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Pine Creek/Dave
PostPosted: Sun Jan 27, 2019 1:57 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Mar 2017
Posts: 2786
Location: Endless Mountains of Pa

Cold Iron,

Glad you like your Ithaca pump guns, have fun with them in the Grouse Woods. I have an old 16 gauge M12 that we opened the choke to C, and the girls love the light pump gun in the woods, and think they are Annie Oakley with it.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

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Dogchaser37
PostPosted: Sun Jan 27, 2019 4:33 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 08 Aug 2011
Posts: 1946
Location: Central CT

I could never get any choke/load combination to not aerate a woodcock until I started using spreader loads. Grouse were easy, either Cylinder or Skeet chokes were never a problem, with an ounce of 6’s.

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Cold Iron
PostPosted: Sun Jan 27, 2019 8:02 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 09 Mar 2016
Posts: 746
Location: Mn.

Pine Creek/Dave wrote:
Cold Iron,

Glad you like your Ithaca pump guns, have fun with them in the Grouse Woods. I have an old 16 gauge M12 that we opened the choke to C, and the girls love the light pump gun in the woods, and think they are Annie Oakley with it.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

Glad the girls shoot them well!

In the 60's and 70's if you showed up with anything other than an Ithaca 37 in the Endless Mountains you would be called a Communist. Close enough to Ithaca that it mattered. Interesting what 20 years makes in opinions, by the time you retired I enlisted I am 60 you must be in your 80's. By the early early 60's both of my grandfathers got rid of their double bbl. guns and shot 37's. If you didn't shoot an Ithaca back "home" you would be called some sort of Communist by most everyone I knew.

When I met KGB down in Nebraska at one of the Flatwater shoots and told him where I was from he went off on me for calling everyone a Flatlander. Tried to tell him that wasn't the case. And my punishment for doing so in my early years was to live in Mn. But I could be banished here forever and it would not bother me.

Most of my family ended up moving to Pitt for work. A few moved to Philly and always considered that and NJ the flatlander capital of the world. Did well on recruiting duty back in the Endless Mountains because I knew most people or they knew me. Lancaster County struggled so they moved me down there after 2 years.

Fate worth than death.

But met people like Bob Clouser and Upland Carpenter although I have never met Marcus would be honored to met him. And everyone there told me in Philly it was the Jersey ones you had to worry about. But my best friend for many years was a Marine recruiter from NJ. He now lives back "home" and calls me a Flatlander when I go back. In jest of course.

I don't label people or guns anymore. I like them all. Although would be hard pressed to admit it in public

Very Happy
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Pine Creek/Dave
PostPosted: Sun Jan 27, 2019 8:27 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Mar 2017
Posts: 2786
Location: Endless Mountains of Pa

Cold Iron,

Hay my family is one of those that had to move to the Pittsburgh area, there was no work on the mountain after WWII. Although I was born in Galeton in my Grandfathers home, I had too move with my family to the Swissvale area, my father worked for the Union Switch and Signal. The men were moved out of Galeton down to the head shed in Swissvale.

My entire way of life was turned up side down, took me a long time to get back home to the mountain again.

Have a serious log cabin not to far from the Log Cabin Restaurant on Rt 6.

If I remember your family lived in southern Potter, Northern Potter was much different, heck we even considered you guys flat landers at one time.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man

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Cold Iron
PostPosted: Sun Jan 27, 2019 10:45 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 09 Mar 2016
Posts: 746
Location: Mn.

Pine Creek/Dave wrote:
Cold Iron,

Hay my family is one of those that had to move to the Pittsburgh area, there was no work on the mountain after WWII. Although I was born in Galeton in my Grandfathers home, I had too move with my family to the Swissvale area, my father worked for the Union Switch and Signal. The men were moved out of Galeton down to the head shed in Swissvale.

My entire way of life was turned up side down, took me a long time to get back home to the mountain again.

Have a serious log cabin not to far from the Log Cabin Restaurant on Rt 6.

If I remember your family lived in southern Potter, Northern Potter was much different, heck we even considered you guys flat landers at one time.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man


Erh great grandma Thomas was from Galeton. And great great grandma Hat kitchen sits on the Rim of the Canyon at the base of the gorge in Ansoina. Couple of my great Uncles built Hwy. 6 always thought it was to get the taters out of Coudy, was in my 20's before I realized it went across the State LOL.

One of those great Uncles did the Panama Canal and died of malaria before he could get back home. Never knew him of course but he was talked about in revered tones.

I did the ditch but it was the Suez in 83 the first time. Then again on the way to the Red Sea for Deseret Storm, then up through the straights into the box of the Gulf. The song remains the same.

My tune however has changed over the years. In many ways. 2 years ago when hunting here heard a shot as I was coming out of the trail I was walking. Right next to my truck. 3 guys on ATV's and one of them had a SxS and the other 2 guys were giving him hell for missing a grouse on the ground. Of course riding ATV's they were ground sluicers and limb chicken shooters. I popped out of the woods less than a minute after I heard the shot.

They looked at me surprised and I held the Toller in check. After some conversation the young guy that was less than half my age said he thought he would get some American Heritage and that is why he was shooting a SxS. The others were ribbing him hell the American classics are so bad the kids can't even ground sluice grouse LOL.

Walked over to him and explained that the dog leg Stevens that he purchased was not a good choice. After I got back to the truck took this picture, was raining and already wiped oiled and put the 37 away. Pair of red phase.



I am a born and bred ridge running woodchuck, never lived in Pittsburgh. One of my grandfathers worked his way up to Ceramic Engineer at Corning Glass at Wellsboro and even taught chemistry at the college in Mansfield.

