A First Shotgun

Very nice story by Ace Luciano: I will never forget the first shotgun I ever fired. It was a Beretta Companion, a single shot 20 gauge that folded entirely in half and weighed next to nothing. It was a full-size gun; no recoil pad. That gun kicked like a mule. To solve some of my pain problem, my father put a slip on recoil pad over the hard butt stock. Now, in addition to kicking hard and bucking up in the air, it also fit me poorly! My “hit” ratio dropped immediately. Back in those days, there was no such thing as a “youth” shotgun. If you wanted a shotgun designed to fit a child or a smaller framed shooter, you bought a full-sized gun and cut an inch or two off of the stock. Unfortunately that usually required a gunsmith, which required even more out-of-pocket cost for a gun that might not even be used after the first couple of times. Link to read more….