Crow Busters Forum

Butch · Guru

Favorite Shotgun

Rook-ie · Senior Member

Well, I would have to agree with you on #2. I do not have any, but I wish that I did. My Great Grandfather, Albert E. Kraus, was a master engraver for LC Smith (Hunter Arms) in Fulton, NY. At the time of his death, he was considered the world's greatest gun engraver. Some samples attached.

Bob · Guru

Rookie,

You have a wonderful heritage, your great grandfather was some artist to say the very least! Suburb craftsmenship!

Bob A.

Bob · Guru

1. Model 12 Winchester

2. Model 21 Winchester

3. Model 42 Winchester

4. Model 31 Remington

Crowslayerking · Veteran Member

1. Benelli Super Nova
2. Franchi Affinity
3. Remington 1100
4. Remington 870

Butch · Guru

Rook-ie,

I only have one Field Grade L.C. , Your G. Grandfathers guns are very special, I've never saw any in person, only in pictures. Hopefully one day I will get the pleasure. Great Story!

Butch

Mark · Guru

1: Ithaca Featherlite 51 ( first shotun) love it but only holds 3 rounds..

2: Franchi 612 ( second shotgun) Loved it but bought a Benelli 'cause everbody was shooting Benelli ( sold it and wished I had not)

3: Benelli M2

4: Maxus (Love it when she works.. )

BUZZ · Senior Member

I have various shot guns, but the one I crow hunt with is a Beretta A400. Been through several others that gave me trouble, including 2 Benelli SBEII's, the second one of those was the replacement gun from Benelli when they could not fix the 1st one after two attempt's. I give them credit for standing behind their gun and replacing it, but the replacement gave the same issues.

The Beretta has been flawless so far.

Butch · Guru

Gentlemen,

These are some great guns you have listed, would love to have them all !

On a side note, I have a friend who has collected guns for years, He's 73 and has some of the best Winchesters Mod.21 , 12 , 42 , Remington's , Ithaca's , Brownings you name it He probably has it. He did most of buying in the 60's early 70's .
His gun of choice is an older Rem. 1100 that was so rusty He spray painted it black ( calls it blackie) . He's ran 500 skeet to many times to count with this gun, and if it's got feathers He does better. He's very serious when he say's you can have them all but blackie ain't for sale. I know his list would start 1. Rem. 1100. (Blackie)

Keep them coming,

Thank's

Butch

M12Shooter · Guru

Any Model 12 Winchester that fits well and throws a decent patter. Actually, I have never seen an un-altered M12 that didn't throw a fine pattern. My dream is to one day own a M42 Winchester. Breaking from tradition though, I can see an A400 in my life soon!

Ted

Mark · Guru

Buzz, When you say Flawless can you elaborate? i.e shell you have shot, how often do you clean it etc? Thank you,

needmorebacon · Veteran Member

1.Browning Light Twelve
2.Browning Sweet Sixteen
3.Browning Light Twenty

no explanation needed.

wingmaster · Senior Member

confuse How about not falsity but Stevens Fox side by side than stick with the Remington 870.

Skip · Guru

The question: what is your favorite shotgun, or top 3 shotguns? I would like to add one word before I give me 2 cents worth: crow. What is my favorite crow....shotgun? Now the question is easier to answer! There are many many fine scatter guns today including many old ones. If you are after ducks/geese/turkey/dove/quail/pheasant, etc.. I think I could "spin the bottle" and pick the one the bottle pointed out! But, for our fine black, noisey, evasive avaitor adversary, Browning's "speed load" seperates it from the masses. Why fumble trying to quickly load other guns before your target escapes, when you can slide a new round in one second... without even looking at the gun or taking your eyes off the target? Answer: speed load.

I am no lobby for Browning but if I had a nickel for how many escaping crows I have kiled via the speed load, I could make a car payment. smile

BigBlackBirds · Senior Member

Want MX8
maybe someday

KenCrow · Senior Member

I have four SKB (Sakaba) shotguns. One is 20 ga. M-1300, which is actually my wifes gun; one M-1300 in twelve ga. and one M-1900 in 12 ga. Also have one M-1900 Ducks Unlimited 12 ga. which I just look at. It is new and I have never shot it! A beauty! All are automatics.

