than any other i threw lots of hay bales till I had enough saved to get the 30 inch vent rib. I still have it and the 20ga has been restored to like new cond

When I was about thirteen or fourteen, my shotgun was a Montgomery -Wards bolt action 16 ga. I hated it. M-W had a Winchester Model 21 field grade in the catalog for $325. We were farmers and had made good crops for several years running. I wanted a 21. Dad and I had a contract. I do certain things well, do some really hard chores, and Dad would consider it. I met or exceeded expectations. Dad agreed and said we would do it. (this took some time.)

Then I got cold feet. The family kind of needed a second car. We had a new Mercury, but there were times when we needed another, then Mom was pregnant with my sister, almost 15 years my junior. That clinched the deal.

I offered dad a proposition. Forget the shotgun, and lets go partners on another vehicle. Deal. Now then, then don't .think that I did not have my self interest in the deal. Not all was mature reasoning. See, there was this brown eyed girl that lived a few miles away. Long story short, a few years later I married the brown eyed girl, and I still have her. With my track record on guns, I would likely have traded it away years ago. Not long after we married, I came up with a nice pump gun. Life was good.

Jack

Add: over the years I have owned lots of shotguns, many I wish I still had.

My all time favorite is a fifty year old Browning Superposed 20 Pigeon Grade, which handles as an extension of my body. It fits so well in factory form, that I set up both a Binelli Montefeltro 20 and an 870 12 with the exact same drop and cast. They work also. I suppose that I have owned at least six or seven 12 ga Superposed. They are heavy and do not handle as well as a field gun for me. Targets, yes- field, no. I finally stumbled into a Beretta 687 SPIV, that does well hunting and clays. I have also had la Light 12 A-5 for fifty years. Wish it had been a 16, but it was my choice at the time. I have several more, nothing spectacular other than my minty 42. Love me some shotguns and bird hunting. Jt

Ithaca Deerslayer

When I was a teenager I wanted a Remington 3200 O/U skeet gun. A Browning Citori would have worked too. Those over/unders were way out of reach back then. The gun I would have liked to have as a kid (that was affordable) was the Remington 1100 skeet autoloader in 12ga.

When I was very young I lusted over a Stevens .410 double that was on the rack at the local auto supply store which also sold guns. It did not sell for a long time, and I visited it often. But when I got my first shotgun at age 14, it was a Remington 870 12 gauge.

I was a broke college student when the V. Bernadelli Lightweight Gamecock 12 came out for just about $500... That was the early '70s. I have never had the chance to buy one and now they are considerably more.

I have too many shotguns as it is, but I still want one of the Gamecocks.

I dreamed of a Beretta 20 ga. SS when I was young. I have never owned a Beretta (except a little .25 Auto),however my Win. Mod 23 has served me well. --- Mel

As a kid, I took my hunter safety course in neighbor Bob Stevens living room one street up from mine in 1967. His wife served us milk and cookies during the course. After I passed both the written and shooting tests he gave me a Shooters Bible and told me to look at the guns and see what I liked and he would see about helping me find what I wanted. I decided I had to have an Ithaca 37 12 gauge, I loved the engraved receiver and the bottom ejection. As it turned out, he had one(used), and sold it to me for 75 dollars. I only had 55 dollars and had to sell my Crossman .22 pellet rifle for 20 dollars to make the purchase, and I did. About 4 years later I purchased a Deerslayer slug barrel for the gun(new) and couldn't believe I had to pay a WHOLE 60 dollars for just the barrel. I laugh today, that gun and slug barrel were probably one of the best investments I ever made. I shot my first everything with that gun, including my first deer. I more or less still have that gun, as it's been passed down to number one son and he is now shooting things with it as shown in the pics. Gun has functioned flawlessly all these years and have never had a problem with it.







Here would be THE 1974 vintage 1100 20 gauge you speak of. I bought it new in 1974 with a 28 inch modified barrel. I still have to original green box it came in that says '1100 lightweight, Mahogany stock and forend'. You can literally look at the wood in the pic and see it's mahogany. Around 1988, well after they discontinued the 20 lightweight built on the 12 gauge frame, and extra barrels for it(pre 77) I came across an original NIB smoothbore slug barrel for this gun, hence the scope in the pic. My daughter carries this gun nowadays.

My dad's Model 12 in 20 gauge that I now finally own.

For me, it was a Winchester Model 21, just like JOC. I looked at the price tag of a used one in a gun shop and began to appreciate my dad's Model 12 made in 1946. Killed a lot of pheasants and doves with that gun. A few quail too.

When I was about 14 or so my dad gave me his Crescent arms American Gun co. Knickerbocker double barrel 20 guage. His uncle was going blind and gave it to him around 1920. He was 9 years old at the time. I still have it and it's in great shape. It's one of the first hammerless models they made. Full choke on the right barrel and modified on the left. Best grouse gun I ever had.

Back around 1939 or 1940 my dad had saved up enough paper route money to buy a brand new Iver Johnson Champion 16 ga., full choke, single shot break open down at the local Western Auto store. Except he wasn't old enough to buy a shotgun yet. His older sister's boyfriend who was my future uncle was old enough so he went down and purchased it for my dad (a straw purchase nowadays) . In the 1950's my dad gave the gun back to my uncle when his oldest boy was getting into guns & hunting and then his younger boy took it over for a few years. Finally in 1967, after wanting it for years it was my turn for it and I still have it, ( None of my younger cousins or siblings were interested). Had it reblued and recasehardened in 1978 and it still looks pristine today. It's only an Iver Johnson and it rarely gets shot cause I've got lots of other stuff but it's an heirloom with some family history.

Remington model 1100 or Winchester model 12

I wanted a side by side like my Dad shot (I had a single barrel 16 gauge). When my Dad bought a new Ithaca SKB semi-auto in the late 1960's he gave me his Springfield 5100 12 gauge - first gun I ever refinished (wears that finish still).

43 plus years ago, to be honest I do not remember which I dreamed about. Probably a 870 30" wingmaster in 3" 12ga. I did finally inherit my step dads. I had already been using one for a few years. So I gave his to my nephew.

Always wanted a browning light twenty, bought one and it didn't fit me right, so I sold it.......

A Browning Superposed. I now have 2 Citori models - a skeet and an Ultra sporting clay gun.

The shotgun i wanted most they didn't make and that was a Browning Left Hand Auto 5 in 16 ga