I had discussed the history of the Boylston Sportsmen's Club in Boylston, Massachusetts, the oldest continuously operating skeet club in the world; and the current shooting activities of skeet, modern skeet and hunter's skeet (club shooting games).
A gentleman seated at one of the tables called out, "I know you ― do you remember me?" -
I said, "Sir, with all due respect, I do not."
"I even remember your twin brother, Ed."
That quickly got my attention since Ed has not been with us for some time.
I approached the gentleman as he offered, "Do you remember Miss O'Brien, Miss Shea, Mrs.
Morrison?"
I wondered, whoa! Where is this guy going with these names?
"Sir, I do not."
"May Street Grade School. We went to grade school together back in the '40s."
I couldn't even recall what they served us for breakfast here, and this guy wanted me to remember my grade schoolteachers from 80 years ago?
He proceeded to offer the nostalgia of years gone by then interrupted himself.
"I have a shotgun in my closet at home that was my dad's, and I am hoping you can take the time to look at it."
Now, whether for writing about or purchasing, I am always interested in "closet guns" that were used in years gone by. He invited me to visit his home nearby after the presentation.
Once I was seated, he retrieved the gun. The name on the aged, abused leather trunk case was not his family name but had the aura of being something special. As he unstrapped and lifted the lid, the maker's label caught my eye:
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Tail feathers - STANDARDS AND PRACTICES
\"An armed society is a polite society,\" the NRA says in one of its dicta, cribbed from Robert A. Heinlein, a 20th-century American science fiction writer.
Day's End - IN PRAISE OF FENCEROWS
Driving north along the Hudson River, I gazed at a pastoral autumn scene: sere fields of faded yellow harvested corn, stubbly and broken amongst the clods of black earth, almost smooth from my vantage point. Spiky brown veins of wild growth marked barriers between plots. Occasionally, the gray bones of a mature oak rose among the brown shrubs to stand over the yellow fields. A sentry, keeping silent watch as white frost crystals slowly melted into invisibility.
That Time of Year Again
Without doubt. The most idyllic form of hunting in Ohio is seeking the woodcock. - Merrill Gilfallan, Moods of the Ohio Moons: An Outdoorsman's Almanac (1991)
I Don't Wanna'!
I'm an old hand at being retired, though - have been practicing for 25 years.
Hunting the Huns: Alberta's Big Sky Country
The prairies of southern Alberta are vast, beautiful and full of prime bird habitat. Crop fields are interspersed with abandoned farms, rolling hills are intersected by coulees and creek beds, and Hungarian partridge and sharptailed grouse occupy some of the best and most picturesque habitat on the continent.
Side Dish - End of Season
Sporting trips are not only about sport, as many other experiences are discovered alongside. And my trip to Lakewood Camps in Maine was certainly just that.
AN EXTENDED STAY
There is no reason to leave Michigan in the fall unless the opportunity of a cast and blast adventure at a historic sporting lodge in Maine comes calling.
KEEP IT HANDY
If you think shooting a ruffed grouse on the wing with a shotgun is tough, try shooting one in flight with a still camera.
A Longtime Love Affair
It's possible to hunt your favorite birds in a lot of different places, I suppose, but I don't do that.
Profile of an Artist: Harley Bartlett
Harley Bartlett was born in 1959 near Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. However, having lived in Rhode Island for most of his life he considers himself a Rhode Islander.
