Category: Shotguns
by Jay Saw this column the other day: What Makes a Shotgun a Classic? I’ll give you my own opinion in a minute, but here’s a little of what the post – by Phil Bourjaily of Field & Stream – said: > The dictionary definition of “classic†reads: “Judged over a period of time to […]
(Beretta photo, click to see bigger.) by Jay Brendan is a Beretta guy. The guns fit him, he likes them, he has a few. I’m not a Beretta guy, mostly because they don’t fit me. Or haven’t. At Pheasant Fest this year, I walked into the Beretta trailer and – like I always do – […]
Hey…I Can Shoot! by Jay This season – or before the start of bird season – I was going to have my 20ga Citori fitted to me. Even had the appointment to do it. But it was last-minute and I ended up running out of time. Why I wanted to do it was any easy […]
by Dana Farrell “A gun like this, from a gun dealer’s standpoint, has always been a sleeper,†Bryan says. “The BSS has been a tremendously good value, right along with guns like the Winchester 23 – boxlocks made for the American market before SxSs took off. And that’s one of the reasons they never really […]
[This post is by Dana Farrell, a Serious birder who writes about bird hunting, guns and sporting clays from the liberal bastion of Ann Arbor, MI. He spends each autumn in northern Michigan grouse hunting with his Brittany, Woodrow. Email him at tamaracksporting AT comcast DOT net.] In a world of smart phones and laser […]
This week is the SHOT Show, the firearms industry trade show, so it’s announcements galore for companies in that biz. Unfortunately, because the hunting side of the gun industry is dominated by deer, there’s not a whole lot of bird-related stuff. But judging from the gun and its new website, Franchi (believe it’s owned by […]
The 100th Anniversary of L.L. Bean is next year, and you better believe this iconic American outdoor company is going to do a bunch to celebrate. (Unfortunately, our idea of free Setters for everyone wasn’t embraced by Mr. Bean….) One thing they’re doing is producing a variety of 100th Anniversary heritage products, including a canoe, […]
We received an email from a Serious hunter the other day which stated the following. Give it a read, and let us know where you come down on it. I [bought and] patterned a CZ-Upland Hunter what with unsatisfactory results. I then set it up on a bench rest with sandbags. My shotgun patterned the […]
A few years back, Jay transferred a sweet Rizzini 16ga O/U from one Cabela’s gun room to another, and Brendan went along to take a look at it. When Jay got it in his hands, it became painfully apparent that he didn’t take a good enough look at the photos because the gun had two […]
In our grouse book we talk about agonizing over whether to get a first grouse gun with 28″ or 26″ barrels. Would the extra 2 inches be a disadvantage in tight cover or because of the higher weight? Should we try to find one of the rare 24″ guns?
When I (Jay) make my annual pilgrimage to the mall to buy “clothes not needed for hunting,” I have a tough time. I’m not a single size. I’m between a large and a medium up top, my waist is too small and legs too long for many off the rack pants, even my feet are […]
We uplanders talk a lot about dog names, not as much about gun names – you have names for your guns, don’t you? Here’s a good story (condensed version) about a gun named “Bo Whoop.” First saw it discussed in the Autumn 2010 issue of The Upland Almanac, but the whole story is
Have you seen the new Discovery show Sons of Guns? It’s about a bunch of guys (and one gal) who fix, refurbish, custom-build and sell firearms out of a shop called Red Jacket in Baton Rouge, LA. Anyhow, I (Jay) watched it last night and the main project in the episode was producing a custom […]
Just read this article on hunting ruffies in MN this year. So much of it, while well-intentioned, is wrong. Here goes: > The good news is, counts were up 34 percent this spring in parts of northern Minnesota. Counts remained stable in southern Minnesota. This COULD mean that there’s more easy birds (young ones) early […]
Lessons from 2012 Maine-NH Hunt
Don’t know if we’ve fully recovered yet from our not-quite-a-week of hunting Maine and New Hampshire for ruffies and woodies. We all actually bailed 2 days early, having put in 5 consecutive days instead of our usual 7. Felt like wimps about it, but hey, we were BEAT…from 5 days of the most brutal hunting […]
No Grouse Comeback in SW Penn?
Sounds like ruffed grouse will never be as much a part of the landscape of southern Pennsylvania as they once will. “Never” sounds ominous. Permanent. But that’s the conclusion of an article by Bob Frye in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Why should you care if you don’t live or hunt in PA? Reasons: > Pennsylvania is […]
Hey: All Ruffies Drum Differently!
Did you know that? Not until now…. This info won’t help us hunting, but it’s interesting – and makes sense. Here’s more, from newscientist.com: Male ruffed grouse are the first animals known to make unique non-vocal sounds. Humans and many other animals, particularly birds, can be identified by their voices. But no one had looked […]
Ran across this quote from an article about Iowa’s pheasant count: > “I haven’t even gone pheasant hunting the last couple of years because the birds just weren’t there,†said Tim Wolf, a 61-year-old bank president who lives in Waukee. YES THEY WERE! They most definitely were there. Maybe not like this… > “But I’ve […]
Top 10 Reasons To Go to Phez Fest
Pheasants/Quail Forever’s Pheasant Fest/Quail Classic is coming up soon at KC, MO (see info in right column), and just in case you’re thinking it’s too far or whatever, here are the Top 10 – really just 10 of many – reasons to go. We’re doing it Letterman-style, 10 to 1. 10. What else are you […]
Across the Pond Bird Follies, Vids
Ah the UK, the land that gave the world 17 pieces of silverware on the table, animal rights and other questionable stuff. Okay, it wasn’t all bad – that’s where our bird hunting came from too. But it’s different here…or there, depending on your perspective. Here’s some recent bird news plus some interesting vids. Katie […]
Do Congress, Tea Party Hate Pheasants?
We make it a point to try not to get suckered by political hoo-ha, so that’s not what this is about. We ran across a blog post on the Discovery-owned treehugger.com titled “Why Does Congress Hate Pheasants?” and a related one, “Do Tea Party, Heritage Foundation Oppose Hunting?” Interesting stuff, written by the same gent, […]
Quail, the most beleaguered of our beloved gamebirds, is getting a helping hand in Kansas. Or rather, a bigger helping hand. The state just announced that it’s “launching a new quail restoration initiative aimed at making a difference in declining bobwhite quail populations at a landscape level.” Here’s more: > Includes the designation of two […]
Worms and Birds: What Else Don’t We Know?
Believe we’ve talked about this at least once, but a recent Wall Street Journal article on the plight of Texas quail got us thinking about it again. Here’s the applicable stuff: …Rolling Hills Quail Research Ranch, a 4,700-acre spread an hour west of Abilene. Last month, researchers there found that the levels of parasitic worms […]
Top 10 Reasons To Go to Phez Fest
Pheasants/Quail Forever’s Pheasant Fest/Quail Classic is coming up soon at KC, MO (see info in right column), and just in case you’re thinking it’s too far or whatever, here are the Top 10 – really just 10 of many – reasons to go. We’re doing it Letterman-style, 10 to 1. 10. What else are you […]
Lone Star Outdoor news recently carried an article on a speech given by Dr. Dale Rollins of the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch near Rotan, Texas. Seems that a major threat to quail, at least in the Lone Star state, may be an eyeball worm. News to us! Highlights: > Especially mysterious were the continued […]
