Wing-Shooting Scotland In October

Wing-Shooting Scotland In October

Last October was a special month. I was in Scotland, and for two days I hunted red grouse in the moors near Inverness — one day of driven birds and one day of walk-up. It was the trip of a lifetime with friends and family. Excitement rode beside us as we...
Men And Gun Shops, Like Kids In A Candy Store

Men And Gun Shops, Like Kids In A Candy Store

Boys grow up to be men, but men always stay boys at heart. On a recent gunning trip to Scotland, I witnessed that return to boyish ways. Between driven and walk-up bird hunting days a group of mature, fully grown, adult American males poured into two very high-quality...
Time to Hunt Memories

Time to Hunt Memories

The middle of January is tough on New Hampshire bird hunters. The waterfowl and upland seasons are over, there is a foot or more of snow on the ground, and the temperature is cold. Very cold. It is hard to look forward to spring white geese and turkey hunts when they...
A Week Before Christmas

A Week Before Christmas

One morning, a December long-ago, a week before Christmas, Bob walked into a local store in Millerton, New York. The owner, Phil, a friend, was behind the counter taking care of a customer as Bob came in from the cold. “Late night, Bob,” he said. That wasn’t a...
Winter Goose Hunt, Just Perfect

Winter Goose Hunt, Just Perfect

It was December, and the goose season in New York’s Duchess County had three more weeks to run. This is a winter goose hunt from long ago, where an unexpected hunting partner joined me — after all other companions fell through. In this Yuletide season, we remember...
Canadian Waterfowl – A Red Letter Day

Canadian Waterfowl – A Red Letter Day

I am a New England Ruffed Grouse hunter, and the Western Canadian waterfowl, upland birds and prairies were a new world to me. Sharptail grouse thrive in Saskatchewan and so do those who hunt them. Around Tessier the Sharpies feed in the huge grain fields and shelter...
Duck Hunting – A Tale of Two Marshes

Duck Hunting – A Tale of Two Marshes

Here is the story of two different marshes, on two different continents, gunned within a month of each other. British driven duck shooting versus American over-decoys duck hunting; green, well-watered country versus desert. In November I shot ducks in Scotland, and in...