Fudd Tactical

[NH Shooter]

Decided to dress Elmer up a bit with some tactical lederhosen and a matching sling;


https://i.ibb.co/mJ7G4pz/fudd-1.jpg


The shell carrier and sling are from a leather shop in Prague, Czechia;

https://www.etsy.com/listing/494369248/leather-buttstock-cartridge-holder-40-75?ref=shop_home_active_4&crt=1

https://www.etsy.com/listing/630927339/colour-rifle-adjustable-sling-for-rifle?ref=shop_home_active_29

Each item is made to order and can be had with different color leather and stitching. I went with brown leather with white stitching, both items are beautifully made with old world craftsmanship. They shipped in just over a week, then about five weeks to get to me in NH. The lederhosen are laced up tight and don't move on the stock. The material used for the shell loops is stretchy and holds the six rounds of Federal F164 1B shells very securely.

The sling is attached in the rear with a standard swivel stud, and up front I used a swivel base from New England Custom Gun Service (https://www.newenglandcustomgun.com/proddetail.php?prod=7822);

https://i.ibb.co/jLb96SW/fudd-2.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/nRD98F2/fudd-3.jpg



A few beauty shots of Elmer;

https://i.ibb.co/v4v5wzV/fudd-5.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/Zc1rmgj/fudd-4.jpg


Handsome devil, isn't he?

[Totem Polar]

I love this. I’m no Fudd, but I have a deep appreciation for some of their rituals and customs. I’d “culturally appropriate” the shit out of that shotgun.

In fact, I have a Stevens 311 that I think I need to Czech out now.
:D

[Glenn E. Meyer]

That's pretty! Love it.

[NH Shooter]

That's pretty! Love it.

This is my NY gun for when we visit family. Breaks down and fits in my duffel, but keeping ammo handy/organized was a challenge. This solves that problem.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

My NY gun when I first traveled here was a Ruger PCC 9mm with a non threaded barreled and 10 round Glock mags. The other long guns were shipped by the movers. The handguns went by FFL and kept until I got a permit (this was not cheap - so I shipped only the best and special, the generic I sold).

At the old NTI, we did a mystery gun run in the shoot house with a double coach gun. We were supposed to be naked, so we wore a big smock to cover ourselves as if we were woken in the middle of the night. Given a box of mixed bird and slugs and then had to navigate the dummies and knock them down. So you had to carry the box and gun. You were supposed to by feel see if you were loading a slug or bird depending on the target was close or far. That went out the window for me. I just loaded and shot, even at a distance the bird took down the target. I've said this before, one surprise dummy popped out after I shot two. Thus, I butt stroked it. The ref says that works.

The NTI was a FOF blast. I died badly, so to speak a few times for a good lesson or two.

[gato naranja]

Handsome devil, isn't he?

Very elegant!

Having been born with an appreciation for things nostalgic, I have thought about getting a CZ Hammer Coach, but any 12 gauge much under 7-1/2 pounds unloaded is going to kick me too hard for my own good.

[Rick R]

Nice interpretation of the Biden Special! Extra style points for using a double trigger variant.

[NH Shooter]

Nice interpretation of the Biden Special! Extra style points for using a double trigger variant.

The shotgun is a Lefever Nitro Special in 16 gauge, manufactured by Ithaca Gun Co. in 1923. I inherited it from my grandfather about 50 years ago and the barrels had already been cut from 28-inches to 26-1/2" (for what reason I do not know).

Since it has little collector value with the barrels already cut I had it professionally refinished in the 90s. A few years ago I decided to make it a coach gun so the barrels were cut again to 20 inches. I also installed the FO front sight at that time. The action still locks up tight with no play.

With open cylinder barrels it patterns the Federal 1-buck load as follows;

https://i.ibb.co/x65BX3T/lefevertarget-2.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/93fy6KC/lefevertarget-1.jpg


At 10 yards the shot stay within the 9-ring of the B27 target. I need to experiment more with slugs, my initial testing looked good at 25 yards.

[Ed L]

Here is my travel to NY shotgun--selected for convenient airline travel in checked luggage over capacity. It is a Spartan 12 gauge double. Imported by Remington; made in Russia. 20" barrel.

The first picture is of the gun disassembled; the second is of the shotgun alongside a Remington 870 with an 18" barrel and a Benelli Super90 with a 19.75" barrel.

66873

66876

[5pins]

Great, now I'm finding myself looking around for a double-barrel "coach" gun.

[gato naranja]

The shotgun is a Lefever Nitro Special in 16 gauge, manufactured by Ithaca Gun Co. in 1923. I inherited it from my grandfather about 50 years ago and the barrels had already been cut from 28-inches to 26-1/2" (for what reason I do not know).

