Busting the Big Myth About Shotgun Chokes

We move through it, we shoot through it and we breathe it. It’s air. But it’s something most shooters never think about when they are competing in a sporting clays competition or even in practice. It is something we should consider when shooting above 3,000 feet. At 3,000 feet the air density is less than at sea level. At 5,000 to 6,000 feet it’s about 80% of what it is at sea level. It is that reduction of air density (altitude) that allows a shot string to stay tight longer than it would at sea level.

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Krieghoff’s Extraordinary “Tiflis” Live Pigeon Shotgun

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 18th or 19th 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.

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The 21st Century Hammer Gun by James Purdey for Griffin & Howe

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.

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New Ithaca Waterfowl 12 Gauge on the Horizon

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.

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A Journey of Reverence: Shooting a Holland & Holland Royal

Down the hill, behind the old Jefferson County manor house, a six-point buck stood alert under the autumn sky. The dense trees put forward garden colors of carrots, raspberries, pumpkins and sweet peas. I rested against the stone wall. Traces of summer lingered with the few insects flitting around in the warm dusk. As the moon grew brighter I knew Prospect Hall would justly serve the Holland & Holland Royal in the trunk of my car.

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