Idlefellow
West of the East and East of the West
I love shooting trap, mainly because I get to shoot my vintage trap guns. I'm not particularly good at it; anything 20 or over out of 25 is a successful round for me; a 23 or 24 makes me ecstatic. I've never shot a 25 of 25 but I keep trying.; maybe someday 
. But seeing these old boomers in the gun rack or on the line next to all those fancy new-fangled guns and still doing the job they were built for is a real hoot for me; I wish my shooting would do them justice but it is what is it. These are single barrel guns, all completely original and made specifically for the sport, 12 gauge of course, with ejectors and 32" barrels.
The top one is an Ithaca 5E, c. 1929. These Ithacas were kinda the Cadillac of trap guns back in the day. I always wanted one and this one is in beautiful condition. The middle one is Orphan Annie, my Parker Brothers SC grade made in 1924. I bought her with her barrel cropped to 27-3/4" (why I can't imagine) but just couldn't pass her up. I shot her that way for a good many years and she always did her job, but eventually I stumbled onto an uncut 32" barrel. I still have the shortened barrel but I use the longer one now so she doesn't feel self-conscious standing next to all those other long barreled guns. The bottom gun is an Ansley H. Fox J grade made in 1932. I've always loved Fox shotguns (my favorite bird guns are Fox side by sides) and I once said I'd trade my other two for a nice Fox. But when this one showed up the owner wasn't interested in a trade, and I couldn't have turned loose of the other two anyway. I had to do a pretty hard sell on the Comptroller of the Currency to add it to the stable. Anyway, thought I'd show them off on a summer day too hot for anything else...
. But seeing these old boomers in the gun rack or on the line next to all those fancy new-fangled guns and still doing the job they were built for is a real hoot for me; I wish my shooting would do them justice but it is what is it. These are single barrel guns, all completely original and made specifically for the sport, 12 gauge of course, with ejectors and 32" barrels.The top one is an Ithaca 5E, c. 1929. These Ithacas were kinda the Cadillac of trap guns back in the day. I always wanted one and this one is in beautiful condition. The middle one is Orphan Annie, my Parker Brothers SC grade made in 1924. I bought her with her barrel cropped to 27-3/4" (why I can't imagine) but just couldn't pass her up. I shot her that way for a good many years and she always did her job, but eventually I stumbled onto an uncut 32" barrel. I still have the shortened barrel but I use the longer one now so she doesn't feel self-conscious standing next to all those other long barreled guns. The bottom gun is an Ansley H. Fox J grade made in 1932. I've always loved Fox shotguns (my favorite bird guns are Fox side by sides) and I once said I'd trade my other two for a nice Fox. But when this one showed up the owner wasn't interested in a trade, and I couldn't have turned loose of the other two anyway. I had to do a pretty hard sell on the Comptroller of the Currency to add it to the stable. Anyway, thought I'd show them off on a summer day too hot for anything else...
