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In the shadow of Capitol Hill, a forgotten patriot consigned to America’s trash heap of the unemployed has created a new national symbol that celebrates the values Sarah Palin holds true.

A man who goes only by the name of Dale has cast Sarah Palin as the lost daughter of the World War II heroine, Rosie the Riveter – but with a twist.

Norman Rockwell’s classic 1943 Saturday Evening Post cover of Rosie shows a rivet gun in the lap of our plucky aircraft assembly-line worker during her lunch break. Dale has replaced it with a Remington 870 pump shotgun.

Dale explained in an email to us…

I replaced Rosie's rivet gun with a Remington 870 12 gauge pump action shotgun, affectionately known as a "street sweeper" by law enforcement and military users. This classic weapon has a proud history for the defense minded everywhere and to my mind exemplified Palin's unflagging support for our second amendment rights and preparedness to clean up the country while defending against all enemies foreign and domestic. A call to vigilance, not violence.

Dale calls his stunning poster, Sarah Para Bellum, inspired by the Latin maxim si vis pacem, para bellum: “If you wish for peace, prepare for war.”

But there has been little peace for this graying man, who is now a numeral in the database of America’s unemployed compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Shortly after Sarah Para Bellum appeared on the conservative web site, Free Republic, a writer with the screen name Devtob, launched into a rant against Dale’s illustration on the liberal blog, the Daily Kos. Devtob not only slammed Dale for his Rosie cum Sarah Palin, he mistakenly identified the pump-action Remington 870 as an over/under (since corrected).

As Dale observed in an email:

The old adage applies, what do you expect from people who don't know which end of the tube the round comes out of?

 

We thought Dale’s question deserved an answer, so we tracked down Devtob’s email address...

From: Irwin Greenstein [mailto:            @shotgunlife.com]
Sent: Monday, March 29, 2010 6:04 PM
To:                        
Subject: Your Palin/Rosie piece

Hi,

I’m working on an article about the Palin Rosie the Riveter poster. You identified the gun wrong. It’s not an over/under but a pump gun. Do you think this important mistake undermines the credibility of your story?

-----Original Message-----
From:                                                                
Sent: Monday, March 29, 2010 6:38 PM
To: Irwin Greenstein
Subject: Re: Your Palin/Rosie piece

 

No. Had any of the commenters mentioned that minor mistake, I would have corrected it right away, rather than four months later. But better late than never.

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Irwin Greenstein [mailto:                @shotgunlife.com]
Sent: Monday, March 29, 2010 6:45 PM
To:                                
Subject: RE: Your Palin/Rosie piece

 

OK, thanks. By the way, here's another one: it's not a purse on her lap but a so-called ammo box, used to store shells.

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From:                                                            
Sent: Monday, March 29, 2010 7:52 PM
To: Irwin Greenstein
Subject: RE: Your Palin/Rosie piece

 

It looks like a purse, with the ammo box behind it. To me, anyway.

 

Dale revealed in a phone call with us that Devtob failed to follow professional journalistic protocol by contacting him directly for comment. Instead, Devtob decided to rely on his own amateur art (and firearms) credentials as he describes in his Daily Kos diatribe: Way back in college, I took several art history courses and learned about iconography in religious art, the symbolic meaning of flowers, animals, etc., that were part of most medieval and Renaissance paintings.

Another blog, Now & Then – An American Social History Project, also got it wrong. Published by the City University of New York, Josh Brown writes…

Dale seems to have understood this problem, at least in so far as he’s poured on the symbolism. Indeed, to compensate, his Sarah is what you might call symbolically overdetermined.  She’s laden with enough right-wing tchotchkes to, well, sink a battleship: death panel beer (or is it soda—some particularly virulent form of diet soda?), a crucifix, right to life and Reagan buttons, a shotgun, ammo, a bible, and a rattlesnake that mimics the original composition but is really the straw that breaks the symbol’s back.  Finally, Dale provides two phallic images (shotgun and snake) for Rockwell’s one (rivet gun)—and replaces Rosie’s coveralls, which might incriminate Sarah as a feminist or worse.

Although Mr. Brown is recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, which “demonstrates exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts," he mistakenly identified the Blackberry in Sarah’s left hand with something called a death panel beer can, or virulent form of diet soda (must be a multiple-choice).

The formal, higher education of Devtob and Mr. Brown stand in sharp contrast to Dale’s boot-strapped studies.

