Category: Ammo/shells
We realize that people bid hunt the way they want to, which may not be the most productive way to do it. That’s fine…but that’s not for us. We’re always looking for every advantage we can get. So a brief reference in a recent issue of Field & Stream led us to a couple articles […]
Field & Stream recently had a rundown of “New Gear for Waterfowl, Turkey and Upland Bird Hunting in 2012,” aka new gear from the SHOT Show in annoying slideshow form. Once again, we save you the trouble by running down our favorites of theirs. We do wonder how much cool stuff was missed or didn’t […]
Did you see the article titled “Cold Weather and Shotshells” in the Nov/Dec issue of Shooting Sportsman? Interesting stuff. Makes us think we really need to pattern our guns when it’s cold out. Never thought to do it. Here are some quotes…and check out that cover below. Does that Lab look huge or what?! > […]
Here’s a brief report to all from Tim Brandt, a fellow Serious bird hunter. Tim lives in Minnesota, is a ruffed grouse fiend and actually gets paid to hunt (!) since he’s the PR guy at Federal Premium Ammunition. (In fact, if you ever watch the Duck Commander show, you might have seen him on […]
What if you were a Serious grouse hunter and had the opportunity to take a serious pheasant- and quail-chaser into the grouse woods for a virgin trip. Would you be licking your chops? Issuing warnings? Secretly laughing inside? Well, that’s what Bob St. Pierre recently did, and we got the scoop on it. Bob is […]
We love the facts that Federal 1) pushes the envelope in shotshells, 2) made a unique pheasant shell that works as advertised (Prairie Storm), 3) donates money to Pheasants Forever for every box sold of Prairie Storm and 4) is a company that actually comes out with new upland products – they haven’t given up […]
We get forwarded this email from Field & Stream that says it has a link to the Ultimate Bird Hunting Shotshell Guide. We’re skeptical of all such claims, but decide to check it out because, hey, we hunt birds! But we’re fully aware that these things are worded to get us to click, and might […]
Last month we asked for your thoughts about designing the ultimate ruffed grouse shells (plural). Based on those comments (thanks!) plus ones in a shotgunworld.com thread we started, we wanted to update things – from our perspective, of course. In no particular order:
We’re in the process of designing our own shells for ruffed grouse. “Designing” doesn’t mean the engineering parts since neither of us is a reloader. It means the specs. Why are we doing it? Hunters can find upland shells and pheasant shells – and even shells designed for the different clay disciplines – but no […]
“Where were you?” “Behind.” We’ve said that to each other on sporting clays courses and in the field more times than we care to remember – “behind” as in behind the bird. If only we had 20 shots and tracer rounds so, like members of our esteemed armed forces, we could walk the rounds into […]
Once in a while we run across articles or op-eds like the one that appeared recently in the Des Moines Register. The points generally are that lead is no longer necessary in ammo thanks to lead alternatives, and that lead in game harms wildlife and people: No matter how careful one is with cleaning the […]
If you get The Upland Almanac – we guess the “The” is pronounced like “The” Ohio State University (lol) – you will have seen the following table in the Flushes section of the Spring 2011 issue. Question is, what does it tell us?
You guys know that being Serious means staying on top of the latest and greatest gear. Which we do – except in the case of Federal Premium shotshells. This is one party we’re embarrassingly late to.
Off to MN! Here’s a partial list of what we learned hunting the opening week of the Maine grouse season – partial because we’re sure we’re forgetting something.
Well, blimey: Last Friday the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency denied a petition that asked it to ban the production and sale of lead ammunition and fishing tackle. So round 1 of this battle – you are nuts if you think there won’t be a round 2, 3, etc.! – goes to us Neanderthals. Steve Owens, […]
If you’ve shot Winchester AA shells, we don’t need to explain how good they are. If you haven’t shot them before, or much, run out to a Cabela’s – call and check first! – and buy a case for $84.99, send in the $20 mail-in rebate and thus get the case for just $64.99! That’s […]
This is a big deal, folks. A couple of “want to change the world” green groups are seeking to change a national law, put control of ammunition under a federal department rather than Congress and get rid of ALL lead ammo in one shot. In less than 90 days and counting. Hunters and anglers are […]
Hopefully you have been reading about the greenies (environmental groups) walking into the White House with an agenda and walking out with policies that are geared to hinder or stop hunting and fishing. The latest front to open up in this war – it is a war – is lead ammunition. All lead ammunition, everywhere […]
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 […]
