Shotgun Chronicles Volume I - Double-Barrels: Essays on all things shotgun

By Nick Hahn

This collection of double barrel shotgun articles, published in the past 10 years in the Double Gun Journal and other publications, includes articles ranging from detailed, historical information about particular guns and gun makers, to more person accounts of favorite and unusual shotguns. From new to antique double barrel shotguns, this is must-read material.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gun Digest Books
• Release date: Mar 13, 2013
• ISBN: 9781440238291

Nick Hahn

Nick Hahn is one of today's foremost experts in the world of shotguns, their history, and their applications. He is a leading author on the subject, and his writings appear regularly in Double Gun Journal and American Waterfowler. He also contributes articles to Shooting Sportsman, Sporting Classics, Wildfowl, the Upland Almanac, and Gun Digest.

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Foreword

By Nick Hahn

The shotgun articles that appear in the Shotgun Chronicles Volume I were all previously published in the Double Gun Journal. I am very much indebted to Joanna and Daniel Cote, the owners and publishers of the Double Gun Journal, for allowing me to republish these articles in this collection.

The idea of writing articles about shotguns occurred to me many years ago, indeed, ever since I became interested in shotguns and started reading all available articles in the gun press of the era, back in the late 1950s and early 1960s. However, as much as I might have been interested in writing articles about shotguns, I had neither the experience nor sufficient background to compose anything that would have been credible. I knew that I had to gain more experience both in shotguns and in writing before I could attempt anything. By the time I was in college, I had gained quite a bit of experience with shotguns, but still I felt it was not enough. As a graduate student, I began to publish essays and short stories, but nothing about shotguns. It wasn’t until I retired from my career as a Foreign Service Officer, more than 40 years after my initial interest in shotguns, that I decided to give the article writing a try. As luck would have it, my very first article on shotguns that I wrote was one I submitted to the Double Gun Journal—and it was published! I have been writing for them ever since, for more than a decade.

The articles that appear in this collection are mostly about over/under shotguns of middle to lower middle price range. In other words, they are the double guns that are most popular with the vast majority of double shotgun users in America. They are not the best guns, although some of the guns discussed could definitely be classed in that category in their higher grades. For example, although a Merkel 200E is a fine gun, it is not a best gun. On the other hand, the high-grade 303E, especially those in the Special or Deluxe versions, would certainly fit the best class. The same thing can be said of the very popular Belgian-made Browning Superposed. In its Grade I or even Midas Grade versions, it cannot be considered a best. However, there are some Exhibition Grade Superposed models that could very well compete with any best shotgun on the market.

Be that as it may, the articles are mostly about guns an average American shotgunner can own or aspire to own without having to take out a second mortgage on the house or dip into the kids’ college fund and family life savings. Some may require skipping lunches for a while or cutting some corners here and there, but, nevertheless, they are all affordable.

During my lifetime I have been fortunate enough to have lived and shot on five continents and have visited various gun manufacturers. I have seen shotgunning in all sorts of circumstances and conditions, gun stores that would rival the old Abercrombie and Fitch (not the trendy, today’s A&F!) down to hole-in-the-wall kind of shops that had rusty old relics for sale. I have owned and shot well over 100 different shotguns in my lifetime thus far, so I do feel qualified in expressing my opinion on the guns I selected to write about.

Finally, Jennifer L.S. Pearsall, Editor at Gun Digest Books, was most instrumental in getting this collection organized and sorted, so that it would make for a readable book. Having worked with Jennifer previously on the Gun Digest Book of the Remington 870, I was already well aware of her skills and talents. Therefore, it was no surprise to me to once again see the efficiency and professionalism with which she tackled this project. I am most grateful to her.

Nick Hahn

Litchfield Park, Arizona

Spring 2013

CHAPTER 1

The Japanese Invasion

The Japanese invasion of the United States did not take place during World War Two when the two countries fought each other in a bloody war. The closest the Japanese troops got to the U.S. was when they landed and occupied Attu and Kiska Islands of the Aleutian Island chain in 1942, only to be chased off by a U.S. Task Force (the Kiska Task Force).

