CATEGORIES

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.

Section 799.2 - EVERYTHING IN THE WOODS WANTS TO EAT A QUAIL (Including Me)

IT IS VERY QUIET HERE on Springhill Plantation, the piece of South Georgia where I have found sanctuary these last few years.

Pages Past - An Outdoor Journal

In a world of the non-stop barrage of political sound bites, the modern news cycle that used to be days in length now seems to be updated every few minutes whether we need it or not. I am old enough to remember when our country's leaders were not media celebrities but statesmen that our nation held in esteem, even if we disagreed with their point of view. Recently, while allowing my dogs to stretch their legs on a warm evening, dusk brewing on the horizon, my mind retreated to a similar evening in my boyhood, July 15, 1979.

Upland Chef - You Shot Some Birds-Now What?

After knocking down a bird or two but before heading into the kitchen, hunters need to answer a question: How do we best prep a bird for cooking? Essentially, there are three approaches, and learning to process and prepare birds for cooking is an art in itself. Each technique informs what cooking method to use.

The Check Cord - Look Beyond the Ribbons and Trophies

The ability to cooperate with training is, in fact, an inherited trait and one that is tragically missing from a great many breeding programs.

Bird Dogs - Health Matters - Canine Heat Stroke

A large, raw-boned, muscular pointer was cruising across a sea of sage in search of the scent of the greater sage grouse with a spectacular view of the Sawtooth Mountains of southern Idaho in the backdrop. The sun was mid-sky, and the dew was dissipating as the pointer cast farther and faster across the landscape.

Tailfeathers

The essence of fly fishing, I think I've decided, is time.

Ten Questions with Tim Flagler, Fly Tyer/Cook Extraordinaire

Culinary Creations from Gordon Hamersley

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.

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.

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

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

I'n the world of gun dogs, it's not unusual that retrievers are taught to heel.

Bird Dogs - Health Matters

Avoiding Medical Mishaps on the Road

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

As on London’s gun-maker’s row, Italians had skilled craftsmen who made “Best” guns of superb quality

An Upland Bird Hunter's Equipment in Need and Equipment Indeed...

From the first year I discovered upland bird hunting in my early teens, my search for the right clothing and equipment began in earnest. All you need to see to support this reality is to look at all the upland clothing and equipment I have stored from ceiling to floor in my garage and sportsman’s closet downstairs

Day's End - Making memories

Has there ever been a bird dog man or woman with a soul so dead that he or she has not been re-energized by the first cool days of September, by the first forecast of frost, by noting the opening days marked on the calendar so many months before?

A SIMPLE PLEASURE: THE HUNT LUNCH

In William Harnden Foster’s classic book, New England Grouse Shooting (1942), for which he wrote the text and provided numerous black-and-white sketches, he includes a wide-ranging catch-all chapter called “Grouse Shooting Outfits

PACKING for Success

I spend a lot of time these days chasing game birds. But it hasn’t always been this way

Shooting FAST and SLOW

Scientists have recently discovered that human brains operate in two settings – a fast, reactionary “fight or flight” mode (System 1) and a slow, considered, contemplative mode (System 2)