God knows, and even Tantillo knows, that my gun knowledge is limited and that my gun collection, is, er, colorful. However, I have "kilt" a few things with my "colorful" guns and even fancied myself in the new gun market recently, having "kilt" enough to justify plunking down real money.
I bought the Marlin LC Smith in 12 gauge sxs. I regret it.
Now, I am am instinctive shooter, especially since Josh enlightened me at a firing range somewhere in the DC metro area by suggesting I become a left hander. (Why, because Uncle Sam found it useful that I sacrifice my right eye ...long story...perhaps next grouse camp.)
So, I shoot left now, and this LC Smith kills stuff. I beat the snot out of it the first two weeks I owned it killing geese mercilessly. I hit what I aimed at. But not well, not enjoyably. Bottom line is I don't enjoy this gun one bit.
First, hate the single trigger. Second, hate the inability to select barrels (important when I need a "fuller" choke to take the banded geese closer to Jim so they don't escape unscathed due to Tantillo Balistics Blundering) ;).
Third, and most important, the cast. Its a bad deal. Not well published or advertised, but clearly there, and not favoring lefty's. Lots of crippling shots, lots of ugly connections. Birds fell, I was shooting solo, the dog retrieved 'em, but they weren't the clean stone dead drops from the sky I have become accustomed to. Switched back to old favorites and I was back in "enjoyable" form. This is important to me, all science and ballistics aside.
Finally, it is stocked long (or else there is something else going on) which means the trigger guard beats my hand to a pulp (reminiscent of one of Pete's guns).
So, in response to an embedded comment somewhere in the impressive 19 comments to the recent Grouse Gab post, I'd say avoid the LC Smith Marlin thing.
True, I broke the gun in on waterfowl ('cause I have different guns for upland, of course!), but I think my impressions would be the same in any case. With that, I slink back to my amateur's armchair and await more action from you pedantic pugilists.
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I feel badly about Keith's experience here with the Marlin, seeing as how I think I was the one to originally whet his interest by sending him the announcement that the gun was coming out.
It's hindsight, now, clearly, but I'm not sure I'd ever buy a gun sight unseen that I couldn't return after a three day examination period. Something about buying a pig in a poke. . . .
But here's a plan for Keith and trading in the gun: go up to Gander Mtn., look at the 2 trigger Bobwhite model which lists for $849 I believe, and if you like that gun, straight trade! or, if you feel that's losing too much money, trade it toward a decent autoloader or pump to replace the magical gun of mystery in the duck blind--or two such guns so that you'll have a loaner when folks come to visit.
anyway. the Marlin L.C. Smith story is a sad one. But I suppose Mr. Billy still likes his? let's hear from your Mr. Bill!
say . . . and about that banded goose crack. We might as well just get this out in the open right now.
Keith claims to have killed his first banded goose ever--and he has the band at least to show for it--on a field hunt I attended some two seasons back.
Said goose and its mate came cruising over the treeline westward toward our spread. We lie in wait. At the appointed moment when Tidball whispered "take 'em" to himself, he sits up and unloads at the pair.
The pair begin to fly away.
I sit up, shoot once, and the goose I shoot at crumples instantly in the air, falling inert to the ground.
Mike O, who was there and at whose feet the now lifeless goose had fallen closest to, even put it up to an opinion poll: "Whose goose is this?"
Tidball claimed it.
Gentleman that I am, I simply noddedd in assent and hunted gamely, nay, stoically on.
Cabin Boy reported upon seeing the goose that it was banded; and thence the controversy ensued.
Everyone wanted on this bandwagon. Even Pete in Pennsylvania claimed to have not missed his shot at this goose.
But I know better. To my deathbed I will take the knowledge that I, yes I, killed that bird.
I believe that Mr. Tidball's subsequent autopsy on that goose will back me up on this statement.
thank you very much, I rest my case.
For a philosopher Tantilo sure knows his historical revisionism.
Many problems with the story, starting with the pair of geese part. It was a flock of geese, two of which (again) I killed, while Tantilo was mumbling some crap about how he wished he would have used this or that choke with this or that load based on this or that article by this or that professional gun guy. Not to mention that Tantillo either shoots before anyone says "let em have it" or "go" or some other clever indicator that its time to shut up and squeeze the trigger, or else he gets some kind of stage fright and just blinks his eyes at the birds.
Anyway, the season in question is the one where JT couldn't hit the broadside of my barn with his new SAS S.W.A.T gun, the one where he damn near tossed the street-sweeper into the Mighty Cayuga.
So when the birds rained down at Jim's feet, as they often do when I am forced to shoot for him, and O'Connor picked them up, he looked at Jim, walked passed him, and placed the bird where it belonged. And Duck Commander O'Coonor is never wrong.
This is this.
:)
awgeez, hand me the shovel. no, the big one.
well, it may be that two birds fell from the sky at that moment, I probably doubled on them and just don't remember it at the moment. In fact I think Mike killed the other one quite cleanly, I only shot at, ahem, your bird.
The point I'd like to make is that yes, I struggled with that gun in its first season, this much is true. But on this very same hunt, I clearly killed a screaming-in-low kamikaze mallard with a right to left over the shoulder shot that incapacited said drake in midair, whose lifeless yet still speeding form nearly beheaded your closest neighbor (forget his name) who was lying among the dekes. So clearly the gun shoots, and did shoot, just fine.
You didn't reveal the results of the autopsy on that bird I notice. hmmm.
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