“I’m fairly self-taught, but I’ve taken many courses and studied art with a couple of working portrait painters,” Dale said. “That and lots of life drawing courses. I’ve been drawing all my life and that’s always been something in the back of my mind because I’ve been able to accomplish what I wanted to do because life is what it is. I’ve worked in the graphic-arts industry, but my natural inclination is toward fine arts. I was a graphic artist, did that for about 40 years, although I’ve only held three, four jobs. The last job I held the company went belly up.”

Dale noted in our conversation that Sarah Palin as Rosie the Riveter wasn’t originally his idea. It was inspired by an email from the editor of the online, All Right Magazine.

Still, the larger question looms: was Dale destined to render Sarah as Rosie?

“When I was 12 or 13, I was enamored of Michelangelo, studied him pretty intensely and at the time I lived with my grandparents,” Dale recalled. “I decided to decorate their basement wall with Isaiah from the Sistine Ceiling, and that’s what Rockwell based his Rosie the Riveter on.”

Rockwell's depiction of Rosie paid homage to Michelangelo's Prophet Isaiah on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The likeness touched the hearts of Americans still stinging some 18 months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor.

According to biblical scholars, Isaiah lived in the late eighth century BC. A member of the aristocracy, he preached compassion toward the downtrodden. He is credited with prophesying the coming of Jesus Christ.

When the image was on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post on May 29, 1943, astute readers were quick to notice the similarity between Rosie's pose and that of Michelangelo's depiction of the prophet Isaiah on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, wrote the New York Times.

Rockwell’s 52-by-40-inch oil painting of Rosie was based on a photo released by the Office of War Information in 1942. The real Rosie the Riveter was named Rose Will Monroe. She worked in a Michigan factory that built B-29 and B-24 bombers. Catapulted by a Kay Kyser pop tune of the same name, and a documentary, Rosie’s fame skyrocketed to the most popular icon of the war effort.

Likewise, the former Alaskan governor’s own star has shot up since her 2008 Vice Presidential run, making her the most popular woman in conservative politics.

“I was trying to relate how Sarah Palin fit into the Rosie the Riveter mold,” Dale said. “Rosie the Riveter was a testament to the women who helped the war effort by working in the factories. And Sarah Palin is trying to uphold the traditions of traditional America, which I think is something worth saving.”

Although the Remington 870 shotgun is the focal point of Sarah Para Bellum, Dale has populated the illustration with other icons that stand in for the objects in Rockwell’s Rosie the Riveter.

The backdrop to both illustrations is an American flag billowing in the wind, but other changes ensue.

The fold in the lap of Sarah’s dress holds three 12-gauge shells. The contour of the fold mirrors the rag in Rosie’s lap that protects her coveralls from the greasy rivet gun.

Dale substituted the air hose that curls up to Rosie’s rivet gun with a diamond-back rattler in acknowledgement of the “Don’t Tread on Me” flags from the Revolutionary War.

The assortment of pins and button on Rosie’s coveralls have been replaced with five buttons that express Palin’s energy policy “drill baby, drill” from her Vice President debate with Joe Biden. Another button on Palin says “choose life.” The others refer to President Reagan and an Old Testament verse. Dale also added a crucifix around Sarah’s neck.

Rockwell emphasizes Rosie’s can-do spirit by depicting her right foot crushing a copy of Hitler’s Mein Kampf. Dale replaced it with Saul Alinsky’s 1971 perennial handbook for grassroots organizing, Rules for Radicals.

Rosie’s right pocket is stuffed with something that appears to be a cloth, but Dale replaced it with a copy of the U.S. Constitution and a Bible.

Rockwell’s Rosie is looking away from the sandwich in her left hand, which Dale has exchanged for a Blackberry that reads “Death Panels” – a nod to the populist uprising that opposed the Obama health-care bill.

And Rosie’s lunch box with her name hand-painted on it? That’s been updated with an ammo box that reads, Sarah.

The Remington 870, though, may have also served as the inspiration for the difference in facial expressions between Rosie and Sarah.

The rivet gun seems to rouse in a Rosie a defiant air portrayed in partial profile, which challenges America’s foes to knock her off the block of wood she uses to sit on. But Sara, with her Remington 870, looks you straight in the eye, effectively saying “bring it on.”

“I wanted to show determination, and for the model of that I went back to Michelangelo,” Dale explained. “I wanted to get the expression of David at the moment of decision to fight Goliath or not.”

Irwin Greenstein is publisher of Shotgun Life. Please send your questions and comments to letters@shotgunlife.com.

