It was the same story each time we visited the Olathe Gun Shop in Kansas. As soon as he entered through the front door, my father would walk towards the over-under shotguns. There, neatly displayed upright, were a variety of stacked barrels. To the upland bird hunter shopping for a new shotgun, there were plenty to choose from. However, for my father there was only one that stood out: the Ruger Red Label. This time, his hands would carefully grab the shotgun’s forend to admire it one more time before taking it home. He had been saving for months. The time had come to purchase his first over-under.

It was the mid-90s and my father had a few options when it came to choosing his first “double”. After many years, he would tell me that the Ruger Red Label stood out against all the others. It was the lustrous metal receiver that had grabbed his attention. Its simple, yet sleek design set the 12-gauge apart from the others in my father’s eyes.