Golden Era Hunting Equipment

[warbird]

This is my upland get up for pheasant, quail, grouse and late season dove. The shotgun is a 1927 Ithaca NID (New Ithaca Double). The jacket belonged to my grandfather. The boots are Russell Moccasin boots. They are not that old, 15 years, but are nearly identical to Russell's my grandfather wore. The hat was his Borsalino, dating to the late 1920's or early 30's.

I only wear vintage style bird hunting and to Africa, mainly because over there little has changed in the years since the golden age. Khaki is still king. I rarely do wear camo. However except for Russell's while bird hunting and some other hunts and Russell safari boots, I wear modern type footwear. This is especially true of mountain hunting where I where the best modern sheep hunting boots I can find and the very best rain-proof clothing I can afford.

 

[Mike K.]

Try this...

http://www.outdoorlife.com/photos/gallery/hunting/2010/02/antique-hunting-photo-collection

 

[Chasseur]

Warbird great set of gear and nice NID!

 

[Derek WC]

Thanks for the information and pictures, Chasseur.

Also, great gear, Warbird. That's a really cool picture, almost as if you stepped out of the 30's.

Also thanks for the link, Mike.

I was planning on making a coat out of a 50's shirt pattern I have. What should I use on the outside, and what should the liner be? I think the outside should be heavy wool, but I wasn't sure about the liner. I have a 1951 USAF overcoat with a flannel backed satin lining, so that makes me think flannel backed satin.

Oh yes, Warbird, I thought I'd say this (Even though you probably already know it). You need to be careful around old double barrels, sometimes the barrels can get so much use that they get paper thin and can explode when you shoot.

 

[Freightpilot]

Mike. Great pictues. the site is a good reference I use a lot.

Derek, Definatly wool. I have a 2 50ish era wool coats one lined with a cotton material ( although it didn't hold up to wear all that well over its life) and one unlined.

"You need to be careful around old double barrels, sometimes the barrels can get so much use that they get paper thin and can explode when you shoot." Wow that would be a lot of shooting. I would think a lot of other things would go south long before the barrels wore out.

 

[warbird]

Thanks for the information and pictures, Chasseur.

Also, great gear, Warbird. That's a really cool picture, almost as if you stepped out of the 30's.

Also thanks for the link, Mike.

I was planning on making a coat out of a 50's shirt pattern I have. What should I use on the outside, and what should the liner be? I think the outside should be heavy wool, but I wasn't sure about the liner. I have a 1951 USAF overcoat with a flannel backed satin lining, so that makes me think flannel backed satin.

Oh yes, Warbird, I thought I'd say this (Even though you probably already know it). You need to be careful around old double barrels, sometimes the barrels can get so much use that they get paper thin and can explode when you shoot.

What you are thinking about is damascus barreled shotguns. The problem with damascus barrels is that they were made of thousands of welds and layers and painstaking detail. It is a lost craft unfortunately. If you allow a damascus barrel to rust it will permanently weaken at weld points. No rust, no weakening. A number of years ago an extensive study was done by several gun experts over an extensive period of time to test the old adage about blowing up old shotguns. What they found was that these barrels well maintained, you can tell if rust has ever been truly corrosive, were as strong now as they were when manufactured. They in fact withstood pressure levels rivaling their fluid steel barrel counterparts. I shoot a lot of damascus barreled guns every year. I do not shoot heavy loads in them. Mainly because I don't wish to test their limits, but just blast some clay birds out of the air. The NID pictured has fluid steel barrels, not damascus.

That all said, your advice does ring true in that someone planning to shoot old firearms should always have a competent and knowledgeable gun friend or professional look over the firearm. If you aren't sure whether a friend is truly knowledgeable or just full of a lot air, seek more advice. For instance I could possibly tell is a damascus barreled shotgun was definitely shoot worthy. I do have friends however, who could look at one and be most assured if it is safe or not.

Of course this is probably good advice for anyone who doesn't know a lot about firearms, but older guns probably are more likely to have been fooled with at one point or another. Maybe by someone competent, maybe not. As a person who is a general expert on firearms and handles them for a living (i.e. shoots them) I have come to know two certainties. 1. I know more than most about guns. 2. Nearly every month I come across something I know next to nothing about and meet or call on someone who knows a heck of a lot more than I do in general or in detail.

 

[Derek WC]

What you are thinking about is damascus barreled shotguns.

Ahh, yes. That is correct. Thanks for the knowledge.

I plan on using an eighty or so year old .22 J. Stevens LR Lever Action my grandfather got for gophers when he was a kid, on rabbits. What kind of things can I do to make sure it's in working order? Recently I was fooling around with it and bust a screw off so I took it to a gun smith and he fixed it. Other than that, the action and hammer work like a charm.

