Dan's Ithaca 100

A couple years ago my friend Dan Ross came to Hampel's to let me know that him and his wife, Mary, would be moving to an assisted living place in Florida, and due to that he wanted me to buy most of his remaining guns.

My first reaction is that he shouldn't do that. We had lunch together once a week, discussing everything from bird hunting, bird dogs and shotguns to politics and not once having a cross word, even if we would disagree, sometimes deeply, in a particular topic. Also we would have dinner with our wives several times a year, always an occasion to look forward to.

We hunted together too few precious times, and an unforgettable one was on September 28, 2018 when we took my grandson Sylas to participate in his first pheasant hunt. We had a most pleasant early fall day, shot some birds and planted the desire to hunt deep into Sylas's heart and soul.

But I got carried away...from the guns that I bought (with a very heavy heart), three had a special destination. A very nice Remington 512T 22 LR rifle was gifted to Sylas, at the care of his parents. Every young man must have a good twenty-two rifle, and the 512T is as good an example of classic American made blue steel and walnut rifle as any ever made. I kept a Smith & Wesson model 910 9mm pistol, just because I had sold it to Dan, and a well used Ithaca (SKB) model 100 20 gauge shotgun.

Dan had hunted a lot of birds, especially grouse and woodcock, with the Ithaca 20 gauge, and it needed some delicate wood work to make it usable again, and I new that I just had to have it. Along with the Ithaca came a tool bag full of mixed 20 gauge shells, both factory ammo and reloads.

Ever since I had the little Ithaca repaired it became my primary bird gun, wild or otherwise. And I have been shooting that mixed lot of shotshells and it will be another sad day when I shoot the last one of them.

Dan passed away on June 10th, 2025 at the young age of 81, on the same day that my father would have turned 80 had he been alive. Both losses impacted me deeply. My father never got to meet my grandson, Dan was with Sylas on his first hunt, and I was with Dan on his last hunt.

All this going around is just to say that I have been waiting for fall to be here, temperatures to be mild, so I could go out with Dan's shotgun. Last Tuesday I was out at my farm in Leelanau County and shot my first ever fall Turkey with a high brass 1-1/4 ounce of No. 6 shot from the right barrel (modified choke). And yesterday I went to visit Mark Stephens at Rapid Wings Pheasant Farm where he is guiding and running his setters. It was a great and beautiful fall afternoon, and the little Ithaca 100 brought down six pheasants almost effortlessly, and of course the shells came from the same ever lighter tool bag.

When I got home my wife prepared a delicious Pheasant Stroganoff to celebrate the birthday of our friend Luciana, visiting from Brazil. I will always miss Dan, but it is nice to know that by keeping using his shotgun that I can help provide a special dinner for another friend.