Ithaca $2500 Grade

Every so often, a really spectacular trap gun shows up on Trapshooters.com for sale. This is a $2500 grade Ithaca single barrel trap gun from 1959, only seven were ever made. That is what it sold for in 1959, that's the equivalent of about $18,700 today. The seller wants $14,000 for it. Compare to the slab sided MX3 below. The last such grade gun was a $6500 grade in 1979.

A nice weekend here

Got some shooting it Saturday and Sunday, it was close to 40 degrees and sunny. I shot 8 rounds of handicap from 24 yards with scores between 18 and 23 averaging around 22. I ran the two rounds of singles I shot. That is a quantum leap from where I have been shooting in the last two months and a good confidence booster. I can clean up the handicap shooting with some more practice and drills. It was fun to be out at the club in decent weather again and see my shooting friends. I'm optimistic about the upcoming season.

Sailfish

This picture of sailfish eating sardines off the coast of Mexico won a prestigious photo journalism prize today. Nothing to do with shooting obviously. Supposed to get some nice weather, into the mid-40s by next week, so hoping to get some shooting in and begin my practice routines.

MX3 Moved on Down the Road

I bought this Perazzi MX3 last May but I haven't been shooting it and didn't plan on shooting it. Last Fall, I hung up a sign at the gun club to sell it and got limited interest and no sale. I put it on trapshooters.com one Sunday a few weeks ago and it was sold a few hours later to long-yardage shooter in Corpus Christi, Texas who had two already but wanted an MX3 with a fixed choke. This one miked out to 37 thousandths. It was a neat gun with perfect blueing and a practically new stock from an MX15 which was a really nice piece of wood. I sold it for a little more than I paid for it which was enough to offset the shipping costs to Texas.

Alfermann

Cool engraving on an Alfermann, 100% American Made.

Shooting brake

I was flipping thru the paper's today and I saw a story about Ferrari's new car, styled as a "shooting brake." Well, I like cars and I like shooting so I Googled shooting brake and this is what I found. Wikipedia: "Shooting-brake, or "Shooting Break", is a three-door car body style with a squared-off rear. They generally have a rear liftgate like a wagon or a hatchback although one or a pair of side-hinged doors is also sometimes seen. The term originated with custom built 2-door luxury estate cars altered for use by hunters and other sportsmen such as golfers, riders, and polo players requiring easy access to larger storage areas than offered by the typical automobile boot."

Some more examples:

X-mas Shooting

Got some nice days over Christmas break and shot some sporting clays, wobble trap and 5-Stand with Dad. We shot at Owens Station in Delaware and at Schrader's in Maryland. Dad beat me consistently and with his 28 gauge Guerini.