 

Additional resources:

You can purchase Sarah Para Bellum here

Dale’s Out of Order blog

Remington’s Model 870

The Daily Kos essay

The Now & Then – An American Social History Project essay

All Right Magazine

Sarah Para Bellum on the Free Republic

The owner wouldn’t let us reveal his name, but shared with us everything else he knew about the rare Krieghoff Tiflis pigeon gun.

In a way, the Tiflis belies the popular notion of a shotgun classic. Although it is a side-by-side sidelock, it doesn’t date back to the 18^th or 19^th centuries. It was built in 1986 – but only 20 specimens were produced, all of them in 12 gauge, catapulting the Tiflis into the rarified world of limited-production Krieghoffs.

This small production run sheds light on Krieghoff’s evolution in sidelocks starting with the first Tiflis from the 1920s, up to the 1986 Tiflis, continuing to the current side by side called the Essencia.

Die shöne Schwester des Drillings „Nettune“ translates into “The pretty little sister of the drilling Neptune,” which is how Krieghoff described the Tiflis in this circa 1920 catalog drawing.

Legend:

1. sideplate
2. hammer
3. hammer sear
4. hammer spring
5. trigger sear
6. the according spring to that part – the trigger spring
7. n/a the big part with the screws in it
8. no h
9. hammer pivot pin.

The 1986 Tiflis is a lookalike of a side by side manufactured by Krieghoff prior to World War II, with the exception that the first Tiflis sported articulated double triggers. The earliest evidence of the original Tiflis dates back to the 1920s, where it appeared in a now-obscure, 80-page Krieghoff catalog of shotguns, rifles and accessories (Hauptkatalog XXVII). Aside from the catalog’s etching and marketing copy written in German, the first Tiflis seems to have been largely forgotten.

Both the original and later model Tiflis are veiled in mystery. Even the good folks at Krieghoff didn’t have production numbers on the initial Tiflis, although we do know that the 1986 pigeon gun was discontinued for cost considerations; the marketplace wouldn’t support its development and ongoing manufacturing.

We discovered the 1986 Tiflis at the Southern Side by Side, April 24-26, 2009, held at the Deep River Sporting Clays & Shooting School in Sanford, North Carolina. After a hard day of shooting in a heatwave, we convened for a tailgate party thrown by our former columnist, Elizabeth Lanier. Amid the appetizers, cocktails and cigars that are the hallmark of Elizabeth’s hospitality, we struck up a conversation with a fine Southern gentleman to our left. Turned out, he was the owner of the Tiflis. He explained that he loved to shoot live pigeons with it and also took it to Scotland for driven pheasants.

While the rarity and value of a collectible Krieghoff is generally determined by the prestige of an engraver or perhaps a matching set of barrels, it’s unusual to find any Krieghoff that had a production run of only 20 guns – and a sidelock at that – as the 1986 Tiflis.

After exchanging several emails with the owner to obtain details on the 1986 Tiflis, we ran into him several months later at The Vintagers event in Queenstown Maryland, September 24-27, 2009, where aficionados of Edwardian guns and fashions stage a competition of classic side by sides. We immediately asked if he had the Tiflis with him and if we could see it. Of course he obliged.

He led us to his SUV where the removed the Tiflis from a built-in vault in the cargo compartment. He carefully withdrew the fully restored side by side from a case and handed it to us. While the original pre-war Tiflis weighed about 6.5 pounds, this one felt a little heavier – closer to 7-plus pounds. It did not come up as quick as an English field gun, instead communicating everything Krieghoff in terms of heft, confidence and handling.

Compared to the newer Krieghoff Essencia, the 1986 Tiflis looked like a bulkier side by side. Perhaps it was the perpendicular angle of the frame versus the Essencia’s round body, or the Tiflis’ less elegant proportions. Still, the Tiflis was magnificent. The four-pin sideplate possessed a genuine authority as a time-honored pigeon gun, while the single trigger, nitride receiver and vented rib gave the Tiflis a thoroughly modern look.

The finished product in my hands was the result of a team effort to restore the shotgun that was initially purchased through a quick phone call to Dave Riffle Gun Sales in Fort Meyers, Florida.

“A very good shooting buddy knows of my intense fondness for shooting live pigeons and for Krieghoff guns,” the owner related. “He found the Tiflis advertised on Dave Riffle's website one morning and sent me an e-mail with a direct link to the website and to the very gun.  His e-mail said, simply, you have to buy this gun and 20 minutes later, I had.”