However, there was a different invasion that took place, about 15 years after the end of the war. This invasion took the form of consumer goods entering the U.S., and in some cases literally monopolizing the market. The Japanese began their invasion with small electronic products and hit it big with transistor radios in the early 1960s. By mid 1960s Honda, along with Yamaha, became household names for motorcycles and by late 60s Toyota and Datsun became established in America.

Meanwhile, beginning in the late 1950s, some small importers began to sell Japanese made shotguns. The numbers were very small, and most American gun enthusiasts had never heard of the Japanese brand names. Perhaps the first major importer of Japanese shotguns was Stoeger’s who sold for a while SKB Royal side by sides.

The gun that started the Japanese invasion in America, the Charles Daly Miroku from the early 1960s. Note the similarity of engraving pattern with the Winchester Model 101 that appeared a few months later. Also note the half-plate forearm iron, just like the one on the early Winchester Model 101.

In early 1963, Charles Daly, who before World War Two imported German and Belgian made guns, began to sell Japanese over/under shotguns made by a company called B.C. Miroku. The Japanese made Daly over/unders were an immediate success. They were well made, designed to American tastes, and cost less than the much revered Browning Superposed. The Daly (Miroku) not only looked like the Browning Superposed, but much of its design was copied from the famous Browning. Before the year was out, Winchester introduced its Japanese made over/under, the Model 101. The Winchester Model 101 became a huge success. Not to be left behind, other American gun makers tried to find a supplier in Japan. Ithaca struck up a deal with SKB and began importing several models of over/under and side by side shotguns, and Browning began negotiations with Miroku in the 1960s. With rising labor costs in Belgium, the cost of the Superposed was getting out of hand. Browning could see that Miroku’s guns were of very high quality and could be made and sold for much less than the Belgian version. Browning finally concluded their negotiations with Miroku in 1966 but the first guns, single barrel trap gun BT-99, did not begin to arrive until 1971. Browning’s arrangement with Miroku put an end to Charles Daly’s involvement with the Japanese company. As soon as Miroku’s contract with Charles Daly expired in early 1970s, Miroku began making guns for Browning exclusively. The rest is history. Just about all of Browning’s shotguns and rifles are made by Miroku today.

Although remarkably similar in appearance, the Miroku is very different mechanically. This one is sparsely engraved field grade.

What all that activity, deal making and joint ventures in the sixties accomplished was to introduce to the American shooting public quality double guns, over/under and side by side shotguns, at an affordable price. The over/under, in particular, became firmly established in America largely due to Japanese imports. The Italian guns of the period did not have all of the things Americans sought in an over/under. The moderately priced Italian guns usually lacked ejectors and their single triggers were usually none selective while all Japanese over/unders had ejectors and selective single triggers.

The Japanese made shotguns in the 1960s helped greatly to popularize the over/under in the U.S., as well as in Canada and U.K. The Japanese guns were well designed, well made, and did not cost a fortune so that an average shooter could afford to buy one. The big sellers in U.S and Canada were Winchester 101, Ithaca-SKB and Charles Daly Miroku. In the U.K. the Winchester 101 had a cult following, popularizing the over/under in the land with a long side by side tradition.

A Charles Daly Miroku from the late 1960s with a full-plate Forearm iron and engraving pattern that was much more extensive on this Superior Grade.

