The Shooter’s Bench
One of the uniformed employees at the upscale shooting club was cleaning an over/under shotgun. I asked if it was one of the rental...
Scattershot
Cold Hard Facts
If you like snow, ice and extremely cold weather, go to Alaska. If you want expert Alaskan advice on cold-weather care and optimizing performance...
Modern Gun-Butt Treatments
In the November/December 2021 issue, we explored the evolution of gunstock-butt finishing—tracing the development of recoil pads, buttplates, and heel and toe plates in...
Changes in Dog Training
Bill and I cantered through the piney woods, and when we came to the clearing, I reined my walking horse to a stop. “You...
How to Improve Your Duck Shooting
In the early days of sporting clays, some clubs set stations where you sat in a tippy boat surrounded by decoys while they threw...
Fabulous Pheasants
From a distance, I saw Rick’s springer push the bird into the air. The pheasant staggered at the shot, dropped a leg and kept...
Preventing Soft-Tissue Injuries
Is that just a little limp or hitch in the gait, or is your hard-charging bird dog about to succumb to a season-ending soft-tissue...
Brains Before Brawn
Not that long ago it was customary to wait to train a gundog until it was a couple of years old. Maybe the thought...
Browning A5 Hunter 20-Gauge
John Moses Browning’s Auto-5 set the standard for semi-automatic shotguns. Introduced in 1902, the long-recoil Auto-5 enjoyed an illustrious run until it was discontinued...
The Traveling Wingshooter
In my career as a shooting instructor and guide, I have had the opportunity to travel to a good part of the wingshooting world—14...
Prepare to Peak: Getting Your Gundog Ready for the Season
In mid-April 1996, the night before Patriot’s Day, Jeff Doyle told me he wouldn’t be at the dock at 3 am to go fishing....
‘Re-Booting’ An Upland-Boot Guide
Putting upland boots through the paces With upland hunters, there’s no piece of gear that takes a worse beating than boots. When pushing through...