The furniture and barrels received immediate attention as part of the shotgun’s restoration.

Tom Smith of Weston, Ohio fashioned a fitted Circassian walnut stock. The 30-inch barrels (originally choked full/full) had been sent to Briley Manufacturing in Houston, Texas after the owner patterned the gun and saw that it shot 0/100 – meaning that the point of impact was below dead flat. Fortunately, there was enough steel in the 30-inch barrels so that Briley could drill the inside diameter at a slight upwards angle and change the point of impact to 50/50. The owner also asked Briley to thread the muzzles for flush-mounted, interchangeable chokes.

Because of the shotgun’s short production run, spare parts were non-existent. When a leaf spring broke in the action, the owner had to send the Tiflis back to Krieghoff in Germany to have a replacement made from raw steel stock.

“The Tiflis has all the wonderful characteristics of the other Krieghoff shotguns,” the owner explained. “It has tight, crisp triggers, impeccable workmanship, and is reliable and steady. And, it has some of the non-English features which I particularly enjoy: single triggers, ejectors, pistol grip and beavertail forearm. If I do say so, it is a handsome gun and a reliable companion in the field.”

As it turns out, the owner’s passion for the Tiflis reflects the marketing narrative provided by Krieghoff in the circa-1920s catalog. Alex Diehl, General Manager of Krieghoff, helped translate that early Krieghoff copy from the original German.

The word Tiflis is actually German for partridge gun.

In reviewing the catalog, Alex noted that Krieghoff had marketed the Tiflis to elegant gentlemen who wore ties and proper shooting attire.

“It is the lightest and most elegant and best pointable, self-cocking shotgun,” the catalog read. Alex added that at the time a self-cocking gun was somewhat of an upgrade.

Continuing with his catalog translation, Alex read “It is equipped with sidelocks. This well-known construction ensures very soft and crisp triggers due to the long hammer springs and also ensures easy cleaning due to the ability to detach the sidelocks from the gun and thereby supplying a maintenance advantage to the experienced hunter.”

The catalog detailed that “The lockup is the top lever lockup with a double-cut locking bolt.” (The Tiflis featured a Greener-style cross-bolt lock.)

In the cut-away engraving, the fences are called wings and are said to act as reinforcements to the locking apparatus.

“The safety is located on the left sidelock in shape of a turn switch,” the catalog said. “And it is superior to the standard push safety on the top tang for not only securing the triggers but actually securing the hammers themselves. If desired, the standard top tang push safety is available.”

The catalog further discusses the Tiflis safety features:

“To prevent the gun from doubling, which with the very soft and crisp trigger characteristics is a risk, both locks are equipped with a second so-called safety sear. This sear catches the hammer should it accidentally slip out of the hammer sear.”

In regards to the Tiflis’ double triggers, “The front trigger is equipped with a hinge so it can fold to the front should the recoil of the second shot push it against the index finger.”

The Tiflis was available in “German or English style and fine, hand-cut checkering on the pistol grip and forend.” Alex said that the German-style stock would have a pistol grip with the English style as a straight stock.

“Highly discriminating master gunsmith handwork guarantees the quality of this model,” the catalog said. “Its light weight, elegant, pointable shape makes it the first-class elegant gun for the discriminating hunter.”

The catalog listed the 16-gauge model weighting 2.7 kilos or about 6 pounds, with the 12 gauge at 2.9 kilos or about 6.4 pounds. “Heavier versions are available,” the catalog notes, for shooters sensitive to recoil.

The Tiflis was priced at 380 Reichsmark, the currency introduced in 1924 (helping date the catalog). Alex observed that 380 Reichsmark was “a lot more than a month’s salary for a worker,” underscoring the Tiflis’ exclusivity.

Ejectors were listed as an option and in reading the catalog Alex saw that the extractors were actually called a “cartridge out-thrower” incorporated into each barrel. Ejectors cost approximately 90 Reschsmark or some 25% of the price of the Tiflis.

Other options listed in the catalog included corrosion-resistant barrels (standard barrels were made of expensive Buhler steel) and a single trigger. The corrosion-resistant barrels cost about 190 Reichsmark.

Having Alex translate the Tiflis catalog copy for us was a true revelation in following the evolution of this rare sidelock from Krieghoff. It also shed light on the Krieghoff Essencia that we had previous reviewed (please click here).

So while the Tiflis remains out of reach for most of us, the Essencia represents the latest thinking in Krieghoff’s approach to a sidelock bird gun, which started back with the original Tiflis.

