Author Topic: H&R Nostalgia for all (Read 1062 times)

mjbgalt · « **on:** September 04, 2004, 06:48:13 PM »

As I stood in Wal Mart and signed my check, the novelty of what I had done sunk in. I had just bought a brand new shotgun, made right here in the USA, with less than 100 of my hard-earned dollars. I wasnt sure when the last time was that I had purchased a new firearm through a retail outlet and forked over less than $200- $300.

The gun I refer to is a New England Firearms single-shot twenty gauge. It wears some nicely grained birch wood as a stock and forearm and features only a few moving parts. It goes by the moniker Pardner. It definitely deserves and lives up to its name.

This relatively underappreciated scattergun has been around in one of several designs and nameplates for over 80 years. H&R 1871 now makes the Pardner and its fancier cousin Topper in Gardner, Massachusetts, a center of industry and arms manufacture.

What drew me to the Pardner was mostly nostalgia, which I imagine is what draws most people to a gun which features no frills and not even adjustable chokes or a recoil pad. I remember walking as quietly as a 12-year old boy can in the woodsthe early morning, the crackling leaves as the sun comes up and illuminates all the beauty of the outdoors. I remember coffee I drank to show my grandpa I was a man, and how much I hated the taste. I remember getting into his old truck and driving a few miles to a wooded lot owned by one of his friends and getting out and being careful not to slam the door or make noise. I remember breaking open the barrel of a single shot 20 gauge shotgun and sliding a shell into place and hearing the click of the action snapping shut when it was closed.

And most of all I remember returning home with the pouch on the back of my vest heavy with several bushy-tails destined for the dinner table.

As I left the store and headed to my truck, I reminisced a bit and couldnt wait to get this gun cleaned up and oiled and out in the woods with me.

There are few things as reliable as a NEF Pardner. The sun rising and setting comes to mind, as well as the old favorites, death and taxes. When youve got a barrel with just a bead on the end, a hardwood walnut-finished stock, and a hammer and trigger, there isnt much to lose in translation or to be confused by.

The basic Pardner action comes in many configurations, including the Topper Deluxe, featuring choke tubes, which has graced gun cabinets for many generations and filled many a freezer. Other versions include several waterfowl versions in 10 gauge (I cannot for the life of me imagine why someone would purposefully do that to their shoulder), a youth model, a new vent-rib model with a nickel-plated receiver, a slug gun with a fully rifled barrel, and a home-defense version sporting a synthetic thumbhole stock.

Whatever your pleasure, H&R 1871 has you covered, in spades. My gun is an adult-sized Pardner in 20 gauge with a modified choke barrel. It has a three-inch chamber, which allows it to do the work of a 12 gauge if pressed into service when your goose gun is in the shop. This gun is the most versatile available for game in my area; such a gun can easily take rabbits and squirrels and most birds, while the modified choke allowed me to shoot 4 groups with ¾ oz deer slugs at 45 yards.

Its lines are classic, and the way it snaps into line with my eye and the target when thrown to my shoulder is nothing short of one of lifes small pleasures. The color-case hardened receiver and the surprisingly pretty stock blend nicely into what amounts to a darn-near perfect gun for a youngster to start on, or an adult who still has that child inside him.

I managed to hit the majority of clay birds my brother hand-threw for me and as I snapped the action open via pressing the grooved button beside the hammer, it chucked the spent shell far over my shoulder, allowing me to quickly reload. How about that, $95.41 out the door and it even unloads itself!

It is by no means on par with that sexy Beretta in your gun safe, and its not even the Mossberg you use to whack ducks out of the sky at 50 yards. The gun is like a lot of us- it has its niche and it does it job- and in a pinch it could replace a lot of those spendy safe queens you polish every week.

Yeah, you could prefer your 870 and complain that the Pardner cant allow you a quick repeat shot, but deep down you know a true hunter needs just one well-placed shot. And on those cold bushy-tailed squirrel hunting mornings in September, when you awake bleary-eyed and open your closet, coffee cup in hand, I bet I know which gun you reach for.