When I left college to join the Navy and entered the Nuclear Power Program he told me to give his slide rule back. Don't care if I am a ridge running woodchuck or not. I can still make the C1 and C3 scales sing if need be.
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Pine Creek/Dave
PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:08 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Mar 2017
Posts: 2786
Location: Endless Mountains of Pa

CI,

Good you are from the home town, must have been a different guy I was talking with who was from southern Potter. Some time we will have to meet, and take a walk thru the Grouse woods together. Got a new female Gordon pup I will be training.

If a young man can not shoot a double gun, it either does not fit him or the guy does not know what he is doing. Accounting for the drop on some older guns is a matter of learning how to shoot those old guns, many people have trouble doing it however.

My buddy Ken Graft has trouble shooting these old SXS double guns, that have massive drop. He is very careful which American Classic double guns he purchases for his own collection, he owns the Shooting Star Gun business. He just picked up a Fox A Grade and it is seriously nice, restocked SXS double Gun, with a more modern type stock.

Myself I shoot them all, I was raised doing it, however I do like the more flat shooting SXS double guns best. Now a heavey old Stevens SXS double gun is not my idea of what I want to walk thru the Grouse woods with, if need be I could do it however. This is where money comes into the picture. Real good double guns cost more money, this is why a lot of the men used the light pump guns in your era, and in mine also. They are Great Turkey and Deer guns also.


In my era the Grouse hunters were trading their SXS Hammer Guns on newer Hammerless double guns. Man we should have been buying them up. I missed the opportunity to purchase some serious L.C. Smith, Parker, Fox and LeFever Hammer Guns for sure. An American made modern Hammer Gun is now being sold for big money. Just made a deal on an Antique Crescent 16 Gauge Hammer Gun myself. I still Grouse hunt with SXS double Hammer and Hammerless guns all the time.

I never did carry a pump gun no matter the maker, never had anybody call me a Communist for carrying my Grandfathers L.C. Smith double guns for sure.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man


Last edited by Pine Creek/Dave on Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:14 pm; edited 1 time in total

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tramroad28
PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:13 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 20 Jul 2011
Posts: 625
Location: Ohio..where ruffed grouse were

I doubt that I am coordinated enough to use a hammer shotgun in the grouse woods but, I admit, I still would love to have an AH Fox hammergun.
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Pine Creek/Dave
PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 12:21 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 17 Mar 2017
Posts: 2786
Location: Endless Mountains of Pa

tramroad28,

It'll a matter of discipline and learning how to handle the Hammer Gun, the techniques we were taught make it very safe, and very sporting to hunt Grouse in this traditional manner.

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith Man


Sampson our Small Munsterlander Gun Dog with his true double Grouse taken with a L.C. Smith 16 gauge Hammer gun.

[URL=http://www.jpgbox.com/page/56065_600x400/] [/URL]

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16gaDavis
PostPosted: Tue Jan 29, 2019 8:03 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 24 Jun 2013
Posts: 2062
Location: canandaigua - western n.y. (formerly deerhunter)

Never could stand poly's or cutts growing up - now quite LIKEY ! Poly's need to be kept clean , mine have never been as tight as advertised , but quite adequate . Our World Skeet guys still shoot 1100/cutts to exclusivity ... for the last couple yrs , Poly has been defunked , cashing orders and not responding type action . Hopefully , that has changed as I still would like a couple vented units .

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drcook
PostPosted: Sun Feb 03, 2019 5:55 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 09 Dec 2012
Posts: 689

I have a 1953 vintage Ithaca 37 16ga of course, with Poly Choke that I built for my wife.

I found it down south for a whopping $150.00. I had intended to strip it for parts, but saw the immediate possibilities when it arrived.

It is 22" to the beginning of the vents on the Poly, 23" to the very end. I put a 13" LOP stock on it that I recut the checkering and refinished it.

I also had to reblue the barrel. I would suspect that the Poly was put on correctly as the barrel is not original to the gun, it also was professionally fitted to the Ithaca receiver and indexes perfectly, whoever did it, knew what they were doing. Les Hovencamp is one gunsmith that did.

We need to take it out and pattern it.

I also built her another 16ga Ithaca 37 but on a post 855,000 receiver, with a 24" VR choke tube barrel. She has shot it and I must have gotten the dimensions right as it is not objectionable for her to shoot (my wife is a small boned 5'3" lady).

I found early 1950's cut checkered stocks that people had butchered down and put pads on, squared the ends up, refinished and correctly fitted Ithaca buttplates to them,

Needless to say, when I spoke about robbing the stock off the Polychoked gun to build a gun for our daughter, she said "Don't you dare".

I will try and get a good picture to share.

I also have a 1951 Ith 37 16ga with a Poly, but it is not as nice as the one for my wife. My wife's Poly indexes back to the settings perfectly, the 1951 one is a little loose.

The 53 is a Deluxe Poly but has no part numbers on it. Now I will have to go check the 51 and see if it has a part number. It might be worth buying one of the NOS ones off eBay and sending it to one of the better shotgun smiths to be installed.

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dr = David R, not Dr. but thanks for the compliment, most folks just call me Dave
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Old Hunter
PostPosted: Tue Feb 12, 2019 3:59 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 03 Sep 2010
Posts: 198
Location: Cape Carteret, NC

I own two shotguns equipped with PolyChokes; an Auto-5 and a Model 12 (both 16 GA). They are quite consistent in their patterns and both are about two chokes more open than the Poly is labeled, however knowing that you can select the right choke for the hunt. OH


Last edited by Old Hunter on Tue Feb 12, 2019 4:03 am; edited 1 time in total
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