Irwin Greenstein is Publisher of Shotgun Life. You can reach him at letters@shotgunlife.com.

Useful resources:

http://www.krieghoff.com/ki/

As with many celebrated turning points in the world of fine shotguns, it all started with a bottle of fine port.

In late September 2000, Mr. Nigel Beaumont, Chairman of English gunmaker, James Purdey & Sons, crossed the Atlantic to attend the Vintage Cup World Side-by-Side Championships at the Orvis Sandanona Shooting Grounds in Millbrook, New York.

The gathering of Edwardian firearms enthusiasts celebrated Purdeys and other pillars of the vintage shotgun pantheon such as L.C. Smith, Parker Brothers, Holland & Holland, and Ithaca Gun Company.

One crisp autumn evening during the event, Mr. Beaumont dined at the home of Mr. Guy Bignell – President and CEO, Griffin & Howe – just a stone’s throw from Sandanona in leafy Dutchess County. As befitting Mr. Bignell’s legendary hospitality, out came the after-dinner port and the arsenal of cigarettes that reckon to measure conversations destined for a long passage into the night.

The stage was now set for an ultimatum put forth in due course by Mr. Beaumont. Mr. Bignell accepted it with the same relish that impels him to race classic Jaguars on the Goodwood circuit near the south coast of England. The arrangement also underscored the influence that Griffin & Howe exerts in the rarified world of luxury firearms.

Mr. Beaumont’s personal challenge was in itself a victory for Mr. Bignell, who for years had encouraged Mr. Beaumont to make a new Purdey hammer gun for the American market. As the port flowed that evening, Mr. Beaumont finally conceded, but under one condition: Griffin & Howe must first procure deposits for 10 of the shotguns. Several months later, Mr. Bignell satisfied his end of the bargain.

“Griffin & Howe reasserted our position in the fine sporting firearms world,” Mr. Bignell explained. “Once again, we pressed, pushed and we were innovative and came up with clients and money to get the whole ball rolling. We thought outside the box when no one else was doing that.”

Underscoring the point of the new hammer gun’s origins, Mr. Beaumont told us over the phone, “The demand was orchestrated by Griffin & Howe. Virtually all of our guns have gone through them because they initially acquired the clients.”

Mr. Bignell’s success in obtaining the requisite hammer-gun deposits demonstrated his deep knowledge of the marketplace for collectible firearms. He regularly takes the pulse of affluent American shotgunners with the skill of a neurosurgeon.

For Mr. Bignell, proximity helps. Griffin & Howe operates showrooms in Connecticut and northern New Jersey, in addition to owning the lavish Hudson Farm shooting grounds also in New Jersey. The Griffin & Howe properties are within easy reach of the Wall Street power brokers who have a flair for bespoke English shotguns and rifles of the highest quality, and you will see many of these clients receive a warm greeting from Mr. Bignell upon their arrival.

This relationship with his patrons became immediately evident during a mid-September weekend last year at the Game Conservancy USA 4^th Annual Showcase & Invitational, where I was given the opportunity to actually shoot the new Purdey hammer gun for 100 rounds of sporting clays. The fundraiser for game and habitat conservation in the U.K. is held at Hudson Farm every year and draws on Griffin & Howe’s loyal constituency.

The exhibition, under a regal white tent, also demonstrates Griffin & Howe’s influence among eminent gun makers. The rows of tables displayed extraordinary shotgun masterpieces from the likes of William & Son., Lebeau Courally, Jules Bury, Boss & Co., Holloway & Naughton, Blaser, Charles Boswell, Krieghoff, Perazzi, Arrieta, William Evans, Atkin, Grant & Lang, and Holland & Holland,. And the Purdey hammer gun was in the mix – demurely displayed by Griffin & Howe.

Some seven years earlier, Purdey had initiated work on its new hammer gun. Now its offspring rested on the table-top gun rack and was about to end up in my hands for a morning of shotgun bliss.

Mr. Beaumont said via phone from Audley House in London that the new hammer gun is an exact replica of a 1923 Purdey 12-bore with ejectors, whose specifications were programmed into so-called CNC computer-controlled milling machines in the Purdey facility.

“It was a virtual lift from the 1923 gun,” he noted. (Coincidentally, 1923 was the year that Griffin & Howe was founded.)

