Wyoming Preps to Defy Feds with Grizzly Hunt
WYOMING – No stranger to flaunting state control over federal oversight, Wyoming lawmakers passed legislation that would by all intent allow a grizzly bear hunting season even as the animal is under federal protection. It remains to be seen whether Senate File...
2019 Awards of Excellence
Sporting Classics 17th annual Awards of Excellence salute the best of the best—those companies and individuals whose products and services are having a significant and long-lasting impact on our sporting lives. Nominees for the 2019 awards were submitted by our senior...
Borrowing Gator Eggs
One day while in high school, my daughter suggested she was considering a major in wildlife biology in college. Since college majors are something one should try on for size before buying, I suggested we spend a day in the field with Walt. She agreed. Walt Rhodes and...
The Hipster Invasion
We stood in the elevator, he and I, and from a distance one would think we were friends. We both had Filson bags, wore L.L. Bean boots, and Carhartt jackets. The only visible differences were that he sported a moustache and a beard while I was clean shaven, and my...
A World War II Veteran Carried Special Memories of the Outdoors to the Very End
By Brent Lawrence, a public affairs officer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific Region in Portland, Oregon. My Dad passed away on Dec. 22nd. A 90-year-old World War II veteran, he had a stroke on Halloween morning and it significantly affected his ability...
St. Croix Rod Celebrates 60th Anniversary of the Iconic Premier Series
Park Falls, WI - In an industry where fishing rod models seem to come and go, the story of St. Croix’s Premier series (casting and spinning) is an exceptional tale of creativity, rebirth, and longevity. In fact, 2019 marks a celebratory 60 years that the rod has been...
A Mauser for Mere Mortals?
The M18 “People’s Rifle” For over one hundred and fifty years the Mauser name has been synonymous with robust quality and high-end craftsmanship. Their rifles built on controlled-round-feed actions have been the standard for hunters requiring absolute reliability...
First African Black Panther In A Century Spotted In Kenya
Biologists observed the elusive animal, last recorded in Africa more than a century ago, after months of searching and waiting. Nick Pilfold, a global conservation scientist with the San Diego Zoo, said that he and his team captured footage of the animal at Laikipia...
Survivor Describes Hand-to-Claw Combat with Big Cat
Travis Kauffman, the man attacked by a mountain lion during a run in Colorado on February 4th explained how he suffocated the young cat — and survived with minimal injuries. The incident took place on at Horsetooth Mountain Open Space in Larimer County. Kauffman,...
Browning’s New A5 Sweet 16: How Sweet It Is
Browning’s new A5 Sweet 16 semi-auto revives a classic and creates an upland hunter’s dream gun. Officially launched in 2016, the latest reincarnation of the Sweet 16 harkens back to a day when the 16 gauge was in its heyday. The original Sweet 16 first hit stores in...
Announcing Our 2019 March April Issue
Features: Dangerous Berries Trouble can lurk most anywhere in bear country. Roger Pinckney Lightning! Hunters and anglers are vulnerable to these deadly bolts from the blue. John Ross East of the Sun & West of the Moon World-class fishing and hunting in the Andes....
It’s Fair Game at SEWE
For the second year in a row, Matt and Ted Lee are leading the SEWE cooking stage demos in partnership with S.C. Department of Agriculture. The Certified South Carolina stage events will take place in Marion Square Friday through Saturday beginning at 11 a.m., and...
Walther Introduces Innovative Money Back Guarantee Program
What is normally the first thing you are told at the gun store when you buy a new gun? Normally, no returns. If you don’t like that gun once you take it home and shoot it, you’re either stuck with the gun or you’re going to lose half your money trying to sell it....
Jarrett can make your old rifle shoot like new again. Probably better.
Recently, I had the pleasure of hunting at Donald Hill’s Oak Creek Ranch in Missouri. Before heading out, I contacted Jay Jarrett at Jarrett Rifles about refurbishing my Beanfield .280. We had to scramble but Jay managed to get it back to me a few days before my trip....
Sportsmen’s Bills Pass Senate
MISSOULA, Mont. (February 13, 2019) - The Boone and Crockett Club, the oldest wildlife conservation group in the U.S., today praised the Senate's passage of the Natural Resources Management Act (S. 47), a bipartisan package of bills that includes several key pieces of...
SEWE’s Women On The Water
SEWE’s Cast Net Demo at Brittlebank Park on Friday will be lead by Kelsey Dick and Tia Clark. Both women turned their sportsmanship into entrepreneurial interest in 2018. Tia Clark calls herself The Casual Crabber. She came to notoriety in 2018 when her Airbnb...
Small Ducks and Big Memories
“So, what are you guys thinking?” Will asks Austin and Luke, our guides, from the other side of the pit blind. The guides, constantly scanning the horizon, give a hopeful mumble and continue looking for the big groups of teal that should be there. We are in central...
