Old Model 10 range report

[kentop]

Well, I took the old man out and put him through his paces. Whenever I try out a "gun show buy", I completely dismantle the gun, inspect each part, look for wear, stress fractures, anything that might point to a failure to fire, or worse. I would never take a used gun out and shoot it without a thorough inspection. Reading through this forum, I'm ready to name this gun "Grandpa" because, for the majority of postings on this forum concerning the model 10, it was "grandfather's gun". "Grandpa" shoots fine. Nice expected patterns at 20, 30 and 40 yards. Considering the fact that this shotgun just celebrated it's 90th birthday, I can say that "grandpa" is in great shape. Which makes me want to draw general conclusions about shotguns. General conclusion #1: "You cannot wear out a shotgun". The only shotguns at gun shows that are not worth buying are the ones that have immediately discernible problems (bad actions, broken stocks, rust, and other abuse). I believe that you, your sons and your son's sons (or daughters) could go hunting every year with the same shotgun and after a century of use, the shotgun will still shoot well. General conclusion #2: Shotguns are not "home defense weapons". After firing "grandpa" with a 30" full choke barrel, I realize that the narrow grouping of shot with the power behind it will blow a big, big hole in people, drywall, and the people standing behind drywall. Sawing off the barrel will not scatter the shot more than an inch wider if the person you are shooting at is barely 20 feet away.