Aside from the original 1923 hammer gun, Purdey didn’t have a lot to work with when it came to cloning it for a contemporary generation of clients. “In the old days, they never had drawings or plans,” Mr. Beaumont explained. “It was all done by gauges and individual craftsmen’s notes.”

There was only one viable alternative to the creation of the new hammer gun. “That [1923] gun was taken apart, looked at, and then we committed it to CNC. There was a lot of reverse engineering. We have a very good CNC shop here where we do a lot of digitizing.”

The notion of digitizing a vintage Purdey within the hallowed halls of Audley House may constitute sacrilege for a number of disciples.

Since its founding in 1814, James Purdey & Sons has been supplying glorious shotguns and rifles to prominent and discriminating clients, including the British Royal Family.

The company’s early success rested on its reputation for making exceptionally well-crafted firearms by hand.

The 1920s saw the Purdey hammer gun arguably reach its pinnacle. Perfect unto itself, the slow decline of hammer gun sales was commensurate with shooters’ rising preference for hammerless shotguns. In the end, no hammer guns were manufactured by Purdey after World War II – until 2004.

With the Griffin & Howe deposits in hand, Purdey began work on the new hammer gun. Mr. Beaumont said the first prototype took approximately 30 months to build. Today delivery through Griffin & Howe stands at 24 months.

It would take far longer without the CNC equipment. For Purdey and other best-gun makers in Europe, the CNC machines have bestowed more time on the craftsmen to work on carefully assembling the components, shaping the wood and tending to the myriad particulars that justify a client spending $50,000 and upwards for a bespoke Purdey. The hand finishing results in scrupulous attention to detail while the CNC milling yields space-age tolerances for the frame, barrels, hammers and even the individual screws engineered for each Purdey. Purists may rage against the machine, but Purdey’s workshop is a solid case for the digital controller and the humble rasp coexisting to create a 21^st century, hammer gun magnum opus.

The ejectors on the new hammer gun were a particular point of pride for Mr. Beaumont. “I think generally we’re very pleased with how well they work,” he said. “The ejector system proved very efficient.”

Purdey added a few features for the modern shooter, including an auto safety and articulated front trigger that pivots forward during recoil from the second shot to avoid injuring the trigger finger. Otherwise, the new Purdey hammer gun is a carbon copy of the 1923 model.

It starts with the full bar action, wherein the main spring of the sidelock action resides in front of the tumbler. The shotgun features 28-inch barrels of chopper-lump construction, 2¾-inch chambers, ½-inch wide rib, double triggers only, splinter forend, rebounding hammers to aid in cracking opening the gun, case color hardened receiver with rose-and-scroll engraving (other engraving options available) and safe inlaid in gold. The hammer guns are proofed in London to 950 bar – or about 13,300 psi, above the average for a 12-gauge shotshell of about 11,500 psi.

The Purdey hammer guns are stocked and choked to customer’s requirements, and interchangeable Teague chokes are offered.

Although the first models shipped were 12 bores, the hammer gun is now available in 20 bore and 28 bore. Prices start at approximately $95,000.

The 12 bore weighs 6½ pounds, while the weight of the 20 bore is 5 pounds, 15 ounces. The final weight of the 28 gauge is unavailable since none have been ordered to date.

Although Mr. Beaumont wouldn’t disclose the entire production run to date, he pegged the number “in the high teens,” adding that most of them were matched pairs.

The shotgun is formally designated the Purdey Hammer Gun

What’s it like to shoot the Purdey Hammer Gun?

To begin, shouldering a Purdey is an revelation to be savored – and it becomes more delicious when the Purdey is something as rare and magnificent as the Purdey Hammer Gun.

When you shoot a bespoke shotgun that costs $95,000 and more there is a distinct difference to any other shotgun you’ve experienced. For lack of a better word, I’ll call it “love.” Regardless of their gauge, they all feel svelte and obliging and a warm, endorphin flush gives rise to an agreeable sensation of well-being.

Since participants in the Game Conservancy sporting-clays fundraiser follow the British tradition of walking the course, Mr. Bignell insisted I carry the Purdey Hammer Gun in a fleece-lined slip that I slung over my shoulder. I mention this for a specific reason.

That morning, the temperature was unseasonably warm, plus I was trekking up and down the wooded paths in a Harris Tweed jacket. Despite my discomfort, each time I removed the Purdey Hammer Gun from the slip on the 19 stations that same agreeable sensation of well-being returned.

The Purdey Hammer Gun also performed a sleight of hand. Although the frame was finished with the perpendicular edges of a boxlock, somehow I kept thinking it felt like a round body – conveying brilliant ergonomics that inspired improved control.