The SKB automatics were made back in the 1970-1990 period, and were often marked and sold as Ithaca guns. They look like real guns, and not the Fisher-Price, Mattel Toy modern looks that so many uppity guns from Browning, Beretta, or Benelli and Remington now have. Aesthetics does count. After all, everyone would rather look at Kim Novak in preference to Hillary Clinton.

I know that I am an old fashioned fuddy-duddy, and not ashamed of it. But to my eyes, a shotgun should be made of walnut wood, and metal, with functional design, and not the catchy, flashy, toyish look so common now. Above all, a shotgun should fit your physique, as shotguns are fired by "feel" much more so than by sights.

Until I find something that fits me better than the old SKB shotguns, and looks better to-boot, I'll keep shooting my SKB Japanese chopsticks.

All of a sudden, I can't get Novak outta my mind............guess I'm a dirty old man too.......and not ashamed of it!

To Each His Own

KenCrow

needmorebacon · Veteran Member

Ken I think your showing your age....I never heard of the lady...and all I saw on google was in black and white biggrin confuse best regards!

Bob · Guru

Ken,

I suppose it's just a matter of taste in what a guy likes. That being said I feel as you do about "wood" on a shotgun, the fancier the better.

Bob A.

nhcrowshooter · Guru

Rook-ie that is a legacy to be proud of. If I were you I would be on a quest to purchase an Elsie that I could afford that was engraved by your Great Grandfather. His work was stunning.

Custom stocking a Rem 870, that really brings a smile.

M12Shooter · Guru

I'm a fan of wood and blued steel too. Does that make me a fudd blankstare biggrin

Ted

BUZZ · Senior Member

Mark wrote:
Buzz, When you say Flawless can you elaborate? i.e shell you have shot, how often do you clean it etc? Thank you,

Don't clean it as often as I should biggrin

I shoot mostly Kent, 2 3/4....6 shot. It has never stove piped, never failed to cycle properly, never skipped a beat. I have ran about 3 cases of shells through it so far. Hunted last week, it was -3* below with a slight wind.....still no issues cycling.

I have not fired a 3" or 3 1/2" through it, as I have no need to. Got a Turkey, and Coyote in the same day using the 2 3/4 Kents. The majority of the shells through it have been at crows.

My buddy just got his a couple months ago, and is having the same success with his. We both had issues with the Benellis, and he had a versa max that was total junk! Remington did replace the versa max after it failed several times, but he bought the Beretta while the versa max was at Remington, before they sent his new replacement........which still sets in the box it came in........it is brand new....and for sale.

Mark · Guru

Buzz, Thank you for your answer.. Number 6's? Deadly... 3 cases is not that many.... I hope it performs flawlessly for many many more cases.. i.e. lots of crows..

Butch · Guru

Thank's for the replies, I have enjoyed each one and look forward to more!
I learn a lot from other Hunter's likes and dislikes, opinion's and the humor (LOL) almost spit my coffee all over this I-pad thanks to nhcrowshooter's pig pic !
My Dad was old school (a gun is a tool) , I to have my hunting gun's (Tool's) but also collect and like old guns, My son is new school and because of him I'm slowly warming up to the new stuff. He had a great Crow gun but bought a Camo Rem. Versa Max that has made me think about my next purchase.

I think one thing we all can agree on, We like to Hunt Crow's !!!

Butch

Rook-ie · Senior Member

Thanks, too, for your thoughts on LC Smith and Great Grandpa AE Kraus. I am quite proud of that legacy. He was a gentleman who used to fly fish in a three-piece suit. After he retired, he took up oil painting. Our family has many of his masterpieces, but his work is spread all over the place. I have just a few, and will also end up with his largest 5x5' ducks landing on a marsh from my parents' home.

Here are a few... the one very early dog profile was from '44, and the later pieces show his progression over the years. I'll have to make a point to get photos of his other works from my siblings home when I visit them next.

Cheers!

BUZZ · Senior Member

Rook, your grand pap was a very talented man.....I can't even sign my own name and make it legible......a true talent he had for sure!!

BUZZ · Senior Member

Mark wrote:
Buzz, Thank you for your answer.. Number 6's? Deadly... 3 cases is not that many.... I hope it performs flawlessly for many many more cases.. i.e. lots of crows..

