Aristo! Aristo! A la lanterne!: Went gun shop hopping........

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Went gun shop hopping........

.
Okay then, just one gun shop... but a very well stocked gun shop!

I was looking for a simple 12 gauge to shoot trap with, and maybe some bird hunting this fall. On the used rack I saw, in no particular order:

A Winchester 1200, modified barrel, hard pad.
An Ithica 37, 28 inch full choke barrel. No pad.
A Remington 870 express, rem choke, set up for an optical sight. Good pad.
A Winchester 1300, 28 inch winchoke, ribbed. Good pad.
A Marlin 1895, 30 inch modified (???) barrel. Yup, measured it. Pad? You nuts?
A Mossburg 500a 28 inch Accuchoke, ribbed with two beads. Good pad.
A Winchester model 12 30 inch full choke, no pad.

All were in reasonable used shape, and not abused. The Marlin had some heavy (and old) changes done to it's buttstock. All were priced decently for what each was, with a high of $390 on the Model 12 and a low of $169 on the Mossburg.

Guess which one came home with me?

I'll post it on Carteach0 after I shoot some trap with it.

2 comments:

JohnMXL said...: My first guess is the Mossburg, based on what you intend it for, although the 870 is a close second due to the flexibility of the platform and availability of accessories.; May 19, 2010 at 10:47 PM
Hat Trick said...: I hope you got the Model 12. You could always have a recoil pad put on. I'm especially partial to them as I learned to wingshoot with my great-grandfather's Model 12. I find the action to be smoother on them than other pumps I've tried.; May 19, 2010 at 11:17 PM

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I have this philosophy.... All humans are faced with a choice.

They can become students of human nature, trying to recognize the good and bad within themselves... or they can choose to ignore human nature, and act simply on drives, desires, and instincts. The former is what sets mankind aside from animals, and the latter is to act as an animal.

Making the first choice is harder, more complicated, and creates a difficult path to follow... for it's the basis of knowing right from wrong. There are those who study human nature, and themselves, and actively try to better themselves and do what is right. There are others... people who study human nature, note the flaws inherent to the unthinking herd, and use them as a means to control.

There is no danger greater than the refusal to see, and to think. Doing so leaves one a pawn to anyone awake, aware, and driven to power over others.

Robert Heinlein

"Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.

But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants "just a few minutes of your time, please — this won't take long." Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time — and squawk for more!
So learn to say No — and to be rude about it when necessary.
Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you.

(This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don't do it because it is "expected" of you.)"

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.