In terms of recoil, it felt more like a gentle shove than a jolt. Perhaps it’s because that particular gun happened to fit me especially well given my average build. You’d expect more drama from a 12-bore hammer gun, but shooting it was completely pain-free with the #7½, 1-ounce loads supplied by Griffin & Howe.

Unlike old hammer guns, the Purdey is noticeably tight. Whereas vintage hammer guns give the impression that the pieces are held together by the connective tissue of an octopus, the Purdey Hammer Gun is a precision instrument – but with the spirit of a freshly poured black and tan. Still, the Purdey Hammer Gun opened easily, as though it used an assist.

Cocking the hammers on this gun elicits a meditative state that slows down the process of shooting – in effect helping you pay more attention to the target. You could say that this state of mind is brought about by all hammer guns. The Purdey Hammer Gun, however, enables you to assume that you will have a consistent shooting experience by virtue of its CNC tolerances and superior quality control. The gun will effortlessly accomplish what you expect of it – including hurling the spent hulls about 10 feet.

I would estimate that the triggers were 3½ - 4 pounds, enabling a fluid follow-through on the shot. Cock the hammers, shoulder the gun, establish the target, pull the trigger, scatter fluorescent shards with ease and delight.

Now if I could only convince Mr. Bignell to let me use the Purdey Hammer Gun again on one of the Continental Pheasant Shoots at Hudson Farm…

Irwin Greenstein is Publisher of Shotgun Life. You can reach him at letters@shotgunlife.com.

Useful Resources

Griffin & Howe

http://www.griffinhowe.com

James Purdey & Sons

http://www.purdey.com

Hudson Farm

http://www.hudsonfarmnj.com

The Game Conservancy USA

http://www.gcusa.org

Starting in March 2010, the Ithaca Gun Company will begin shipment of a waterfowl pump gun that’s infused with a weather and scratch resistant treatment believed to be the second application of this formula for a civilian shotgun – the first coming with Ithaca’s current Model 37 Defense pump gun.

Introduced at the 2010 SHOT Show in Las Vegas, Ithaca’s breakthrough treatment, called Perma-Guard, has endured brutal tests for salt spray, submersion and scratch resistance before adoption by the company. A side benefit of Perma-Guard is that it virtually eliminates the need to lubricate moving parts – making the action extremely smooth.

Unlike the more popular Parkerizing dipping process for protecting firearms against corrosion, Perma-Guard is infused into the metal to a depth of 0.0005/0.001 of an inch for an extremely thin and durable bond that does not interfere with the action or other moving parts through distortion or thickness. That means Ithaca was able to apply Perma-Guard on the entire shotgun (except the hammer, springs and firing pins) without compromising performance caused by ill-fitting coated parts.

The matte-black finish on the Ithaca waterfowl 12 gauge that we shot is said to be salt-water-corrosion resistant up to as much as 90 hours. It has a Rockwell hardness rating in the mid-60s – equal to a hardened steel tool.

Ithaca declined to discuss the details of Perma-Guard, but we were given an opportunity to shoot a prototype of the new waterfowl 12 gauge, and we can say unequivocally that it was smooth and accurate on our sea-duck hunt.

Built on the 100-percent, American-made, Ithaca Model 37 Featherlight, the forthcoming waterfowl pump will initially be available in black, with camo to follow. The waterfowl gun resembles Ithaca’s Model 37 Defense gun, except that the waterfowl barrel is 9½ inches longer since it features the standard 28-inch barrel of the Model 37 Featherweight with a fluorescent orange sight on the muzzle.

Like the Ithaca Featherlight, the waterfowl pump gun will weigh 7.1 pounds and hold five rounds.

The waterfowl shotgun benefitted from Ithaca’s advanced manufacturing, which we had written about previously in our review of their upcoming Phoenix over/under (America Rising: Ithaca’s New 12-Gauge Phoenix Shotgun) .

The receiver on the waterfowl pump was machined from a single billet. Ithaca refrains from soldering. The company’s Solderless Barrel System (SBS) relies on very tight milling tolerances. The rib slides onto stanchions machined directly into the barrel, and is held in place by a single screw. Having previously shot several Ithaca shotguns, we can report that they shoot very straight with no evident barrel distortion after heavy usage. The shot-pattern integrity remained consistent.

