I don't have very many childhood memories of Christmas, in fact I can only remember 2. One when I was 5, Santa "forgot" to put one of my presents under the tree, when my mother went out into the garage, see saw the undelivered present and a "note" from Santa saying, he was too tired to bring it in so he left it in the garage. The other memory is from 1980, the year I received from my dad a brand new Remington 870 Wingmaster, 3" magnum, 32"
barrel, vent rib, full choke, walnut stock with engraved designs. Every time I think of that Christmas I feel like Ralphie from "A Christmas Story" when he describes his Red Rider BB gun. My father is a very meticulous man, very deliberate in all the things that he does, to the point of being very annoying, case in point, he washes his coins, yes that's right he washes his coins, most annoying thing ever. Any way he taught me how to handle and care for this amazing firearm, he taught me how to break it down and clean every part, not just once, but twice just to make sure that you don't miss any dirt or powder, then finish it off with a light coat of oil. At the time I could not have cared less, I figured it was just another way my dad was trying to torture me, but how glad I am today that a little of my dads quarks have rubbed off on me. I have hunted with my 870 for 30+ years, well except for the season that I thought I needed an auto loader, it turns out that I did not. This old reliable friend has seen a lot of use, it has been in rain and snow storms and dropped in the mud, and still has never misfired or jammed. It has shot ducks, geese, swans, doves and pheasants. And after EVERY hunting trip, thanks dad, it goes through a thorough cleaning. Two years ago I was fortunate enough to be able to join a new duck club, there was nothing wrong with the one I belonged to before, in fact I have hunted there for the past 25 years, and made some life-long friends, it was a wonderful experience, I just had the opportunity to join a different club with less members, so I jumped at the chance. The new club uses concrete blinds, they are very nice and provide great cover from the birds, but they are not very forgiving, on the first trip out, my gun slipped off the seat hitting the side of the concrete blind, and just that quick I put a ding in the fore arm of my prized 870, so last year I retired my long time hunting friend. I read as much as I could find on the different makes and models of shot guns on the market today, and let me tell you, there is a lot of information out there, I looked at Browning, Winchester, Remington, Benelli, and Ruger. I checked out double barrel, auto loaders and pumps. Finally I got it narrowed down to 4 choices, 1st Browning Citori, 2nd Remington 887, 3rd Benelli Nova, 4th Browning A5, after months of agonizing and non decision, reading as many reviews and talking to the gun experts, well I bought all 4, no just kidding, but it was really hard to make a final choice, I liked some things about each one, they all fit me really well, they all pulled up nice and swing great. I did not want to make my choice on price alone either, because if I did I knew I would regret it. So after much thought and pondering, the first one to go was the Citori, I love that gun, but
thinking it out a little more I came to the conclusion that it would probably just get dinged up like the 870. Next to go was the A5, my father shot an A5 and loved it, so I was really thinking hard about buying one, you know the nostalgia of it all, the warm fuzzies of shooting the same gun as your dad, but then I remembered, that ill fated day when I was 16, the one and only time that I shot his A5. Out duck hunting one day I thought it would be nice to try my dads gun, a duck flew
over head and before I could understand what my dad was saying, I shot, with my thumb on the hump of the A5. What my dad was trying to say was "don't put your thumb on the top of the hump", you know in the cartoons when Bugs Bunny hits Elmer Fudd in the head with something and stars or little birds circle his head and his eyes are all glossed over, well that was me. I'm not knocking the A5, its a great gun, but I know, all I would be thinking about is what happened lo those many years ago, and I would never be able to shoot one. So its down to the 887 and the Nova. With cash in hand I made my way to the local sporting goods store ready to make my choice, first I looked at the 887, I read all the customer reviews, and they all kinda said the same thing, jams easy, the action is stiff, one even said that the barrel was bent. But its a Remington, the maker of my much beloved 870
Wingmaster, what better choice to replace my old trusty skater gun. I mentioned my research to the gun guru at the counter, his only comment was," well we sell a few, and a lot come back". Crap, so I ask to look at the Nova, 28" barrel, black synthetic polymer stock, it will hold 2 3/4", 3" and 3 1/2" shells, light weight, I think I'm in l
ove. The thing I like about this gun the most is that it has no wood on it any where so the possibility of it getting damaged by the blind is minimal. Opening day of 2012 was its christening day, and what a day it had, I shot with it all season long and did not have one moments trouble, it shot in the rain, it shot in the snow, it even shot on new years day when it was 2 below, forgive my Dr. Seuss moment. The Benelli Nova is the right fit for me, I will never put the 870 away for good, she will be used for skeet and sporting clays, and maybe someday she will be handed down to my grandson, but when the ducks are flying, the Nova will be at my side.
