H. Pieper

I can't say that my Dad was a gun loving man but for as long as I can remember he had a old double barrel shotgun. Dad saw it as a necessity much like a shovel or a rake. It was always handy just in case an unwanted varment came along. During hunting season it was handy for the occasional rabbit or squirrel. It was not something that I was allowed to play with or even touch until I was almost grown. I remember the first time that I shot it. Did I mention that it was a twelve guage? WOW! Until that time the only thing I had shot was a BB gun.

After I grew up daddy told me the story behind the H. Pieper double barrel 12 guage shotgun. It originally belonged to a buddy of my Fathers. (His name has long since left me.) One day the young man was hunting and while climbing a fence the gun accidently discharged and destroyed a portion of his foot. My Father visited his friend in the hospital and it was there that the injured man declared that he would never fire that gun again. My Fahter asked if he could have the gun. The friend said "No, as soon as I am well enough I am going to wrap that thing around a cedar tree." That is exactly what he did. After he recovered and left the hospital he took the gun and beat it against a tree until it was in pieces. Later my Father went to the tree and picked up the pieces of the gun. He found everything except one of the hammers. Eventually he was able to get it put back together. His brother-in-law, John Ed Colquette worked in the machine shop for the railroad. John Ed took the one hammer that was salvaged and made another just like it.

After my Father died I used the gun occasionally for rabbit hunting and for Turkey shoots. (I have won several turkeys with that old gun.) It has been about twenty years since it has been fired. Even though I do not think I will ever fire it again, I suspect that it could still get the job done.