The photo in the email of the stunning Caesar Guerini shotgun easily showed gorgeous, polished wood and exquisite detailing that reminded me of a conversation long ago.

I was attending one of the acronyn organizations local fundraiser events when the special "limited edition" shotgun was offered during the auction. It was a fine gun with a few extra touches and the organization's logo on the stock. Looked like it would work quite well in the duck blind or turkey woods.

"Man, I couldn't take that into the woods and hunt with that," my friend at the table said. "That thing's too pretty. It would have to go into the safe."

The Maxum Sporting has hand-finished, deep relief gothic scroll engraving created and completed by the Bottega Incisioni C. Giovanelli engraving house in Italy. (Photo: Caesar Guerini)

I can't imagine buying a shotgun or rifle designed for hunting or shooting clay targets and never using it. I understand the concept of showpiece or presentation firearms created for some kind of special fundraiser, perhaps with real gold, silver, jewels or other work. Those are fine to put on the mantel or in the bookcase shadow box.

I thought of this when I got the email from Caesar Guerini about the company's stunning Maxum Sporting over/under shotgun. They're offering it in a limited edition run at select dealers you can see here, should you be interested.

The Maxum Sporting has deep relief gothic scroll hand finished engraving on the receiver, side plates, and fore-end assembly. The handwork and design are from the studios of the world renowned Italian engraving house, Bottega Incisioni C. Giovanelli. The coin finish frame is painstakingly hand polished. Balancing the beauty of the deeply sculpted engraving is a deluxe grade of Turkish walnut, featuring precision cut 26 lines-per-inch checkering and a natural oil finish, hand rubbed to a sheen that enhances the highly figured wood grain.

It's available in 12-gauge with 30- and 32-inch barrels and an adjustable stock option. In short, it's a pretty sweet double.

I wouldn't toss it in the flatbottom by the decoys. Doubtful I'd pitch it to the ground after blasting a gobbler to run out and stomp its head. And I wouldn't prop it against the trap house to take a better look at the Low 8 or lean it against a tree on the sporting clays range. I'd defintely take good care of it.

I appreciate beauty and craftsmanship. I love gorgeous handmade knives and fine shotguns. Custom-fitted boots are a longtime dream of mine (especially since I have weird feet). And while I love blue jeans and my old game vest, donning some tweed for a stroll to shoot birds in the marsh I think would be fun. I completely understand that some folks who shoot skeet, trap and clays have shotguns like this or even more fancy, expensive ones. They're genuine works of art and craftsmanship, no doubt.

It might be tough to do it but I'd probably head out with it. Doggone it, shotguns and rifles are a working tool, right? But please don't tell anyone that I'd use a toothbrush to get the mud out of this Maxim Sporting inlay.