barrel, vent rib, full choke, walnut stock with engraved designs. Every time I think of that Christmas I feel like Ralphie from "A Christmas Story" when he describes his Red Rider BB gun. My father is a very meticulous man, very deliberate in all the things that he does, to the point of being very annoying, case in point, he washes his coins, yes that's right he washes his coins, most annoying thing ever. Any way he taught me how to handle and care for this amazing firearm, he taught me how to break it down and clean every part, not just once, but twice just to make sure that you don't miss any dirt or powder, then finish it off with a light coat of oil. At the time I could not have cared less, I figured it was just another way my dad was trying to torture me, but how glad I am today that a little of my dads quarks have rubbed off on me. I have hunted with my 870 for 30+ years, well except for the season that I thought I needed an auto loader, it turns out that I did not. This old reliable friend has seen a lot of use, it has been in rain and snow storms and dropped in the mud, and still has never misfired or jammed. It has shot ducks, geese, swans, doves and pheasants. And after EVERY hunting trip, thanks dad, it goes through a thorough cleaning. Two years ago I was fortunate enough to be able to join a new duck club, there was nothing wrong with the one I belonged to before, in fact I have hunted there for the past 25 years, and made some life-long friends, it was a wonderful experience, I just had the opportunity to join a different club with less members, so I jumped at the chance. The new club uses concrete blinds, they are very nice and provide great cover from the birds, but they are not very forgiving, on the first trip out, my gun slipped off the seat hitting the side of the concrete blind, and just that quick I put a ding in the fore arm of my prized 870, so last year I retired my long time hunting friend. I read as much as I could find on the different makes and models of shot guns on the market today, and let me tell you, there is a lot of information out there, I looked at Browning, Winchester, Remington, Benelli, and Ruger. I checked out double barrel, auto loaders and pumps. Finally I got it narrowed down to 4 choices, 1st Browning Citori, 2nd Remington 887, 3rd Benelli Nova, 4th Browning A5, after months of agonizing and non decision, reading as many reviews and talking to the gun experts, well I bought all 4, no just kidding, but it was really hard to make a final choice, I liked some things about each one, they all fit me really well, they all pulled up nice and swing great. I did not want to make my choice on price alone either, because if I did I knew I would regret it. So after much thought and pondering, the first one to go was the Citori, I love that gun, but 
thinking it out a little more I came to the conclusion that it would probably just get dinged up like the 870. Next to go was the A5, my father shot an A5 and loved it, so I was really thinking hard about buying one, you know the nostalgia of it all, the warm fuzzies of shooting the same gun as your dad, but then I remembered, that ill fated day when I was 16, the one and only time that I shot his A5. Out duck hunting one day I thought it would be nice to try my dads gun, a duck flew
over head and before I could understand what my dad was saying, I shot, with my thumb on the hump of the A5. What my dad was trying to say was "don't put your thumb on the top of the hump", you know in the cartoons when Bugs Bunny hits Elmer Fudd in the head with something and stars or little birds circle his head and his eyes are all glossed over, well that was me. I'm not knocking the A5, its a great gun, but I know, all I would be thinking about is what happened lo those many years ago, and I would never be able to shoot one. So its down to the 887 and the Nova. With cash in hand I made my way to the local sporting goods store ready to make my choice, first I looked at the 887, I read all the customer reviews, and they all kinda said the same thing, jams easy, the action is stiff, one even said that the barrel was bent. But its a Remington, the maker of my much beloved 870 
Wingmaster, what better choice to replace my old trusty skater gun. I mentioned my research to the gun guru at the counter, his only comment was," well we sell a few, and a lot come back". Crap, so I ask to look at the Nova, 28" barrel, black synthetic polymer stock, it will hold 2 3/4", 3" and 3 1/2" shells, light weight, I think I'm in l
ove. The thing I like about this gun the most is that it has no wood on it any where so the possibility of it getting damaged by the blind is minimal. Opening day of 2012 was its christening day, and what a day it had, I shot with it all season long and did not have one moments trouble, it shot in the rain, it shot in the snow, it even shot on new years day when it was 2 below, forgive my Dr. Seuss moment. The Benelli Nova is the right fit for me, I will never put the 870 away for good, she will be used for skeet and sporting clays, and maybe someday she will be handed down to my grandson, but when the ducks are flying, the Nova will be at my side.
