Hillbilly stalker
Senior Member
Last week me and my bride took a trip back to the hills where I was born and raised. It’s funny how when I start up I-77 and see the big mountains on the horizon I start getting antsy. But man I tell ya them hills look so much steeper than they used to, it’s a chore to get a critter out of there sometimes. We hadn’t been back in around 4 years because of different things and then the China flu hit and the older people didn’t wanna visit. One of the things I picked up while I was there was my paw paws old 16 gauge shotgun. He promised it to me before he passed, but my uncle took it home while I was out of country. Man that gun meant the world to me, the first gun I ever shot. I was probably 8-9 years old before they turned me loose by myself with it. I’d get off the school bus, change britches and run or ride my bike 1 1/2 miles out the ridge to my grandparents, grab the shotgun, hit the woods and squirrel hunt for an hour or so before it got slam dark. Man the memories I made toting that ol gun around the hill are priceless. Fast forward 2020 and my Uncle passed and his wife saved the ol Gun for me. I was kinda surprised because in my memory it was a Ithaca.well I got to inspecting it and it’s actually a “New white powder wonder”. Never heard of one. There ain’t no internet or phone signal around my daddy’s house so I had to wait to research it. Turns out Sears and Roebuck sold the guns but they were made by four different companies for Sears……back in 1904 untill 1908. Seems that’s about the time in history that powder switched from black powder to smokeless powder. Shotgun powder was white and resembled soap from what I’ve read, thus New white powder wonder. The barrel material also switched from Damascus steel to Genuine Armory steel. The gun doesn’t have the gauge on it either and says “ choke bored” on the 30 inch barrel. It sold at the high price of $4.10-$5.00. You could add 2 zero’s to either of them prices and I wouldn’t sale it. My aunt also gave me some shells that were left at the old home place. Buried in the bottom of an old Western shell box was a string and cleaning rag I had made for the gun way back then. Man I been enjoying some fine memories, here’s some pictures of the old gun and shells , some paper shells. Some of the shells are made by Sears, notice the price tag.It’s a good day !
