The Joy of Cover Dogs
Cover dogs have stories to tell, just like an ancient New England stone wall.
Pit Blind Geese
Field-hunting geese from a pit blind represents the epitome of waterfowling. Each gust of wind brought the smell of freshly spread cow manure from the cut cornfield below. The maize had been harvested in the fall, and the ducks, geese, turkey and whitetails devoured...
Final Flights
The rivers were overflowing, the feeder streams were gushing and the lowland roads were washed out so I couldn’t get to my woodcock coverts. But I had an idea. The rain poured down for three straight days. It wasn’t a mist or a pitter patter on the tin roof. It was...
Hunting in the Shadows of Edmund Davis
At times I may think I am unique in my hunting approach, yet the reality is I am not. Like many, I follow in the shadows of Edmund Davis. The phone rang listing a number I did not recognize. I answered. “Tom Keer.” “I had the chair.” “Terrific,” I said. “It’s...
Camp: It’s Where We All Want to Be
It’s about creating enough memories to carry us through the other ten months until the leaves turn colorful and we begin all over again. We sportsmen hang our hats in a lot of different places. Sometimes you’ll find us in fishing camps that range from beach shacks to...
A John of All Trades: Winchester’s John Olin
Whether gundogs, shotshells or firearms, John Olin always sought to create the best. The view from John Olin’s clubhouse at Nilo Farms was bleak. The Illinois summer sky was covered in low gray clouds, and the humidity was so high that I wanted it to rain. It took a...
Like an Honest Dog: A Tim Flanigan Book Review
Like an honest dog, it’ll be the standard by which you compare all other upland hunting books. It’s the highest level of praise for a handler to call a dog “honest.” By that handlers mean every time the dog points there is a bird under his nose. Honest...
A City By The Sea
Blackfly Lodge at Schooner Bay anchors a Bahamas community created especially for fishing. On a calm day, the slight slap of the water on the hull of a flats boat has one of two effects on me. If I’m tired, it can lull me into a trance, the kind that...
The Gun Collection
“It was over there, in old furniture stores, junk yards and other out of the way places—where they knew nothing about old guns, and cared less, just so they could sell them at most any price—that some of the real prizes turned up, such as the Sharps coffee mill...