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Editor’s Note by Ralph Stuart
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“Resistance is futile.”
So would come the warning from Star Trek’s Borg each time the aliens were preparing to assimilate new beings into their collective. And each time Kirk and crew would do everything in their power to resist—their protestations always just enough to avoid the inevitable.
These days I can’t help but think of the Borg when I consider social media. Time and again I hear people say that they have zero interest in jumping on the digital bandwagon, but then they realize that if they don’t get on board, they’ll be left in the dust. Of course, the difference between the Borg and social media is that becoming integrated with the latter is not a bad thing. There’s a lot to be said for sharing information and forming communities of like-minded people. In fact, different aspects of social media go beyond pure entertainment and can be downright helpful. It’s a matter of knowing where to look and how to apply proper filters once you get there.
In the past year Shooting Sportsman has become much more focused on our social efforts. We have learned that by reaching out to a larger audience through electronic channels, we can help generate more interest in wingshooting and bring more shooters into the fold.
We are so serious about growing our online communities that we recently brought on a team to help. Nat Brooks and Tom Sternal are co-founders of The Cordite Company, which offers media strategies and content development to the sporting industry. Both are avid bird hunters and target shooters and know how to tell compelling stories through words and images. They are excited to provide material of value and create a presence with purpose.
Their influence is already being felt on our Facebook and Instagram pages, and as we head into hunting season we’re looking forward to building things further through contests, photographer “takeovers” and great stories of adventures afield. Be sure to check out the efforts and follow along.
While you’re online, you’ll also want to visit our Reader Photo Gallery, where you can view—and contribute. Or participate on our new-and-improved Bulletin Board. And don’t forget to sign up for our electronic newsletter, Shooting Sportsman Insider. So many ways to keep in touch and informed.
Because remember: What you resist persists.
Features
Sharptails of the Badlands
Hard-earned ‘chickens’ in North Dakota
By Tom Davis
Fausti Turns 70
Celebrating a gunmaking milestone
By Silvio Calabi
By-Coastal Pheasants
V1 Ranch offers upland hunting near the Pacific
By Gary Kramer
An Engraver of ‘Bests’
The mysterious Purdey engraver Aristide Barré
By Douglas Tate
Mountain Trifecta
Up-and-down hunting for the Northwest’s ‘forgotten’ grouse
By E. Donnall Thomas Jr.
Departments
From the Editor
An invitation to explore our digital efforts
Letters
More celebrations of setters and a gun-cleaning question
The Opener
A rare opportunity at a wide-open woodcock
Game & Gun Gazette
Purdey’s new Trigger Plate gun, West Nile Virus, Gordy & Sons brush pants and more
Gun Review
The Fabarm Elos D2: one beautifully balanced shooter
By Bruce Buck
Field Gear
A selection that serves in the uplands
By The Editors
Going Public
Minnesota’s Walk-In Access program
By Greg Hoch
Going Places
Something for everyone at Alabama’s Pursell Farms
Miles Demott
To the Point
The great debate: pointing dog or flusher?
By Tom Huggler
Scattershot
Great advice for the sporting life
Gear Guide
All-in-one collars for locating & training
By Greg Mcreynolds
Shooting
Remembering a “proper”-dove-shoot introduction
By Chris Batha
From the Bench
Bringing back a J.D. Dougall hammergun
By Delbert Whitman Jr.
Shot Talk
A bevy of new loads from Kent Cartridge
By Tom Roster
Hunting Dogs
The cruel realities of canine cancer
By Marty Grabijas
Conservation
Getting fired up about prescribed burning
By Miles Demott
On the cover: A ruffed grouse photographed by Jim McCann
Additional photos: Chris Siefken; Andrew Orr/Holt’s Auctioneers; Wide-Open Woodcock by Dean Pearson
