In our new place the driven hunts are better and on somewhat flatter ground than where we were before. In the Basque country we were always in the steeps, and the other guys were always yelling in Basque, so you never knew what was going on. Safety is a big issue in these hunts. Anyway, we're both happy to have a better place for the hunts for red stag, roe deer and wild boar.

We figured this would be a perfect gun for her. She's not afraid of recoil, but this rifle fits her and is alot simpler in the heat of the battle than a bolt or a semi.



It's a Chapuis S-12 8X57 Express. One of the the last quality production companies in France. It shoots well, and the Aimpoint red dot is perfect for shooting at a running or walking target.

I'll keep shooting my old Model 70's, most likely the 35 Whelen as it was a featherweight before I re-barreled it.

She's been the love of my life for 37 years and we met over a gun, so it is a fitting gift.

Pete

That wood is beautiful

Beauty of a gun. I love the O/U . Can't beat that as a gift.

Nice rifle-nice price too.
Very nice present.
Do you think she'll let you shoot it once in a while,lol.

Very nice!!!

I’ve always wanted a pre 64 …model 70 ….in .270..Looks like a beautiful shot gun

id like to hear the story of you and your wife "meeting over a gun". sounds interesting.

Nicely done!

very nice hope she like it

Very nice!

Nice gun

Send Basque sausage recipes lol

Nice rifle, Pete. 37 years is a long time, but would be about were I would have been. My first wife passed suddenly, only eighteen years into it! Treasure the years, bud. You have any of those funny looking martin where you live now? Where I used to trap in Wy, they always talked about the Basque sheep herders that worked and lived there. Never got to meet one, but think there was still a handfull in the area. Happy birthdat to your missus!

Sweet gun the hunts sound interesting.

Very nice looking double rifle, classic caliber too. Sure she will love it if you met over a gun. Best wishes on her birthday.

Thanks for the kind words.

We met in the Orvis store in downtown San Francisco, where I managed the fishing department. One day, the gun guy was off or out to lunch and she walked in looking for a used shotgun for duck hunting. We sold mostly high grade guns, so I told her about a great gun store a few blocks away that would have exactly what she was looking for. A couple weeks later I asked my boss for a long lunch and we went there and she bought an old A-5 for $150. We shot skeet the next day and were shooting ducks at my place two weeks after that.

The express rifles are fairly common here for this type of hunting. Most guys shoot semi-autos and the young guys all seem to buy 300 Win mags... too much gun in my mind for these animals, but to each their own. Shots are rarely over 50 yards and you're shooting in forested areas. I'm used to my Model 70's with scopes for fast shooting but the red dot should be great for her. 8X57 seems to be a great compromise between a .270 and a .30-06. The rifle was regulated at the factory with 196 grain Norma ammo, so for now I'll stay with that.

Lee... we still have beech marten and pine martens here, but I haven't started trapping yet since the move. Lots of Basques ended up in the west, most in California and Nevada but good numbers in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana as well. Word spread quickly that they were hard working, tough and honest. You could send them into the mountains with a herd of sheep for the summer with a horse, a tent, some tobacco and a Model 94 and they'd do just fine if you brought them some flour, dried meat and whiskey every few weeks. Some stayed, but most came back to the Basque country. After working sheep, lots who stayed in CA became gardeners or mechanics and started buying property. I had a neighbor at the old place whose brother came back to hunt pigeons every fall. He had gone to Malta, MT in the 60's and by the age of 95 he had a huge piece of ground there. There are some great books about the Basques in the west written by Paul Laxalt's brother Robert. Laxalt's father was born about an hour from our farm and his mother was born a (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) child in a villge right next to ours. He ended up in Nevada where the two sons were born. This is the best of the series: https://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Promised-Basque-Robert-Laxalt/dp/0874177065.

Nvwrangler... most of the sausage I ate at the farm was homemade by a neighbor the same day we would slaughter the pig. It was usually too fatty and salty for my taste, but I know lots of Basque recipes for other stuff if you ever want any. I miss eating at the restaurants in Elko and Winnemucca. The food wasn't purely Basque but you never left hungry... or sober for the most part.

Pete

Nicely done Swift, on all counts!

Excellent

very nice

we did deer drives with shotguns and slugs (state law at the time) I got good at the hard crosser shooting clays , then pulling up and shooting deer was almost slow.

shooting deer that do summersaults is a blast.

excellent gift , very glad you can enjoy hunting with her.

Awesome...just Awesome

Even the way you met