Burt Spiller by Tom Keer originally printed in Covey Rise

RIS

CW L

t T

E

'*/'* e-:

,*1

-

;ii-

Y*

,

'!.uG b *1

i'

,/

,*

I't .l

'* trr*.-

t\

t-

,'-

r ?

tr 1a -a

o heads turn when I easedown the street in my 2000 Toyota 4Runner that has a quarter-million miles on it. A few looks may have com6 her way when she was new. but now she'sabout as worn as a pair of crew socks.If I drove down that samestreetin a '65 Mustang with three-on-the-tree,well, that would be different.

Heads would spin the same way they do when a vintage ChrisCraft sails into a harbor.

I suppose the emotional response we get from certain items is what makes them classicsor collectibles, and that's probably what led George Bird Evans to say about bird hunting, "The man who goes out with a gun without tradition is as impoverishedas the man who goesout without a dog."

There is no shortage of high-quality gunning irons and we salivateover them on display in the felt-lined mahogany racks in a gunshop. Some deservegreater scrutiny-particularly if we're in the buying mood-and get a close look on a thick, leather pad in the shop's gunroom. It's better still if they exude the pleasing smell of powder solvent and the pungent aroma of gun

\

and conservationistNash Buckingham. (Seethe April-May 2015 issueof Couey Rlse in the sidebar to the feature "Become a Collector.") Buckingham named his gun after the sound it made upon discharge,and when it came up for auction a few years ago it commanded the third-highest sum ever paid for an American shotgun. ($7ith the buyer's premium, the total was more than $200,000.) The writer Gene Hill was famous for two shotguns-a 16-gatge Greener he used for upland hunting and a 28-gauge John Blanch hammergun he used for doves. George Bird Evans shot a Purdey as often as he shot his Fox, and Tap Tapply favored a Winchester 21. William Harnden Foster loved his Parker VH 28-gauge, Frank Woolner carried a customized'WinchesterModel 59, and Gorham "Grampa Grouse" Cross shot an L. C. Smith.

These noteworthy and historic scatter-guns are to wingshooters what Excalibur was to King Arthur. They began as the tools of the masters who owned them and over time they became legendary. Legends motivate, inspire, and ground us

and stock oils. The classicsare unbeatable:they sins to us like the Sirensof the Lorelei. o Whoop was such a gun that turned heads.It was the Super Fox t2-borc owned by Tennessee'slegendary writer

66 COVEY RISE

(ABOVE:)Morris Baker of RST/ClassicShotshellCompany now owns Burt Spiller'sParkerVH 2O-gauge-a classic American shotgun.

in a direct connectionto our wingsh()otingheritirge.

This past October,I visited my friend Morris Baker at his company in Pennsylvar.ria, RST/ClassicShotshellComparry.We were discr.rssing writing and sportir-rg:rrt and shotgunsand bird dogs. . . when his eyeslit up. He had that innocentlook of a kid in elementaryschool who just renrembereda stash of freshly bakedchocolatechip cookiesin his lunch bag.

"Wanna seeBurt Spiller'sParker?"he asked.His eyessparkled for he already knew rny answer."l'll be back in a nrinr.rte."

(Burt Spillerwrote countlessstoriesabout New Englandupland hunting, including the book Grouse Feathers.)

Morris reappeared carryingBurt Spiller'sParkerVH 20. Several yearsago, Morris bought the VH at an auction with far less fanfare than was associatedwith tl.reselling of Bo Whoop. Tl.re cost of the Spiller'sgun was unceremoniouslyequal to the lnarket value.No additional value was olaced on the Poet L:rlrrerlte

68 COVEY RISE

of Grouse'sownership,but there it was in my hands.(Seethe sidebarfor more on the gun'shistory.)

According to oral tridition, Spiller cor.rldn'tafford a nice gun on l-riswriter's income and receivedthe gr.rrras a gift fronr his hunting buddy, Gorhanr Cross.At the time, the ParkerVH was ir quality gun that was affordable. It wrrs the r-nost1-ropular model sold by Parker Brotl.rers, and s()me78,000 ParkerVHs were marde.Although the VH was introduced as a hammergun with twist barrelsin 1869, Spiller'sParker was a hamrnerless n-rodelmade fron-rVulcirn steel barrels.The wood was plain, s t r a i g h t - g r a i nA m e r i c a n w a l n u t , a s i r r - r p lbeo r d e r e n g r r v i n g

(ABOVE:)Burt Spiller'sParkerhad a can't-missquality,the a u t h o r f o u n d ,a l t h o u g hi t d i d n ' t f i t h i s p h y s i c a dl i m e n s i o n s .

around the case-hardenedframe, with light engraving on the fore-end and the pistol grip. At the time, the fit and finish were excellent for a gun considered to be Plain Jane. It was a fine example of Yankee ingenuiry indeed. lassicAmerican shotguns are known for their significant f at comb and heel, which was representativeof that \-rdrop era's shooting style and techniques, Some models have so much drop that they resemble the working end of a hockey stick.