Say, what are the orange laws in Tennessee?

Yet another question. How does one get rid of the mothball scent of most 50's surplus wool? Would it even scare away deer?

And another: How would a long overcoat go over in really dense Oregon forest?

 

[Edward]

I think this photo is a good depiction of how many North Carolina duck hunters dressed up until the late 'forties. After that, folks started wearing more WWII surplus gear and factory-made hunting garb.

Hope this helps.

AF

I love that! Especially the guy in the full lounge suit... Nice to see ties being worn in the field!

Hunting was once a purely practical activity or one of many sporting pursuits, more part of the culture at large, so it was no surprise to see work or sport clothes in use.

Today it is a much more technological practice and no longer part of a greater culture so much as a culture in its own right. This has brought about endless specialized gear (including clothing), and a different ethos.

Hunting clothing over here in the UK would tend to be very different than the US - typically much more traditional. It's a very, very different beast over here, though - an upper-class sporting thing. There will be many factors behind the differences between hunting culture here and in the US; obviously the very different gun culture inevitably has a role to play, but you also have to take into account physical geography: it seems to me that we simply don't have the sorts of wide open spaces that are not closed, private or otherwise regulated land that you would see in the US, hence less terrain in which to hunt. In the UK there seems to be a much greater emphasis on hunting as an elite sport, moreso than the idea of a workingman hunting to put food on the table as would have been common at one time in the US. Is that still common over there, or is it slowly turning into a greater emphasis on sport? Without wishing to inflict corporal punishment upon an expired equus, I'm not personally comfortable with the idea of killing an animal for fun, but I have tremendous respect for the skill of shooting a stag so that it's death is quick and painless, and providing it's skin, antlers and, of course, the yummy meat are all used. I certainly do believe that sometimes in the modern world we, especially those of us who are city-dwellers, can be too removed from the process of how our food actually gets to the plate.

Anyhow, I'm digressing.... I have often mused as to whether the fact that hunting clothes in the UK - at least what I have seen of them - being so traditional is distinctly influenced by the fact that it tends to be an upper class pastime. The upper classes certainly tend to veer more towards the traditional in their manner of dress much of the time.

 

[Edward]

This is my upland get up for pheasant, quail, grouse and late season dove. The shotgun is a 1927 Ithaca NID (New Ithaca Double). The jacket belonged to my grandfather. The boots are Russell Moccasin boots. They are not that old, 15 years, but are nearly identical to Russell's my grandfather wore. The hat was his Borsalino, dating to the late 1920's or early 30's.

I only wear vintage style bird hunting and to Africa, mainly because over there little has changed in the years since the golden age. Khaki is still king. I rarely do wear camo. However except for Russell's while bird hunting and some other hunts and Russell safari boots, I wear modern type footwear. This is especially true of mountain hunting where I where the best modern sheep hunting boots I can find and the very best rain-proof clothing I can afford.

Nice gear. Sheep-hunting? As in, sheep living wild in the mountains? I've never heard of this before (again, probably because I've never lived in a country big enough to have wild, open spaces with sheep that belong to noone).... sounds interesting.

 

[hardline_42]

Say, what are the orange laws in Tennessee?

Tennessee Hunter Orange Requirement

All big game hunters with firearms must wear at least 500 square inches of Hunter Orange on a head covering and an outer garment above the waist, visible front and back. (Exception: turkey hunters during gun hunts proclaimed by the commission and those hunting on their own property.)

I'd check local laws for specifics.

Yet another question. How does one get rid of the mothball scent of most 50's surplus wool? Would it even scare away deer?

Try storing it in a plastic trash bag or bin with a bowl of activated charcoal or baking soda. This will help absorb the smell.

 

[David Conwill]

For Deer, I use an AK-47. Nice gun 7.62x39's are pretty cheap too, as far as ammo goes.

I once heard that Al Capone was ticketed in Wisconsin for mowing down a deer with a Thompson SMG. I couldn't help but think of that story when I read this, although I'm sure you mean the semi-auto version.

Does Wisconsin have the same rule as Michigan that limits hunting rifles to a five-round capacity? I always wondered if that predated the M1 Garand, or if it was designed specifically to prevent its use.

-Dave

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Yes, I am talking semi-auto, of course. My dad does sell full-autos, however. The only limit in Wisconsin is shotgun migratory bird which is a 3 round, everything else has no limit.

 

[Atticus Finch]

Hunting was once a purely practical activity or one of many sporting pursuits, more part of the culture at large, so it was no surprise to see work or sport clothes in use.

Today it is a much more technological practice and no longer part of a greater culture so much as a culture in its own right. This has brought about endless specialized gear (including clothing), and a different ethos.