Some gun writers have said that Japan does not have a tradition of sporting gun making. Since Japan entered the modern industrialization late, compared to European countries, it never developed a tradition of gun making as found in Europe. That is not entirely true. Guns have been used by Japanese for warfare since their first introduction to Japan sometime during their medieval period. When modernization and industrialization took place in the late 19th Century, the Japanese arms industry took a leap from muzzle loaders to breech loading center fire guns. It was naturally in the area of military arms. However, the sporting gun industry, as small as it was, did exist. The reason Japanese sporting guns were not known to the rest of the world was because their makers were very small, producing guns only for exclusive clientele in Japan. Their production annually numbered only in dozens, not even hundreds! There was no demand for wide use of sporting guns by common folks. There was no middle class to speak of, Japan had emerged from a feudal system only a few years earlier and the society was still sharply stratified. The first sporting guns to appear were English and European guns imported by wealthy members of the society. The Japanese gun makers at first faithfully copied English and European guns. In the 1920s small gun shops produced finely made, accurate copies of English and European guns. Japanese always had a fascination for clever and intricate mechanisms, they were particularly fond of Merkel over/unders and Westley Richards Drop-locks. There was only a very tiny market for less costly, mass produced guns. Most inexpensive sporting guns were converted military firearms and single shot shotguns. Much like in Europe, the fine gun market was restricted to the privileged class who could afford custom guns.

I have seen and examined a number of these pre-war copies of English and European guns and they were all beautifully made with excellent workmanship. Initially, these small gun shops produced faithful copies of foreign guns. However, in time, around the 1930s, variations began to appear. The Japanese, as they did with everything else, began to modify the designs and the mechanisms here and there. I once examined a drop-lock that was like a Westley Richards, yet it was different. It did not have the dolls head extension and it had a single selective trigger (in this case it was an SKB trigger) and other changes that made the gun different. I also saw a Merkel-like sidelock over/under that had several differences in design and mechanics to make it a different gun.

Japanese never had a large scale sporting arms industry. But, as young and as small as it was, there was a sporting gun making tradition in Japan dating back to the late 19th Century. The post-war Japanese gun making industry simply combined their ability to mass produce (military arms) with the more refined sporting gun making, and the Japanese proclivity for combining their own ideas with existing designs and mechanisms.

Take the Browning Citori for example, it is a Browning Superposed design, yet it isn’t. Much of it is just like the Superposed, yet there are enough small differences to make it a different gun. The Nikko or Winchester 101 looks like a Browning Superposed or a Miroku, but it is a different gun, with more simplified mechanism. The SKB over/under (the older version) looks like shallow framed Merkel, yet their Kersten lock-up is much simplified and the barrels hinge on trunnions with a Winchester Model 21 type single trigger! Perhaps the SKB over/under, more than any other Japanese shotgun demonstrates the Japanese ability to take the best features from several makes, modify them, and then combine them in one gun.

Back in the early 1980s there were some critics of Japanese shotguns who said that the Japanese made pretty nice inexpensive and mid price guns, but were incapable of making high grade guns because of their lack of fine gun making tradition. That was an unfair assessment. These same gun writers only saw guns that were imported into the U.S., and most importers chose not to import the more expensive guns for fear of lack of sales. But rest assured that there are better grade guns in Japan. American gun buyers got a peek at Japanese ability to make better grade guns when Winchester came out with their Model 101 Pigeon Grade in 1974, a gun that was considerably better finished than the standard grade 101. Although both Charles Daly and Ithaca had marketed higher grade models, they just didn’t catch on. The Winchester Model 101 Pigeon Grade was the first better grade Japanese gun that sold well. Then Parker Reproduction appeared in 1988.

The Parker Reproduction DHE was a very nicely put together middle grade gun.

Olin-Kodensha, the maker of Winchester Model 101 made the Parker Reproduction in DHE Grade, later to be made in BHE and A-1 Special. There were some who said that the Japanese made Parkers were as well made as the ones that came out of the old Parker factory. The DHE and the BHE were completely made and finished in Japan, while the A-1 Special was brought into the U.S. in white to be engraved and blued in a custom shop.

Although not a Best Gun, still a better grade Parker Reproduction BHE.

Yes, there were even those who claimed that the Japanese made Parker was better than the original, made of better material and better finished, no doubt a blasphemous statement to the die-hard Parker collectors!

A Parker Reproduction A-1, very nicely finished. It was a Best Gun in every sense, beautifully finished using the very best material, yet its