The first shotgun I ever fired was a 20-gauge J. C. Higgins single-barrel single shot. It belonged to the wife of a close family friend, one of two hunting and shooting mentors I had as a kid. I believe Stevens made the gun, but back then, it was marketed under the J. C. Higgins label by Sears, Roebuck and Company.
As was typical of that type of single-barrel shotgun, it was very light and gave a healthy jolt with standard loads. So, to offset the recoil, my mentor loaded a few cartridges with about half an ounce of shot and reduced powder. In short, he made .410 loads in 20-gauge hulls. I shot at a tin can about 15 yards away; it was the first time I fired a shotgun. It was a good thing that it hardly kicked since, at age 12, I wasn’t a large kid. I was kind of scrawny, about 90 pounds soaking wet!
A few months after shooting the powder-puff 20 gauge, I shot a regular 12-gauge load at a live target. I was out with an uncle, my