That little kid inside you will crack open that one-shot wonder and load a shell full of 6s and try once again not to make much noise. Somehow the coffee has become an acquired taste. Kind of like that Pardner.

shaner · « **Reply #1 on:** September 05, 2004, 01:11:46 AM »

:oops: by golly u got that right , i fee lthe same way , but i always lean towards the 410's i just picked up another one this past week at a yard sale,, 410 partnerin 99.9% condition i can just pick those up an feel me goin back to the days when?

? that makes 3 of them i have in different configures one cool thing is this is a 28 in barrel?

? full choked yep i said 28 on a 410 first id seen

by the way , yur from wooster?

?heck man iam just down the road between butler and mt vernon ?

Rogmatt · « **Reply #2 on:** September 05, 2004, 01:36:16 AM »

mjbgalt, You are correct and great post!!

mjbgalt · « **Reply #3 on:** September 05, 2004, 03:04:35 AM »

yeah shaner, i live in wooster. i grew up in smithville. good to see some other ohio guys on.

i used to write for the Daily Record sports department and its been a long time since i have written like that but i thought you guys might truly appreciate it.

-Matt

MSP Ret · « **Reply #4 on:** September 05, 2004, 03:17:57 AM »

Great post mjbgalt, hope you don't mind if I send it on to a couple of buddies, it sure brings back memories,Thanks....<><.... :grin:

mjbgalt · « **Reply #5 on:** September 05, 2004, 03:38:46 AM »

go ahead, i am glad you like it. that was the idea, to give us back a few minutes of our youth in the form of a newspaper review. :grin:

mufb · « **Reply #6 on:** September 05, 2004, 03:57:13 AM »

You forgot the part about standing dead still when you heard the crackling of leaves. And when the Red Fox came around the tree, he was as surprised as you were. So much so that you just watch him scurry off. And the first Blue Grouse you got as the stupid thing just sat there hoping you didn't see him. I still have that empty 16 gauge shell somewhere. You just convinced me I need to re-aquire another H&R 16 ga.
Thanks for the jolt to the old memory cells.

gwhilikerz · « **Reply #7 on:** September 05, 2004, 04:54:32 AM »

mjbgalt you just described the kid in all of us. May we never grow up.

Nightrain52 · « **Reply #8 on:** September 05, 2004, 06:13:08 PM »

mjbgalt-Thanks for bringing back a lot of old memories. The first Shotgun I ever shot was an old H&R single shot back in 1957. My grandpa took me squirrel hunting for the first time and let me carry the gun and it was unloaded[safety first]. We got into a stand of hickory trees and found a comfortable spot to sit and wait. He told me I could load the gun now and handed me a purple paper shell that had a 6 on it. He explained that the number was the size of the shot and I couldn't go wrong using 6s or 4s for rabbits and squirrels. I remember the sound of the action locking up on closing. After waiting an eternity[maybe a half hour] the sound of cuttings falling from a hickory 2 trees away had us both looking. He showed me how to walk as quitley as we could to find the limb he was on. He showed me where he was and told me to bring the gun up and when it got to my shoulder to pull the hammer back. I touched the trigger and the gun fired and I saw my first red bushytail falling thru the limbs and hit the ground. I never felt the kick and never noticed the noise. He congratulated me for a good shot and from then on I was hooked on hunting bushytails and in the winter it was rabbits. THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES.

mjbgalt · « **Reply #9 on:** September 05, 2004, 06:45:57 PM »

i am glad i could bring back some fond memories for you guys. i cherish those memories as well. mine wasnt a pardner but it was a stevens 94c that kicked like a mule. i still have it, as my grandfather passed away and i took it from his collection.

my first squirrel was taken with a winchester model 12 in 12 gauge. at 10 yards. lol

my grandfather let me choose which gun to take and i had good taste as always and so i picked the M12

Lots of good memories.... :wink:

whacker · « **Reply #10 on:** September 06, 2004, 08:06:08 AM »

mjbgalt; your story touched me so I started to think back one christmas day when I got my very own H&R and how my dad and I went out to my cousin's to try the 12ga out.
I'v been thinking about selling all my single shots,but after reading your story I'v had a big change of heart. Again thank you so much.

GrampaMike · « **Reply #11 on:** September 06, 2004, 12:37:25 PM »

Yes..... One of "Life's small pleasures"...

Excellent post... thanks for bringing back a memory...