Yes, and, as observed in this thread before, there are (and were) many different kinds of hunting. And there are (and were) many different kinds of hunters. This is true even with respect to the hunting of a single species of animal. For example, in North Carolina, deer are most commonly hunted in two ways...either from a stationary position high in a deer stand, or by driving (running) the deer before hounds. In areas further north, Pennsylvania for example, there is a third method of deer hunting. There, deer are often stalked by hunters who creep through the woods on foot, trying to get a glimpse of their prey. As you might guess, these styles of hunting each require very different kinds of clothing and equipment.

As to hunters, I’m sure there was at least as much variation. In the Golden Era (as now) there must have been very serious deer hunters who spent large amounts of money on the very best clothing and equipment they could afford. They are probably the ones we see in vintage photos wearing their L. L. Bean Maine Boots, Abercrombie Hunting Jackets and holding their fancy European engraved side by sides.

And then, there were the other guys in the photos. The guys like me, who are shown holding their old tar-taped Model 11s, wearing just their casual clothes...the same clothes they wore while they were engaged in life's other activities, like mowing the grass or taking a nap.

AF

 

[Derek WC]

Edward - There's really no wild sheep in England? Nor have you heard of them? There's plenty of wild sheep in the mountains in America. I don't hunt them however. Also here in America there's miles of public hunting land everywhere. I'm about thirty miles drive to a great mountain for deer, and there's another mountain range called the Trask mountains along the coast next to Tilamook (I'm sure you're clueless to what I'm saying), and in the east. That is, in Oregon. There's miles of hunting territory here, and there's also privately owned. You can also hunt on farms here.

What disgusts me is how people just throw away the skin after they skin the deer. I keep it, and also rabbit fur. Some day I plan on making a coat out of deer skin and lining it with rabbit.

Thanks for the information, hardline. I'll do that. As for the orange laws: I know my own orange laws, I was simply curious of Tennessee's because warbird lives there.
What do you mean by activated charcoal?

I wouldn't assume that Tom is actually nuts enough to use fully automatic.
After all, I'm sure most people like their deer intact. :deadhorse

 

[David Conwill]

Which begs the question: How nuts do you assume Tom is?

-Dave

 

[Derek WC]

As nuts as any sane man I'd say.

 

[Doublegun]

You need to be careful around old double barrels, sometimes the barrels can get so much use that they get paper thin and can explode when you shoot.

Couple of points, first it takes A LOT of shooting to wear out a barrel but an incompetent smith can hone the crap out of them. Minimum barrel wall thickness should be no less than .025. A good barrel man can measure wall thickness (but not the average hack or the dolts that work at the big box stores. A second point is ammo. Older guns shot paper hulls with paper wads and were far less potent than modern ammo. Most barrels blow because of obstructions, not overloading, but you should always be careful with what you feed these old guns. Also, chamber lengths were different with a lot of these guns - not the standard 2-3/4" today.

American doubles have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity over the past 20-years. Guns from Ithaca, LC Smith, Parker, Fox, Le fever are to be cherished and cared for. Below is a picture of three of my gals. All Parker DH-guns, top to bottom, 10 ga, 12 ga and 16 ga all with damascus barrels, they were made between 1887 and 1894. Because of the interest in these old guns there are several companies making low-pressure loads suitable for old doubles.

 

[Derek WC]

As said before, I was mistakenly referring to Damascus steel barrels. It is generally not from the shooting, simply the use, which can mean anything from dragging them to camp, firing, idiotically setting them on damp ground letting rust setting in, not cleaning them off when you get home, putting them in a damp cellar, using poor quality ordinance, etc.
I may be young, but I ain't dumb like most youngins are.

 

[Doublegun]

This is a very interesting thread and got me wondering exactly when clothing specifically designed for hunting was introduced to the market. I would guess hunting in the late 1800's - WWI was probably more a function of necessity than recreation so I doubt there was much specialized gear. Post WWI I think a lot of people hunted in surplus military gear. Look at these old pictures and half the gentleman look like they just stepped off a battlefield in Europe. I am willing to bet that specialized hinting gear probably started to appear shortly thereafter and has developed from there.

For me, I prefer traditional materials and, yes, I have a lot of Filson. However, Military surplus is probably a great place to go for gear that is at least as good as any on the market today made out of traditional materials. As for camo - most of it's BS marketing. Fred Bear killed A LOT of big game (deer, elk, moose, bears) using wool pants and wool plaid jackets with a traditional recurve bow at less than 20-yards. It's only been over the past few years that we've been told that game can't be taken without scent control and designer camo.

 

[warbird]

Damascus barreled gun were sure some of the finest works of metallurgical arts ever made by the hands of man. As amazing as some of the finest swords.

Wonderful Parkers DG.