Levergun ptarmigan, old style

[hfcable]

just figuring out how to use Imgur....hope this works

we went out to the remote mine site early september, unfortunately i was somewhat sick [ septicemia.....well i was really sick but went anyway, [ after promising my doctors that i wouldn't think of leaving
town ] and took my antibiotics etc faithfully....i am back and still not well but working every day ]
the moose and caribou musta thought i wasn't coming because they didn't show up....
we had a great time anyway....cold at night [ down to 18 one night ] , but cozy in the cabin... did a little mining.....lots of rambling on the four wheelers.....and ptarmigan were plentiful :



the old marlin 410 , dating about 1929, is great as a light weight foraging gun......also used it to eliminate destructive squirrels that are getting into the old cabin

weather was nice, except on the initial 25 mile four wheeler ride in where we had rain, sleet and hail, and wind ! we were dressed for it though.

fall colors were nice:



there is a black tailed weasel who lives at the camp around the cabins and controls mice, etc. he pops up and follows us around and is very curious about what we do....my wife named him clarence, but my vote was for Cecil the Weasel



anyway, not very exciting, but back home now, and looking forward to a little more hunting if i am lucky

hope these images work right

[AJMD429]

Sounds like a 'therapeutic' adveture, so I'm sure it was the right thing to do medically...

[ollogger]

Looks real nice, get well!

Brad

[M. M. Wright]

Oh, that is lovely. Thanks for sharing. I think I need some high country therapy myself.

[octagon]

Nice looking birds and gun. How'd you cook em?

[Sixgun]

Nice pics Harold!.....That's the first 1893 .410 I have ever seen being used the way it was supposed to......all others have been in safes and oiled down. -----6

[Blaine]

God's country....Thanks for the story/pics....Take care and feel better.

[hfcable]

Sounds like a 'therapeutic' adveture, so I'm sure it was the right thing to do medically...

i believe it was.. : ) i felt okay as long as i rested a lot. blood cultures were growing streptococcus parasanguinous.......which is a normal oral flora, but in people like me [ i have a common variable immune deficiency, genetic ] it can be bad, and is often associated with bacterial endocarditis. my echo [ done friday ] shows no vegetations on my heart valves; the antibiotic, clindamycin 300 mg qid is great for ripping up your gut.....i pushed the probiotics and did okay, though my gut is still in a mild turmoil ! it prob was foolish being so far away from civilization ...but i had a satellite phone, and there is a serviceable old airstrip at our site.

i have had severe gram negative sepsis several times, it is amazing that i have survived [ will be 70 in a couple of months ] of course i have had superb medical care and maybe my life still has some un-completed mission, involving the kids most likely; i do get IgG subcutaneously but that gives only a paper thin amount of immunity.

on the other hand i am not going to just sit around and not live my life. on the other hand i do travel with lots of antibiotics etc and sometimes even with the iv set up , if i should need it.

[hfcable]

Nice looking birds and gun. How'd you cook em?

we grilled a couple [ my preferred method ] and the others were cut up and sautéed with spices etc.....they are very good.

[hfcable]

Nice pics Harold!.....That's the first 1893 .410 I have ever seen being used the way it was supposed to......all others have been in safes and oiled down. -----6

thanks Six, it is a fun gun to use, light weight and very well balanced......i do have a much nicer one that doesn't get drug around on a 4 wheeler or in my SUV:

[hfcable]

God's country....Thanks for the story/pics....Take care and feel better.

thanks Blaine, often i wish we could take a whole crowd of us and go somewhere and welllll...... probably just tell a lot of stories [ all true of course ] and maybe hunt as well.

[JerryB]

Thanks for a great post, glad that you are doing what you can in spite of it. Our Lord needs you for something that you probably won't know when it takes place.

[earlmck]

I am so disappointed -- I had hoped you were popping their heads off with a 25/36. Seems like cheatin' to use a shotgun on the lil' fellows.

Great pics: I do believe you have this Imgur figured out nicely. Thanks for sharing!

[Tanqueray]

Great hunting! I've never really been interested in lever action shotguns, but I've got my eyes on a nice wee Winchester 9410 that'd be perfect for hunting Californian quail.

[Pete44ru]

.

Thanks for sharing, Harold !

I'm glad you drove yourself to get out & about - I know that's doubly important to folks with medical issues.

