![Along the Trail of the Swamp Fox: Hunting Woodcock in South Carolina](https://cdn.magzter.com/1409082599/1679685285/articles/hutfZpKNc1679903513672/ALONG-THE-TRAIL-OF-THE-SWAMP-FOX-HUNTING-WOODCOCK-IN-SOUTH-CAROLINA.jpg)
The Gibson character is patterned after the real-life Brigadier General Francis Marion, aka “the Swamp Fox,” who hid in the swamps and resorted to guerrilla warfare to help the American army win the campaign in the South. As in the movie, the British sent Colonel Banastre Tarleton to capture or kill Marion, but Tarleton gave up and swore: “As for this damned old fox, the Devil himself could not catch him.”
When my friend Matt Lee invited my brother Shawn and me to South Carolina to hunt wintering woodcock in January, I jumped at the opportunity. A lover of grouse hunting and the vast literature on the subject cannot read about grouse without also hearing about the American woodcock. The Deep South permits the hunter to experience woodcock on their own merits. In South Carolina, hunting woodcock means hunting the backwater swamps, the places where Marion sought refuge.
On the first hunt of the trip, Matt drove us through a loblolly pine forest until we came to the edge of a dark-water swamp interspersed with thick-based cypress trees. Matt put down his pointer Deuce and within minutes, he was fast on point on the edge of a cane thicket. As we worked toward his point, a woodcock flushed with the telltale whistling of its wings. Shawn shot at the ghostly apparition. Deuce quickly retrieved the bird to hand. For a bird that migrates thousands of miles each year and inhabits swampy hellholes, these longbilled birds seemed fragile.
Denne historien er fra Spring 2023-utgaven av The Upland Almanac.
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Denne historien er fra Spring 2023-utgaven av The Upland Almanac.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
![Tailfeathers](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/CUbFfK6X_1723628574370/TAILFEATHERS.jpg)
Tailfeathers
The essence of fly fishing, I think I've decided, is time.
![Ten Questions with Tim Flagler, Fly Tyer/Cook Extraordinaire](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/Cy2kZQTXN1723628280689/TEN-QUESTIONS-WITH-TIM-FLAGLER-FLY-TYERCOOK-EXTRAORDINAIRE.jpg)
Ten Questions with Tim Flagler, Fly Tyer/Cook Extraordinaire
Culinary Creations from Gordon Hamersley
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GREY on the Wing
Hands clutching the wheel of a large, lumbering vehicle whose vintage and purpose partially prompted the invention of \"powering steering,\" disengaged the clutch and applied the brakes, bringing it to a stop.
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James Purdey & Sons Ltd.One of London's "Best"
At the conclusion of a recent breakfast meeting of the Shrewsbury Men's Club of Massachusetts, I was packing up my show-and-tell aids after giving a presentation.
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WAWAWAI
I don't chase chukars anymore, but from the time I was 16, chukar hunting had been my favorite bird hunting endeavor.
![A FAIR EXCHANGE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/Rw2Bvrrkc1723627050142/A-FAIR-EXCHANGE.jpg)
A FAIR EXCHANGE
Among the concerns faced by many small community gun clubs here in the Northeast is our inability to attract and maintain new and younger shooters.
![Coming to Heel](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/XmtA6RwJO1723626830675/COMING-TO-HEEL.jpg)
Coming to Heel
I'n the world of gun dogs, it's not unusual that retrievers are taught to heel.
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Bird Dogs - Health Matters
Avoiding Medical Mishaps on the Road
![MATT HART](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1798214/iKD2plnwK1723626175684/MATT-HART.jpg)
MATT HART
Matt Hart, owner, designer and artist of Hartist Metals, is a highly skilled metal sculptor based in the picturesque Catskill Mountains of New York.
![Luigi Franchi Imperial Monte Carlo Extra: One of Italy's "Best" SxS Doubles](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/7434/1351870/0SAiBgwJa1690522419485/LUIGI-FRANCHI-IMPERIAL-MONTE-CARLO-EXTRA-ONE-OF-ITALYS-BEST-SXS-DOUBLES.jpg)
Luigi Franchi Imperial Monte Carlo Extra: One of Italy's "Best" SxS Doubles
As on London’s gun-maker’s row, Italians had skilled craftsmen who made “Best” guns of superb quality