The Last Best Day
He stood cold in the gathering dawn, peering deep into the chilled, flowing water. A sudden shiver ran through him, partly from the fresh winter wind and partly from the thrill he felt every time he came back to this secluded little stream. He had looked forward to...
How Living With a Labrador Retriever in Brooklyn, New York Inspired Me to Start Girls With Gundogs
Two years ago, I was living in an apartment in the basement of a brownstone in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I was working in private practice as a psychiatric nurse practitioner and spending most of my weekends driving two hours both ways to upstate New York to do something...
SEWE 2019 Set to Be A Feather In Your Cap
Sporting Classics is heading to SEWE to bring you all the fun, but there’s still time to get tickets to several events which sell out every year. The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition began to help fill the calendar of Charleston’s low season while promoting wildlife...
Going Back to Our Outdoor Roots
When I was a youngster growing up in northeast Texas, we fished strictly with cane poles that we cut from a stand of switch cane that grew near the back of our little farm. We usually kept a 12-foot Calcutta pole or two for when we needed to really reach out from the...
Wyoming Man Charged for Poaching 114 Deer & Antelope
A Sheridan County resident has been charged with two misdemeanors and nine felonies for wanton destruction of big game animals. Gregg Lambdin, a 62-year-old Sheridan resident turned himself into the Sheridan County Sheriff’s office on Tuesday. The first two charges,...
Henry Repeating Arms Chosen as Firearms Museum Collector’s Series
CODY, WY – January 28, 2019 – The Cody Firearms Museum boasts the most comprehensive collection of American firearms in the world, and their new Collector’s Series gives the public the opportunity to own collectible firearms inspired by prized pieces in their...
Outdoor Opportunities Boost Wyoming Economy
WYOMING – Hunters, anglers and wildlife watchers in Wyoming contributed more than $1 billion to Wyoming’s economy during 2017, according to a new analysis by the University of Wyoming. It’s a 2.3 percent increase from 2016, attributed to more people heading outdoors....
Virginia is for Lovers of Fly Fishing and Wine
A flurry of snow didn’t stop new and seasoned fly anglers from venturing to the annual Virginia Fly Fishing and Wine Festival at the Meadow Event Park in Doswell, Virginia. With 19 years of operation under its belt, the festival has grown into “one of the largest...
Colorado Runner Suffocates Mountain Lion During Attack
An unidentified man is recovering in a Fort Collins-area hospital after he killed a mountain lion in self-defense after the animal attacked him Monday afternoon at Horsetooth Mountain Park. Rebecca Ferrell, a spokeswoman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, tells The...
SEWE Partners in Conservation Raffle
Choose from eight packages curated especially for SEWE! Raffle tickets can be purchased toward one or more packages of your choice. All items will be on display at the Ducks Unlimited Raffle Tent at Brittlebank Park throughout SEWE. Single tickets are $50 each. Bonus...
Enter to win a Traeger Pro-Series 22 Pellet Grill!
FEATURES OVERVIEW Digital Pro Controller with AGL Dual Meat Temperature Probes Extra Grill Rack 18 lbs. of hopper capacity Hopper Clean Out Sawhorse Chassis Side Lift Bar All-Terrain Wheels Easy to clean porcelain grill grates Powerful steel construction and durable...
Behind the High Fence
I hadn’t stepped inside a high fence since 1980. That’s when I had the chance to hunt Blue Mountain Forest, aka Corbin Park, in New Hampshire. The boars, whitetails and elk inside the enclosure had close to 27,000 acres of totally wild terrain. I actually went up...
Bipartisan Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Leaders Introduce Bill to Modernize the Pittman-Robertson Act
January 31, 2019 (Washington, DC) - Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus (CSC) Co-Chair Congressman Austin Scott (GA), along with fellow CSC leaders Representatives Marc Veasey (TX), Debbie Dingell (MI), and Richard Hudson (NC), introduced the Modernizing the...
Tawakoni Blues
Four monstrous blue catfish with a combined weight of over 233 pounds, for an average of nearly 60-pounds – all in a morning’s fishing trip. “If you can find a day to put aside your Ruger/Trijicon/Hornady combo and come of out the deer woods, you need to meet me at...
The Starry Place Between the Antlers
The Starry Place Between the Antlers: Columbia Celebrates James Dickey www.jamesdickeyweekend.com/ Thursday, March 7 On the big stage at Trustus: THE INTERVIEW recreates the last unpublished James Dickey interview followed by the screening of the James Dickey classic,...
DU Recognizes 2019 World Wetlands Day
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Cities around the world will be celebrating World Wetlands Day (WWD) on Saturday, Feb. 2, and Ducks Unlimited (DU) is adding its voice to raise awareness of this important day. Since 1937, DU has conserved more than 14 million acres of wetlands and...
ALERT: National Wildlife Federation needs help to protect Boundary Waters
Moose depend on healthy lakes and wetlands for survival, like the vast and unspoiled Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Superior National Forest in Minnesota. Just over two years ago, wildlife supporters helped block the opening of a massive sulfide ore mine in...