Burt's Parker was no exception, and I didn't need to mount it to know that the dimensions were a far cry from those of my own guns. I knew when I mounted it my eye wouldn't run down the barrel rib and instead would look perfectly at the safety at the top of the pistol grip. Morris asked, "'Wanna shoot it? Grab that case of shells and let's go." A gun like this wasn't one to use when shooting for score, but that wasn't the day's agenda.

Simply handling this piece of wingshooting history was what mattered and shooting it was an honor and a privilege. !7hen I looked down the barrel, I'd seethe world as Burt Spiller saw it.

And so off we went for a quick drive to Ernie Hausmann's Hidden Hollow Sponing Clays.

Ernie Hausmann's course is home to the Northeast Side X Side Classic, held in early June as it has been for about a decade and a half. Ernie and Morris are bird hunters and they laid out the course with bird hunters in mind. Missing are the technical shots like bateaux tossed from a trap 60 yards above the ground; but you'll find an abundance of grouse and wood-

ln November 1982,Field & Streampublished an article from' the lateWilliamG. Tapply(Billto his friends)entitled"Burt's Gun."Bill'sfather was the legendary Field & Streamwriter H. G. "Tap"Tapply,who gained fame not only for his feature articles but also for his monthly column, "Tap'sTips."Many of us successfullyput Tap'soutdoors advice into action. Tapply the elder was friends and hunting buddies with the writers best known for chroniclingwhat is consideredthe Golden Era of Grouse, the time when farmlandswere abandoned and the primary and

cock shots delivered at close range, with ample primary and secondary growth in the adjoining shooting lanes. You'd think the course was designed to accommodate the shooting of Burt Spiller's Parker. I stepped into the shooting butt of a station that threw a report double grouse presentation. The first target flew right to left and slid at a 45-degree angle, while the second launched at report on a left-to-right trajectory. I slid a pair of 2Yzinch RST Best Grade #8s into the chambers, a fitting load becausethe 7+-ounceshell was similar to the loads Burt likely used. The gun balanced perfectly, had 25-inch barrels, and was built on an O frame. The red Hawkins pad had been exposed to heat, which caused a pronounced deterioration made famous in severalpictures, and it gave Burt's gun its unmistakable charm.

Pull, broken clay; pull, broken clay; pull, broken clay-l went through the station hitting far more than I missed, and then moved on to a woodcock presentation.The results were similar, and then I moved on to a grouse-woodcock combination. Burt's gun simply didn't miss, and if I had the means I'd have made an offer to buy the Parker immediately.

But, alas, I did not-and after a wonderful afternoon shooting the hallowed gunning iron, which did not fit me in the least, I reluctantly handed it back to its owner. Tomorrow, I would return to my grouse and woodcock coverts with my own shotgun, a Parker VH 2O-gaugeon an O frame like Burt's.

Next time I see Morris, I'm going to tell him there's a big difference between my gun and Burt's gun-which is, mine is prone to miss. Morris will get a good chuckle out of that. ;:'

(which occurred in 1973)the Savagebe returned to Tapply the younger.Specialthanks to Morris Baker for preservingthe Spiller-Tapplylegacy and allowing contemporary grouse hunters such as me to savor a sliver of history.-Tom Keer Order Bill Tapply's books at skyhorsepublishing.com

secondarygrowth that created SO-plusflush days was common. In that group were Frank Woolner,Gorham Cross,Corey Ford,Lee Wulff, Ed Zern, Harold Blaisdell,and-last but not least-the Poet Laureateof GrouseHunting, Burt Spiller.

On the first Saturday in October 1964,Spillertook an unusualinterest in Tapplythe younger's single-shotSavage, and offered to trade guns for the day-you know so they could each see how the guns handled.Shortly thereafter,a grouse flushedfrom under a juniper tangle and Tapply the younger killedit with his first shot from the Parker.At the end of the hunt Spillerremarked that he'd like to hold onto the Savage, so the two hunters swapped shotguns.Spillernever asked that his Parkerbe returned.and his wish was that uoon his death

COVEY RISE 69