Rare Shotgun Up for Auction to Benefit Pheasants Forever Habitat Mission
Pheasants Forever 02.05.14
I consider myself fortunate to work in the outdoor industry. Learning new things is exciting, and is an ongoing process. This week’s lesson? Gun restoration.
Pheasant Fest is coming to Milwaukee, Wisconsin February 14-17. Gun collectors and hunters have the opportunity to bid on a one-of-a-kind Pheasants Forever, AH Fox Sterlingworth 20 gauge side-by-side shotgun restored by Turnbull. The funds will help support the Pheasants Forever habitat mission. I rarely use the word glorious, but other words seemed to fall short after seeing the Turnbull-restored Fox Sterlingworth. Many have admired Turnbull’s work. Now, I do too.
Avid pheasant hunters typically have gun cabinets loaded with treasures. Shotguns of different gauges and configurations are lovingly cared for and displayed. Their obvious functionality aside, guns are also collected because they hold meaning. They are not simply tools comprised of wood and steel, they are symbolic of the memories and experiences earned from days spent afield and of loved ones from our past. Beautiful shotguns are passed down from one generation to the next. Perhaps you have inherited a unique gun or two from your own dear family member.
The first time I hunted pheasants, my dad let me borrow his gun. It had been given to him by his dad, my grandpa Eli. The old 20 gauge Browning over-and-under, made some 60 years ago, is special to us. I felt the gun would give me luck. After all, it came from the winnings of a card game decades ago played against another now-deceased family member. It was then given to my grandpa Eli as a gift, and my dad inherited it after my grandfather passed away. Of course, I hope my father will pass it down to me someday. As I mentioned earlier, guns have meaning.
The Turnbull gun restoration process is long and extensive. “The remarkable thing about the guns they produce is they become one-of-a-kind through the restoration process,” said Pheasants Forever Public Relations Specialist Rehan Nana. “They come out of his shop looking as if they just came from the original manufacturer, and in many cases better,” he continued.
Of course, attending Pheasant Fest would be best, but you don’t need to be there to bid for the refurbished Pheasants Forever Fox Sterlingworth. The auction can be found online at gunbroker.com, as well as on site at Pheasant Fest on February 15 at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee. The link to bid is http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=387072304.
The glorious PF Fox Sterlingworth will find a new home with the highest bidder, where it will continue its long history of memory-making. Of course, the highest bidder will be making a statement. The unique purchase will blare, “I Support the Pheasant Forevers habitat mission.”
Pheasants Forever is grateful for the restored Fox Sterlingworth by Turnbull. Not all shotguns are created equal, but given enough time, all have their reminiscences.
Below are some more specs on shotgun at auction.
- 20 gauge
- 28-inch barrels
- Double-trigger extractor
- Chocked IC/Full
- Custom restocked with feather crotch English walnut with tear-drop panels and custom checkering
- Fitted with a .600-inch black decelerator pad for a 14-3/8-inch length of pull
- Semi beavertail forend with a slight Schnabel tip
- Custom engraving includes tastefully done fleur de lis with quail and pheasant on either side with the Pheasants Forever 2014 logo on the bottom of the receiver
- Color case hardening, charcoal blue, and rust blue finishes by Turnbull
Pheasants Forever launched Quail Forever in August of 2005 to address the continuing loss of habitat suitable for quail and the subsequent quail population decline. Bobwhite population losses over the last 25 years range from 60 to 90 percent across the country. The reason for the quail population plunge is simple - massive losses of habitat suitable for quail. There are five major factors leading to the losses of quail habitat; intensified farming and forestry practices, succession of grassland ecosystems to forests, overwhelming presence of exotic grasses like fescue that choke out wildlife, and urban sprawl.