Whiskey Mountain Bighorn Sheep Collaboration Gets Underway
JACKSON HOLE, WYO – The Wyoming Game and Fish Department in partnership with the Wyoming Wild Sheep Foundation, the National Bighorn Sheep Interpretive Center, and the University of Wyoming’s Ruckleshaus Institute is announcing a public engagement process to explore...
Northern Tier Part 2
At -18° the human body fails. Organs shut down. The brain ceases to function. Blood solidifies. At least that’s what I thought. The staff at Northern Tier High Adventure Camp in Ely, Minnesota seemed to know otherwise and quickly put me and Boy Scout Troop 137 to work...
Live from 2019 SHOT Show
Co-Founder of TRACT Optics, Jon Lacorte, (left) accepts the Optics Award of Excellence from Sporting Classics Senior Editor Ron Spomer. Senior Editor Doug Painter, (right) presents Steve Lovell of Garmin the Sporting Lifestyle Award of Excellence. CEO of Steyr Arms...
Escape to Cabin Bluff
I will always cherish the days spent along this historic stretch of the south-Georgia coast, where the currents of friendship forever run deep. I was tired. Very tired. Pleasingly, pleasantly tired after another long and gratifying day following the pointers and...
Mississippi Woman Bags 2 Deer With 1 Shot at 101 Years Old
MORGANTOWN, Miss. — A 101-year-old hunter in Mississippi is still at it, and even dropped two deer with one shot. Veteran hunter Bertha Vickers made the twofer during her first successful hunt at age 101, the Clarion Ledger reported . Getting two in one a few days...
Tahr-iffic Spring Break New Zealand Hunt!
First appeared in Ron Spomer Outdoors. A New Zealand hunt for Himalayan tahr, red stags, and chamois is the perfect spring break because March is early autumn in the southern hemisphere. Mountain tahr are easily accessible in snow-free zones. Red stags are roaring,...
Live From DSC: SC Awards of Excellence
2019 Handguns Awards of Excellence: Kimber 2019 Company of the Year: Hornady 2019 Hunting Lodge of the Year: Branded Rock Canyon 2019 Sporting Properties: LandLeader
Editor’s note: Where you can find PennHip screening for CHD
On January 10th, 2019, a story by Shawn Wayment DVM concerning canine hip dysplasia (CHD) appeared in Sporting Classics Daily. The article describes a new screening protocol called PennHip. One of our readers asked how she could locate a vet who offers this. Good...
National Wildlife’s 2018 Photo Contest Winners
DEVOTION TO DETAIL and an eye for light. Immense patience and technical skill. A bit of luck and a deep respect for nature. These gifts and more help photographers transform what might be ordinary moments into indelible scenes that help us understand and appreciate...
Eva Shockey’s Outdoor Digital Series is a Major Hit
Eva Shockey should be a familiar name for hunters and non-hunters alike. Originally from Vancouver Island, Canada, Shockey has charted her own hunting course here in the U.S., largely with the help of social media. She’s not simply the daughter of renowned hunter Jim...
Things That Make You Say “Hmmm”
When I fish alone, I sometimes slip into a meditative state. It’s as if I concentrate so intently upon the water before me that the mechanics of casting, mending, and reacting use a portioned section of my brain. The rest drifts on its own with no sense of time, no...
37th Annual Southeastern Wildlife Exposition February 15-17, 2019
Since 1983, Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE) has proudly presented the finest in wildlife art and the sporting life. Held in Charleston, South Carolina, SEWE is one of the largest and longest running art event of its kind and has become known as the premier...
Off Grid with Ralph and Vicki
Lanark, Illinois - Archer’s Choice Media® along with Pete Rogers Outdoors announces the airing of Off Grid with Ralph and Vicki™ Podcast hosted by Pete Rogers. Off Grid with Ralph and Vicki™ will be hosted by longtime outdoor writer photographer and speaker, Pete...
SCI Receives Sporting Classics Award
Duncan Grant, Publisher, and Doug Painter, Senior Editor, of Sporting Classics magazine presented Safari Club International with the 2019 Sporting Heritage Award of Excellence in their 17th annual Awards of Excellence salute. Nominees for the 2019 competition were...
Canine Hip Dysplasia and PennHip
Robert G. Wehle wrote something in his excellent book Snakefoot: The Making of a Champion that has really struck me. His idea is that if you breed a dog for athletic function and not for structure (conformation), you are less likely to see orthopedic developmental...
Live From SCI-Reno: SC Awards of Excellence
Sporting Classics Publisher Duncan Grant (right) and Senior Editor Doug Painter present the magazine's 2019 Shooting Sports Award of Excellence to Pam Young, owner of Alamo Sporting Arms. Sporting Classics Publisher Duncan Grant (right) and Senior Editor Doug Painter...