Since it has little collector value with the barrels already cut I had it professionally refinished in the 90s. A few years ago I decided to make it a coach gun so the barrels were cut again to 20 inches. I also installed the FO front sight at that time. The action still locks up tight with no play.

My late father-in-law used to tell about the shotguns his father and grandfather were using into the 1950's, and they were always shortening a barrel because the muzzle would somehow get damaged. IIRC, they blew the muzzles off when firing them while obstructed by mud or packed snow, lost them to rust by leaning them muzzle down in the barn, dented them by hitting fenceposts or clay-block structures, etc, etc. They were quite the bunch, and they used up or wore out everything they had because they could not afford to do otherwise.

With one exception, the guns were all inexpensive, break-open singles. I ran across two of the lot on the then-abandoned farm in the 1990's, and they were not useable... the Mass. Arms Co. 12 gauge was still minus the little "rocker" that pushed out the extractor, just as described to me ten years earlier. (Even back in the 1950's, they got the fired hull out of this gun by dropping a carriage bolt down the open barrel!) It still sits propped up in a closet here at the Cat house* only because someone refit a long, old US musket forearm and barrel band to it and did some corncrib inlay work (as shown) to boot... which gives it enough family street cred to warrant keeping.

*As opposed to cathouse.

[NH Shooter]

My late father-in-law used to tell about the shotguns his father and grandfather were using into the 1950's, and they were always shortening a barrel because the muzzle would somehow get damaged. IIRC, they blew the muzzles off when firing them while obstructed by mud or packed snow, lost them to rust by leaning them muzzle down in the barn, dented them by hitting fenceposts or clay-block structures, etc, etc.

I very much suspect my Lefever (which is now almost 100 years old) had the barrels cut due to damage as well. There was a little bit of choke left in one barrel and none at all in the other.

Mine also had a damaged butt plate, which was some kind of primitive plastic. My grandfather set it butt-down on a pipe going to a cast iron radiator and melted the shape of the pipe into it. A local gunsmith found an original replacement so that issue was resolved.

When I was a teenager I took this gun to shoot skeet, tin cans, etc. with my friends. It already has a long history in my family and I told my son it will be his some day.

[Doc_Glock]

Beautiful shotgun.

Dammit now I want a double barrel.

[gato naranja]

I very much suspect my Lefever (which is now almost 100 years old) had the barrels cut due to damage as well. There was a little bit of choke left in one barrel and none at all in the other.

I had an older buddy who was pretty competent with a similar cut-down double that he used as sort of a "walking around" gun when he just wanted to get out for a hike and some fresh air.

There was a time when those I was shooting and running around with were following the local fad of making "survival"/beater guns from old break-open, single barreled shotguns. The first thing people did was cut the barrel to the minimum legal length, after which they would further mess with it as their individual abilities/circumstances allowed. Invariably, they were short, very light, and had old-fashioned stocks with a crapload of "drop." As a general thing, they had no recoil pad really worth a rat's rump. Many were left with no front bead after the muzzle-ectomy. These efforts almost always ended up:

1. throwing a pattern which the average Buick of the time could fly through if it was about 15-20 or more yards out
2. having recoil that would nearly separate a shooter from his dental work and/or bless him somewhere on the strong side of his head; even the 20 gauges were prone to it.

There were exceptions, but not very many. A few did get a good recoil pad and even fewer got a Poly-Choke or some legitimate attempt at choke, but most did not. To give them their due, they all would have been lethal enough up close. It was mostly just good, clean fun on the cheap... emphasis on "cheap."

Most of the SxS shotguns any of us had access to were either worth too much to tinker with or so old and decrepit that even we merry band of young dolts left them alone.

[LHS]

10/10 would shoot off the balcony.

Seriously though, that's a pretty gauge. I have long wished that the 16ga would become more popular.

[Rick R]

The shotgun is a Lefever Nitro Special in 16 gauge, manufactured by Ithaca Gun Co. in 1923. I inherited it from my grandfather about 50 years ago and the barrels had already been cut from 28-inches to 26-1/2".

In my humble opinion you get extra extra style points for it being a 16ga. That gauge just works when soldering two barrels side x side. The only gun my dad owned when I was growing up was a 16ga Winchester Model 12, it handles like a 20ga and kills like a 12ga.

[jtcarm]

Is it duck season, or wabbit season?

[Duelist]

Is it duck season, or wabbit season?

Wabbits are in season all year here, so it’s always wabbit season. My Brittany loves bumping them out of bushes and watching them run.

[TCinVA]

I would love for there to be a good quality double barrel with ejectors, decent wood, and a 12.5" LOP out there with express style sights aimed at defensive use.