WNY_Whitetailer · « **Reply #12 on:** September 07, 2004, 07:55:37 AM »

Congrats on your purchase...Great post to boot...Hope to see more like that coming our way.

ScatterGunner · « **Reply #13 on:** September 12, 2004, 03:59:14 PM »

good story mjbgalt, you can write !

i'm not one to write much, but i agree with every word you penned.

a few (ok, more than a few) years ago i joined a local gun club and eventually took up wing shooting. at first i "needed" a parker SxS or browning citori's for birds, bought a poli, nice gun but i lost touch with the hunt. expensive guns don't shoot better than other guns. not one bird i shot cared about the gun brand that i used to ventilate him.

in 1998, my two teenage boys wanted to shoot skeet with me, most teenagers lack the commitment so i went ot the local sporting goods store and bought some cheap guns, a 12 gauge pardner and a 20 gauge pardner for them to use. they shot skeet for about a week, after that the pardners sat in the closet for a few years.

flash back to 1985.

a friend of mine, jim roeder, wanted to open a gun shop. i had some cash laying around so i figured hey !, sounds like a good time and invested time and money to opening up the store. jim was (and is) a great guy, he ran the place and built it up into a nice little shop. it was called "The Reloader", we specialized in catering to reloaders (no way!) after a year we had still had nagative profits so we decided to give it one more year, during that 2nd year, jim loaned me an H&R 38 Handi Rifle, a single shot 38 caliber. it was then i cast my first bullets. i loaded up one 38 special with 2 or 3 grains of bullseye behind a 158 grain lee semiwadcutter. i brought the handi to the club where i shot bench rest and plugged a paper target with my first cast bullet ! that was a rush. i cast the bullet from wheel weights i scored from a local gas station, sized it with one of those Lee tubes that you used to use a hamer to drive the bullet through after cutting it out of a plate of bee's wax. sadly, we closed the shop after 2 years of losses.

1997 - bored out of my mind one day, i buy a 357 magnum handi rifle from a local gun shop. had a flash back to when i shot my first handi with my cast bullet !!!!

my dad turned 70 in 2000. i wanted to do something with him besides golf . i asked him if he wanted to shoot birds, bobwhites, he lives in NY in the summer and winters in florida, so that november, i booked a wingshoot in punta gorda florida, about 30 miles from his place in venice beach. (the place is called "Ryals" it's worth every penny).

i boxed up about 4 shotguns for the trip from new york, where i live, to florida. they were all sent by fedex. due to my mistake, the only guns that arrived on time were my 20 gauge browning citori ultra and my 410 gauge handi. for the wingshoot, i gave my dad my browning and i used my 410 handi.

using #7 shot handloads in 2 1/2" shells i limited out pretty quick with the handi. the only thing i missed was doubles ! my cousin gary used a 12 gauge red label i sent him earlier, he vaporized a few quail and my dad bagged 4 birds that day, and has gotten better every year since.

anyway, since then, i've used my 410 handi on every wingshoot and enjoy it more than any scattergun i own, i just like it. it let's me shoot good.

at camp, my dog stink and i hunt grouse. i use the 410 handi. my dog loves me , grouse fear me. (HAHA !, sounds like a T-Shirt)

i'm 46 now and my fondest memories of my dad are with him and i shooting birds. i don't subscribe to the marketing phrases exhorting "one well placed shot" but the i really like the gun and it fits into my life. i am really glad NEF makes single shot guns, i own a bunch of them as well as guns made by others, but i cannot say that i derive more enjoyment form any gun i own other than my 410 handi.

those 2 pardners, the 20 gauge and 12 gauge i bought for my boys to shoot skeet with are in storage now and will be given to my future grandkids.

sg

Mohawk · « **Reply #14 on:** September 25, 2004, 04:17:34 PM »

Very, Very, Very, well put mjbgalt!!! :wink:

mjbgalt · « **Reply #15 on:** September 25, 2004, 05:59:54 PM »

i asked my grandpa if he wanted to go hunting with me and to my surprise he said yes. he is one of those guys who hung em up years ago and no matter how i ask he says no but i always ask anyway because i love him and i know he wants to.

this time he said yes, and i instantly knew which gun i would be taking