Yep......I'm hoping the same for the gun. Buddy and I are at 290 this Winter, not bad for a run-n-gun area, got a couple months left and we will hunt every week. Plan to put it through it's paces......

-- Edited by BUZZ on Wednesday 29th of January 2014 01:05:34 AM

KenCrow · Senior Member

Mr. nhcrowshooter,

That picture of Hillary Clinton you posted below, looks like a pig!

KenCrow

KenCrow · Senior Member

The posting of Hillary is above, not below.

KenCrow

Lonehowl · Veteran Member

Rook ie that is some beautiful engraving! Your grandfather was a master for sure.

Mark

Old Artilleryman · Guru

M12Shooter wrote:
I'm a fan of wood and blued steel too. Does that make me a fudd

Ted

Guess also a Fudd.

You "ruined" me forever. I love my slightly "altered" (Polychoke added) Model 12 from 1926. It is my favorite and only crow gun.

Craig

motiondecoy · Guru

The featherlight Ithaca pump with the rail and orange bead or pill but the drawback is they didn't shoot 3 inch rounds and only held 5 rounds. The other is the remington 870 pump. I loved the remington 1100 but after 150 rounds you had to thoroughly clean the action spotless. The Rossi overland exposed hammers or not; around here you could get away with a double at the time. It only went 200 rounds before you had to thoroughly clean the action spotless. And last but not least the H&R single shot. I couldn't miss with that shotgun. The trouble is only one shot but i was pretty fast at reloading!
NOte: this is very important; I used a shoulder pad by pachmyer that with the 7 1/2s and 8s I would use mainly the recoil was absolutely painless unlike the comments I have read on here. It actually felt like a .410 or less. Prior to that I was often bruised....but those are the ones. Do I own any right now-no. What am i using? The rather heavy 11-87....and i miss with it as it is the heaviest shotgun i have been afield with in virtually decades. Not sure what i will do down the road. Maybe i will lift weights?
My 11-87 comes with a fantastic shoulder cushion of one nature or another that rivals the pachmyer and in fact is slightly better but that is the difference between 100% perfect and 101% perfect.
okay tell me what i need to do. Something is up as I have seen used ones turning up on dealers' shelves...the 11-87...
The greatest fault of the Ithaca featherlight in my view is that the slide rail on the pump is not longevity oriented and it can break at any time without warning- the balance is incredible however and it dumps the spent shell casings at your feet. The semi automatic ithaca was very unlike the featherlight at all. I never owned one but despite its' handsome looks it was not the crow gun for me and too unbalanced and heavy. And it spat the rounds out the side. My 11-87 does too and the higher the brass the further -away it spat them (almost twenty feet!). Those Wal_mart light skeet loads won't cycle the gun at all! Turns the 11-87 into a jam_a_matic!

hvtrapper · Veteran Member

Old Artilleryman wrote:
M12Shooter wrote:
I'm a fan of wood and blued steel too. Does that make me a fudd

Ted
Guess also a Fudd.
You "ruined" me forever. I love my slightly "altered" (Polychoke added) Model 12 from 1926. It is my favorite and only crow gun.
Craig

Count me in with the fudds, walnut and blued steel here as well. My model 12 is a 16 ga and also equipped with a polychoke.

CrowbustingSkeeter · Member

#1 Benelli M-2

#2 Browning A-5

#3 ?

These are the only 2 guns I shoot

gearly65 · Senior Member

I have a Beretta 390 that I exclusively use for crow hunting that I have put 10,000 rounds through and has never broke, I only clean it about every 500 rounds and it never malfunctions either. I love this gun!!!
I also have a 2 3/4" only Remington 1100 which I put around 3000 rounds thru before it broke but is a good gun. I also love my Winchester SX3 which I mainly use for waterfowl hunting but use for crows occasionally also.

wingmaster · Senior Member

12ga Win 12 Rem 870 Sweet16 Browning

Minnesota John · Senior Member

I have found myself getting a favorite gun like falling in love with it. I broke the chains my mind puts on me and have found I love switching guns.

My current favorite is the Maxus felt like a fence post the first time I held it, but it shoots well for me. Still have over a dozen others I try to use as well.