[entropy]

I missed much coolness here during my absence...

Such is this.

I got a Stoeger sitting in a closet that I’m scratching my chin about now...

[OlongJohnson]

The coach gun thread got me looking at Stoegers on the intarwebz a lot last summer. Finally handled one at the LGS and that was the end of it.

[entropy]

I really like this idea. A lot. Mine is nothing special other than it was the first S/S I purchased when I got back into bird hunting after college. It ended up being kind of a lame duck. Too bulky for a true bird gun, not enough and out of place in the duck blind. It has sat for decades. Literally. It gets no respect and sits in a cabin closet.

I just need to find someone to cut the barrels now...

Reading NH’s shotgun posts inevitably costs me money...

68958

[23JAZ]

I really like this idea. A lot. Mine is nothing special other than it was the first S/S I purchased when I got back into bird hunting after college. It ended up being kind of a lame duck. Too bulky for a true bird gun, not enough and out of place in the duck blind. It has sat for decades. Literally. It gets no respect and sits in a cabin closet.

I just need to find someone to cut the barrels now...

Reading NH’s shotgun posts inevitably costs me money...

68958
DO IT!!!

[RevolverRob]

My current "Fudd Tac" is a H&R Topper, auto ejector, with the barrel chopped to 19" and the stock shortened. I got real fancy and used one of those TruGlo snap on front sights, but with a bit of superglue on it to hold it firm. Works fine. Though now my Rattler has largely supplanted the shotgun, since the Rattler is a pistol and more compact.

That said, when I was cleaning out my dad's safe, I found a Mossberg 20-gauge bolt action shotgun in there. 3-round detachable box mag, 26" barrel, tang safety. It handles nice overall and is pretty slick. I was surprised to see the mag dropped free with ease. Has a Mossberg "C-Lect" choke that is a bit like a Poly-Choke. Barrel is externally threaded and the choke screws on. How far you screw it onto the barrel changes the restriction.

This one was my uncle's gun, so I won't be cutting it up. But finding another in 12/16/20 should be easy. The 20 seems like a nice handling little gun. #2 copper plated Winchester buck works well when you can use a choke to get it dialed in. I could see chopping one back to 18", threading for the choke tube, fitting rifle sights, and chopping the stock back and fitting a recoil pad. 2-3 spare mags would give you some quick firepower.

[entropy]

Searching around locally to see if I can find a ‘smith to cut the barrels...

[CSW]

I've got a 1947 Stevens SxS, in 16.
Single trigger, fires R/L, imp. cyl and mod. Case hardened receiver, with a pointing setter engraving. It's a model 530a.
It was probably an inexpensive gauge for it's time, but handles and shoots like a dream. Betcha it's been with me for 20 years now. A keeper.

Great looking gun and nice work OP.

[SCCY Marshal]

My current "Fudd Tac" is a H&R Topper, auto ejector, with the barrel chopped to 19" and the stock shortened. I got real fancy and used one of those TruGlo snap on front sights, but with a bit of superglue on it to hold it firm. Works fine. Though now my Rattler has largely supplanted the shotgun, since the Rattler is a pistol and more compact.

That said, when I was cleaning out my dad's safe, I found a Mossberg 20-gauge bolt action shotgun in there. 3-round detachable box mag, 26" barrel, tang safety. It handles nice overall and is pretty slick. I was surprised to see the mag dropped free with ease. Has a Mossberg "C-Lect" choke that is a bit like a Poly-Choke. Barrel is externally threaded and the choke screws on. How far you screw it onto the barrel changes the restriction.

This one was my uncle's gun, so I won't be cutting it up. But finding another in 12/16/20 should be easy. The 20 seems like a nice handling little gun. #2 copper plated Winchester buck works well when you can use a choke to get it dialed in. I could see chopping one back to 18", threading for the choke tube, fitting rifle sights, and chopping the stock back and fitting a recoil pad. 2-3 spare mags would give you some quick firepower.

Pages 93-104 of .pdf feature an excellent article about bolt-action shotguns. Including the old Swamp Gun, a short-ish barreled model with adjustable external choke. They are a real piece of under-appreciated Americana:

https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmdpouWNs2gx6FYHRKLNEndKBnfkoZWzTiQQ7gzzexJU5v?fil ename=Gun%20Digest%201994.pdf

And I dig those clip-on fiberoptic bead replacements. Have one superglued on a chopped bolt and another on a shortened single. Stumpy Toppers are excellent mountain guns, by the way. Light, are easier to keep the muzzle out of the snow, handy when crawling through briar, and cylinder bores are just right for a lot of game.