When assembling the waterfowl pump, you lock the barrel into the receiver with a twist versus sliding it straight in like on our Beretta 391 semi-auto. On the Featherlight, a lug slides around to make contact with the end cap, exerting additional pressure on the forend while at the same time acting as a lock washer. With this design you don’t need to continuously tighten the end cap during a day’s worth of hunting as is often the case on other shotguns.

Ithaca’s waterfowl pump uses the Featherlight’s lengthened forcing cones to reduce recoil and shot deformation. While out on the boat that calm, cold morning we were surprised at the minimal felt recoil on the face considering it’s a 12-gauge pump. Ithaca has managed to tame muzzle jump despite loading the 3-inch chambers with Winchester Xpert Hi-Velocity Steel Shot rated at 1,400 fps packed with 1? ounces of #2 shot sent through an improve-modified choke.

Naturally, with all those clothes on we didn’t feel any recoil against our shoulder. That’s where the 14¼ inch length of pull came in handy, allowing us to easily mount the shotgun despite all the layers of thick clothing.

The waterfowl pump will also incorporate the Featherlight trigger with a pull of 4-6 pounds. The trigger pull on our waterfowl shotgun came in at a delightful 3.4 pounds. We would hope that the production run of the waterfowl pump not exceed four pounds of pull since the trigger was really quite nice. It sustained good feel and control through our gloves.

Our prototype featured the bottom loading and ejection port designed into all Ithaca Model 37s. The benefits are clear. It eliminates the typical side ejection port normally exposed to inclement weather while preventing spent hulls from hitting your buddies when hunting in a blind or other close quarters such as boat.

We embarked before dawn from Queen Anne's County Slips in the Kent Narrows on Maryland’s Eastern Shore on the 40-foot Jo-B-Mar II. It was a Robbins Bay Built Boat, about 30 years old, owned by veteran captain, Tom Quimby.

He navigated through the surface ice, motoring southwest. A blush pink daybreak materialized over tiny Parsons Island as the sun projected over the horizon line with the force and fury of Helios’ blazing shield. A dead calm set apart this January morning, the stretches of unfrozen water taut and still, as though we had never left the port. The easy chug-chug of the boat gave voice to the Ithaca motto “Take an Old Friend Hunting.” While most sea-duck excursions rattle your bones and slap you in the face, we were moving through a dream toward our destination.

Our coffee, mini-donuts and amiable conversation was occasionally interrupted to point out the solo acrobatic long-tail ducks that popped into view, or the expansive formations of blue-bill ducks flying high in the lavender haze.

About an hour later, we started spreading strings of long-tail decoys – their black and white bodies laid out in a semi-circle around the boat.

Long tails, in singles and pairs, rocketed toward the decoys but would turn at the last minute. I took some near-impossible shots to warm up with the Ithaca while my buddies fired off Beneillis – more than anything else to get off a shot and make themselves heard in the eerie doldrums.

As the ducks continued flying out of range, and then disappeared entirely for long stretches of time, it seemed as though we were caught in some sort of Chesapeake spell. Captain Quimby would raise anchor and move the decoys – still nothing.

Finally, the talk turned to heading back empty-handed. We already had been out some eight hours, and while the weather remained pleasant and the waters calm, ultimately we were capitulating to the restlessness and boredom.

Captain Quimby suggested we move the decoys one last time. He fired up the engine and towed the string for a few minutes before he shut it down, when a long tail swerved toward the starboard side. I’m not sure if the others saw it, since the bird came about from the stern very low and fast. I simply shouldered the Ithaca and when the long tail came within some 30 yards I pulled off a single shot. It went down, bobbing on the surface, head submersed.

I shucked the gun, ready for a second shot, but that was unnecessary.

The sound of the shot caught everyone’s attention and they saw by the smile on my face I had made a clean shot. Captain Quimby started the Jo-B-Mar II as we went to fetch the long tail.

Cheers and congratulations as we saw up close the bird that kept eluding us all day.

Now I would be the last guy to describe myself as a great shot, but at the same time that long tail was not a lucky shot either. The Ithaca came up so easy, and the trigger pull smooth and even, as the lead came reliably into view, it simply was one of those moments where shooter and gun were unbeatable together.

After that shot, we decided to stay out a while longer, but no other shots were made that day.

Imagine – the only guy on the boat to bag a sea duck in that dreamy calm of the Chesapeake Bay.

Irwin Greenstein is the Publisher of Shotgun Life. You can reach him at contact@shotgunlife.com.

Helpful resources:

http://www.ithacagun.com

www.mdseaduckhunting.com