Guns are like girls use them as such

Big A · Veteran Member

#1 weatherby 12 ga Orion sporting clays o/u. It fits me like it was built custom for me. #2 a savage fox 20ga sbs that kills anything at extreme distances. # a 28 ga 870 wingmaster that is a joy to shoot and as smooth as butter

Rook-ie · Senior Member

Got some more pictures of Great Grandpa AE Kraus' paintings from my siblings. Some are early more primitive paintings, but a few are masterpieces. The ducks landing in the marsh is actually 5x5 feet. It will be part of my collection one day. He took up oil painting after he retired from engraving LC Smiths.

Butch · Guru

Replies have ben great, guess I'm a FUDD also but I have to admit to Camo painting my crow gun,had the Camo cloth on it but to much trouble for me with a huntin gun.

Rook-ie ,
I really like the painting you're getting the best, glad your family took care of His works, I don't know anything about fine Art but I like His style !

Butch

KenCrow · Senior Member

Somewhere (above, or below) I made a comment about my love for SKB shotguns. A while back, I purchased a SKB Model 1900 Ducks Unlimited, which is new. I'm attaching some pics of it for all to see, and to appease my bragging rights as to what a beautiful shotgun should look like. I have never shot it. But I have two more SKB shotguns, that are identical to the DU model, but they do not have the shiny side plates on the receiver, and I use them for crow hunting. All parts on all three guns are interchangable. Just cosmetic differences distinguishes each model. Both hunting guns have Cerakote treatment on all external parts of the metal. The hunting guns are not shown here. Maybe later I' ll photograph them and show them also.

The cute gal holding my gun is my wife, whom also has a SKB M1300 20 ga. which she shoots clay birds with. She does not hunt.

Take a look!

KenCrow

raptor5618 · Veteran Member

Want a Benelli M-2, Have a Beretta and passed a Remington 11-87 down to my son. The Remington has not jammed on us even with low brass shells but at the start of every season we change that stupid O ring that they use. The Remington will start to Jam if you do not clean it often enough and you have to be pretty thorough.

The Beretta shoots everything never failed to cycle and if it were left handed I probably would not be drooling over the Benelli M-2. Still get mad at myself for not grabbing a Super Black Eagle that sat in the store too long so they marked it down and I did not grab it. Of course a little while later I decided I should really jump on the deal but it was gone. I am certain I would never shoot 3 1/2 shells so the M2 is priced better and has the same stock type so it would serve its purpose just as well.

As far as wood goes, well I think that aesthetically it is no questions asked the better of the two. But I hunt so often in the thick stuff that the wood gets beat to hell no matter how careful you are. I duck hunt so it often is out in the worst of weather. So function wins out over style for me. If I had a beautiful wood stock gun I would have a hard time taking it through a briar patch so it could serve its real function.

Oh and those guns are incredible. Too bad he did not keep a pile of practice one offs in his basement.

shaky · Member

I have my grandfather's Winchester Model 12 12GA (1933) and my dad's Model 12 20GA (1936). I hunted with my dad's 20GA for quite a while, but have since been using an 870 Wingmaster 20GA Mag. Both the Model 12s run just fine, but I want to keep them as a memory of the men that owned and hunted with them. Both were really good with a shotgun. I wish I were only half as good and I would be a happy camper. I would like to get a semi auto someday for clays, but until then I'm still a huge fan of the pump shotgun.

Butch · Guru

shaky,

Welcome to the forum.
As you can tell they are a lot of Mod.12 , 870 and other pump fans on this forum. I liked hearing about your family treasures, hunting guns of my family bring back great memories and helps bridge the gap for the young that didn't get the honor to have known these good Men.

Butch

Troy Seal · Senior Member

Have 1. M1 benelli my bird gun since forvever 2.SBE1 my waterfowlfowl gun of 12 seasons 3.391 beretta my clays gun of 2 years like the gun hate the location of the saftey Want 1. browning citori 16 ga. Collection occational shooter 2.SKB/weatherby 20ga. o/u. Upland gun 3. weatherby SA 08 20ga deluxe... cheap but I like'em, nice n lite fits and great reviews. Little bit of everything gun