71274

[Dov]

The shotgun is a Lefever Nitro Special in 16 gauge, manufactured by Ithaca Gun Co. in 1923. I inherited it from my grandfather about 50 years ago and the barrels had already been cut from 28-inches to 26-1/2" (for what reason I do not know).

Since it has little collector value with the barrels already cut I had it professionally refinished in the 90s. A few years ago I decided to make it a coach gun so the barrels were cut again to 20 inches. I also installed the FO front sight at that time. The action still locks up tight with no play.

With open cylinder barrels it patterns the Federal 1-buck load as follows;

https://i.ibb.co/x65BX3T/lefevertarget-2.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/93fy6KC/lefevertarget-1.jpg


At 10 yards the shot stay within the 9-ring of the B27 target. I need to experiment more with slugs, my initial testing looked good at 25 yards.

Have you had chance to test slugs much in it yet?

[NH Shooter]

Have you had chance to test slugs much in it yet?

Not yet, but I've got 'em and need to do that. I have the Brenneke 2-1/2" one once slugs (https://webstore.kinseysinc.com/brenneke-16-slugs-1002080), which I'm hoping will hit reasonably close to POA.

[Dov]

Not yet, but I've got 'em and need to do that. I have the Brenneke 2-1/2" one once slugs (https://webstore.kinseysinc.com/brenneke-16-slugs-1002080), which I'm hoping will hit reasonably close to POA.

I'm curious how they regulate point of aim to point of impact of each barrel specially since IIRC you said this gun has barreled shortened twice.

Generally speaking with shotguns I prefer slugs primarily and use buckshot for limited roles, but with if I ever get a double I might reverse that.

Not that I've owned a doubled barreled shotgun, or rifle, the little I know about regulating multi barreled guns mainly comes from reading Ross Seyfried's articles on them and drooling over combination guns & drillings.

[HeavyDuty]

Damn, why did this get bumped up? When I was a kid a friend’s dad had a plain 12g O/U that was minimum legal length (if not shorter) as a house gun. I was fascinated by it, and have always wanted something similar - just for nostalgia.

[NH Shooter]

If one barrel POI is closer to POA than the other, that barrel can be loaded with a slug and the other with buckshot. :-)

[CSW]

I've got a Steven's 530A that a 16.

Believe it's got 28" tubes. Don't think I've got the heart to cut her down, as it's a sweet bird gun as is.

[gato naranja]

Damn, why did this get bumped up? When I was a kid a friend’s dad had a plain 12g O/U that was minimum legal length (if not shorter) as a house gun. I was fascinated by it, and have always wanted something similar - just for nostalgia.

O/U doubles were considered exotic in those days, and any cut-down one would have gotten some attention from us whippersnappers.

The king of the home-brewed shorties at that time and place was the top break single, which were common as dirt. Some damaged or clapped-out SxS doubles might get a barrel reduction, but bobbed singles were the Yokel's Delight; now and then one of them would even be done competently. Winchester 37's tended to remain as they had been made, but the IJ's, H&R's and hardware store specials were fair game. The flies in the ointment were generally risible patterns, and absolutely BRUTAL recoil, being light in weight with lots of drop in the stock and hard rubber or "plastic" buttplates.

Looking back, it is a shame so many of them got shit-canned because they turned out disappointingly. Buying a slip-on recoil pad was about the extent of spending any money on them, and only a few that were going to be used seriously got a Poly-Choke (or equivalent) put on by a genuine gunsmith. Getting thrown in the river or one of the old limestone quarries was the fate of more than a couple of them.

[LHS]

O/U doubles were considered exotic in those days, and any cut-down one would have gotten some attention from us whippersnappers.

The king of the home-brewed shorties at that time and place was the top break single, which were common as dirt. Some damaged or clapped-out SxS doubles might get a barrel reduction, but bobbed singles were the Yokel's Delight; now and then one of them would even be done competently. Winchester 37's tended to remain as they had been made, but the IJ's, H&R's and hardware store specials were fair game. The flies in the ointment were generally risible patterns, and absolutely BRUTAL recoil, being light in weight with lots of drop in the stock and hard rubber or "plastic" buttplates.

Looking back, it is a shame so many of them got shit-canned because they turned out disappointingly. Buying a slip-on recoil pad was about the extent of spending any money on them, and only a few that were going to be used seriously got a Poly-Choke (or equivalent) put on by a genuine gunsmith. Getting thrown in the river or one of the old limestone quarries was the fate of more than a couple of them.

I've got a crappy old Brazilian hardware store single-barrel 20ga that needs some of that treatment. Been meaning to take it out and hacksaw the bbl to 18.5" and the buttstock to about a 12.75" LOP with recoil pad, just for shiggles.