That 2nd 1893's a beauty, for sure !


.

[gamekeeper]

Really great photos, I'd love to hunt with a 1893 .410 thanks for sharing and get well soon......

[marlinman93]

The original Marlin Model 410 is probably the only lever action shotgun that was built right. Most others are clunky and barrel heavy, but the Model 410 is lightweight, and quick pointing! They make excellent small bird and small game guns!
Love the pictures too!

[TWHBC]

Nice pictures, and interesting story on the sepsis! Amazing what being out and about can do for your mental well being!
Cool Marlin!! Did not know about them in .410. Sure beats the single barrel I had, son has it now!

[Sixgun]

Whoa! I like that! A Marlin 410 for using and another for show. That's probably 20% of total production. I've run across a few of those in my time...(excluding gunshows where finds don't count).....and the owners all knew what they had.... ----6

[Batman1939]

Those are really good eating birds; I shot a few of them while in AK about 35 years ago. If you check your field guide you will likely discover that they are not ptarmigan but Spruce Grouse. Unlike ptarmigan (there are actually 3 species of them in the US) the Spruce Grouse does not undergo the molt which gives it a mainly white coloration during winter. The pale rufous tips on the tail feathers, shown by one of your birds, shows that you are dealing with the taiga form of the Spruce Grouse. A different race lacking the reddish/yellowish tail tips is found further south.

I have a Navajo friend who guides on the Reservation in AZ; he has shot many turkeys with his Marlin lever-action .410. His is kinda beat up, but it has accounted for a lot of game.

Wish our sharptail grouse were as easy to find this year as your Spruce Grouse apparently during your recent hunt. Good shooting!

[hfcable]

Those are really good eating birds; I shot a few of them while in AK about 35 years ago. If you check your field guide you will likely discover that they are not ptarmigan but Spruce Grouse. Unlike ptarmigan (there are actually 3 species of them in the US) the Spruce Grouse does not undergo the molt which gives it a mainly white coloration during winter. The pale rufous tips on the tail feathers, shown by one of your birds, shows that you are dealing with the taiga form of the Spruce Grouse. A different race lacking the reddish/yellowish tail tips is found further south.

I have a Navajo friend who guides on the Reservation in AZ; he has shot many turkeys with his Marlin lever-action .410. His is kinda beat up, but it has accounted for a lot of game.

Wish our sharptail grouse were as easy to find this year as your Spruce Grouse apparently during your recent hunt. Good shooting!

you are right !! we did also shoot some ptarmigan and they were already turning white!

[hfcable]

I am so disappointed -- I had hoped you were popping their heads off with a 25/36. Seems like cheatin' to use a shotgun on the lil' fellows.

Great pics: I do believe you have this Imgur figured out nicely. Thanks for sharing!

you know, i do have a 25/36 [ two of them really ] and need to load up so ammo [ i have properly marked 25/36 brass ] ...it would probably do well for caribou also.

[3leggedturtle]

Been 5 years since I've been up there, your pics make me miss it even more.. I was hoping to see the 25 rem lever being used, but the Marlin is nice too. Never eaten Ptarmigan, saw a lot of them on the Dalton. Todd3/leg

[ywaltzucanrknrl]

Thanks for posting hfcable. Really neat shotguns and great that you get and use them. I've thought about buying one of the new ones---Marlin, Winchester or Henry several times. I suspect yours is 2 1/2, correct? I'm also wondering how it patterns?

[hfcable]

Thanks for posting hfcable. Really neat shotguns and great that you get and use them. I've thought about buying one of the new ones---Marlin, Winchester or Henry several times. I suspect yours is 2 1/2, correct? I'm also wondering how it patterns?

it uses 2 1/2" it patterns really well.....good full choke pattern. knocks squirrel out of trees at way past 30 yards.

the newer lever shotguns have heavy barrels that are just re-purposed rifle barrels, and don't handle as well.. I had one and sent it down the road. the original marlins have proper shotgun type barrels. they are hard little guns to find though.

[ywaltzucanrknrl]

Good point about the newer ones----I've never picked one up and handled it, thanks for mentioning that they don't handle well----a shotgun should possess good handling characteristics and a heavy barrel would generally not be an attribute. Pretty much throws cold water on the idea of buying a new one---I may still check one out, but I think your comment was definitely on target.....