Bo Whoop presented to Ducks Unlimited

[jeffc]

I attended the Ducks Unlimited National Convention in Dallas May 27-30. On Saturday at the final business session Bo Whoop was officially presented to the president of Ducks Unlimited by Hal B. Howard, Jr. As most of you know, he purchased the famous shotgun at Julia's Spring Auction for a handsome price. Mr. Howard made an eloquent presentation that concluded with, "Hail and Farewell." He was accompanyed to Dallas by his son Hal B. Howard III. Surprisingly, and unrecognized, two of Burt Becker's grandsons and a great grandaughter were also there to see the presentation. I was able to speak with all of them and even got to hold the gun. It will be formally put on exhibit at DU's National Headquarters in Memphis later this week. This is certainly a fabulous ending to a great story.

Jeff Churan
Chillicothe, MO

[Stan Hillis]

Thanks for the report, Jeff. I am just so glad that BW will reside in Memphis at the DU Museum. I, too, was privileged to examine the gun closely in October of last year, before it was shipped to Julia's for auction. What a rare treat you had to be able to visit with Mr. Howard, and with Burt Becker's descendants. This is absolutely a perfect ending to the Bo Whoop saga, IMO. Do you think there is any way to get a copy of Mr. Howard's presentation speech?

Hail and Farewell, indeed.

Stan

[fullchoke16]

Thanks Jeff. I hope some one had the presence of mind to film Mr. Howards speech. I just checked YouTube and it isn't on there yet, but there is other DU convention items.

[George Lander]

This is a fitting end to a great story. When I first saw Bo Whoop at Jim Kelly's it was being restocked. I was only vaguely familiar with the story at that time having read a few lines about it in Mike McIntosh's book. Bo Whoop is the "Holy Grail" of Foxdom and it's new home is where it should reside. A BIG HOO-RAH for the Howards.

Best Regards, George

[jeffc]

I am confident that the presentation was video-taped. Mr. Howard seemed to be refering to notes as he spoke. I will check to see if I can get a copy of his remarks.

Jeff Churan
Chillicothe, MO

[al smith]

Does anyone have the definitive story on Bo Whoop's whereabouts between the time Mr. Buckingham lost it and the recent resurfacing?

[jeffc]

According to Julia's Auction:

"The grandfather of the consignor bought the gun about 50 years ago (10 years after Nash’s loss) from an individual for $50. The broken gun was set aside and forgotten about for many years until the next generation inherited it. A couple of years ago, the grandson discovered the gun in his father’s closet. They then decided to have the stock repaired and took it to a local gunsmith. Later the gunsmith called back and asked the family if they knew the history on this famous shotgun, and then proceeded to enlighten them about ‘Bo Whoop’. The family later decided to have a replica stock put on rather than the repaired stock and after completion, ‘Bo Whoop’ was returned to the father’s closet where it stayed for another year and a half. Recently, because of illness, the son made the decision to sell the gun and contacted Julia’s."

Jeff Churan
Chillicothe, MO

[eightbore]

There is a little information about Bo Whoop ll, the award gun, and other donations in the second Double Gun Journal Index and Reader. I ran across the article recently after forgetting about it for years. I think the article is by Dr. Andrews, has closeups of Bo Whoop ll. It is worth a read.

[jeffc]

I remember an article in DGJ...mid-ninties...about a 20 ga Super Fox that is owned by Hal Howard, Jr. The piece was by a Mr. Reedy, or something like that. He hunted at old Beaver Dam with Mr. Howard and got to shoot the gun. I've probably got the article if anyone wants more information.

Jeff Churan
Chillicothe, MO