[BigJimP]

I've told it before, but by popular demand....

I'm in my late 50's now / hunted waterfowl, big game, etc since I was a kid. Shot lots of Trap & Skeet. About 15 years ago, going goose hunting in Arkansas with some friends - one of them convinced me to buy a 10ga. So I bought a Browning BPS pump 10ga with 28" barrel for about $ 375 / and an extra 32" barrel for $ 125 (had to have it just in case) / and a nice hard case for it. So about $ 600. It swung like a big ole sewer pipe with that nose heavy 32" barrel on it - but hey, I was 6'5" and about 260 lbs and still in pretty good shape in those days ... and macho enough to shoot anything I wanted to shoot .... It was a Man's Gun ....

I took the 10ga out to shoot Trap before I went hunting - shot 2 rounds of Trap with it / it barked a little, but it was ok ( I'm lying ..., it was like shooting an 12 lb nose heavy sewer pipe ....).

On a frosty morning, laying on my back in a goose pit in Arkansas, guide hollars " take em "..., I sat up, found a goose, leaned back a little making sure I had enough lead, and pulled the trigger on that 10ga, gun went bang .. and as I followed thru .... my head bounced off the frozen tundra .... but I sat up quickly making sure nobody was laughing ... ( but they were !! ) probably because I hollered something like
" God Da-- It " .... and anybody that didn't see it heard about it pretty quickly. I braced myself better the rest of that morning - and the next morning - and limited out quickly both days / nothing bruised except my pride .... I took a fair amount of abuse around the club house .... but I earned it, and if you can't take it , well you know .... I offered to let them all shoot it, no takers of course, but they were just jealous ....

Hunted ducks a few other days on the trip ( with one of my 12ga's ) and the evening before I left - I sold the 10ga, both barrels and the hard case I used to ship it down there - to our guide that was admiring my gun for $ 200.

It was a good deal for both of us / I only lost $ 400 in the deal, proved I could shoot it a little ... the guide got virtually a new gun .. and I went home without a concussion / or an expensive boat anchor. Lord knows I would have put it in the safe and not shot it anymore. I'm sure I've made dumber decisions - but I won't buy another 10ga ....

I can assure you some of my buddies are still telling that story, about the "dumb---" that bought the 10ga goose hunting .... and still laughing. Its good to have friends / and stories that will live on for generations ....

But in case you guys don't know Browning is still making that 10ga ... I still have BPS's in 12 and 20ga and they are fine guns / but I've resisted the urge to buy another 10ga .... so there is a little more wisdom as we get older hopefully. If you shoot a 10ga - and like it - my hats off to you.
If you wet your pants laughing at my story when my head hit the ground, my apologies ...