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...
The passing of Tom Julian
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Founder, Father and Friend, Tom Julian. The huge outpouring of love, support and prayers during this difficult time are synonymous with how many lives were touched by Tom and the Julian family. Please keep the...
The Bob-Tailed Doe
You have no idea how many times she’s messed me up, mere moments before I was about to shoot a buck. “She’s at it again, or should I say still!” scowled my brother Glenn. “Showed up at my creek blind this morning. She came quartering in, up wind. Soon as she stepped...
Introducing SportDOG Brand X-Series E-Collars
Improving upon our most trusted line of training collars, the X-Series has 21 levels of static correction, giving you even more flexibility and precision when training your sporting dog. In addition to increased levels, all X-Series systems feature tone, vibration,...
First Deer for Wyatt
A bit before dawn, Wyatt Grimmelt and his dad, Tony, had been delivered to their stand along a logging road through a cut over forest by a swamp close to the Edisto River. They were hunting out of Deerfield Plantation, Hugh Walters’ hunting lodge in St. George, S.C....
Long Live the King
Rather than disrespecting a trophy, a bit of tasteful decoration can help to establish him as part of the family. For seven summers, the king enjoyed the adoration of his subjects, the ladies of his court literally fawning before him. His graying cape was stretched...
Canada Pays Hunters To Kill Moose
Canada pays hunters to shoot moose? Just when I think I’ve got modern Homo sapiens figured out, they muddy the waters. Consider the $731,000 Canadians have spent hiring First Nations people — Mi’kmaq hunters, according to the news report I read — to “hunt” moose that...
Announcing the Winner of the Wren & Ivy Duffle Giveaway
Congratulations to Mike Murphy for winning the Wren & Ivy Duffle Giveaway. Be sure to follow and subscribe to Sporting Classics Daily for your chance to win our next prize!
It Was the Dog’s Fault
December 17th, 2018 Mrs. William Crawford Grant 102 Gold Street, Cloud City, Heaven Dear Grandmother, I apologize. Yes, I know you said never hunt or fish on Sundays. Yes, ma’am you raised me better than that. But I was thinking that you might make an exception just...
Field Dispatch – The Hunting Commute of 1/2/19
As six wood ducks banked and dropped low over the head of Lukas Allen this morning, I could sense the impatience with his watch. Only a few more minutes listening to that whiny whistling and the rapid but somehow synchronized beating of wings before things would be...
Hunting the Bezoar Ibex
Bezoar ibex average 140 pounds and possess extremely long, characteristically knobby horns in relation to body size, making it one of the most attractive members of the ibex family. With my rifle resting on a suitcase-sized boulder, I could not get situated for a shot...
Not Your Average Outdoor Influencer
In the age of social media, few outdoor accounts truly stand out and leave one feeling inspired. In an increasingly crowded space, authenticity is quite rare. The rise of outdoor influencers has equally good and bad consequences—with the latter getting more attention....
Some time, before it’s all said and done, treat yourself to Delphi
It is not hyperbole to say that to be at Delphi Lodge in Connemara, the furthest outpost of Ireland’s greatest western region, is to be surely alive. Be it just barely, it isn’t quite kitsch to talk about such a place in so romantic a voice. Delphi’s poetry is earned....
Modern Fish Act Headed to the White House
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the Modern Fish Act. Officially known as the Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2017, the passage is a major victory for the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and our...
Ringing Anticosti’s Bell
A late November nor’easter bludgeoned Anticosti into patinaed greys and smoky lodens. Squalling bands of horizontal snow bowed tall and scraggly firs hard to lee. Foot thick epaulets of heavy rime worn by branches of stubby spruce would have glisten had there been the...
12 Year Old Boy Takes First Elk Thanks to NFL QB
Other than a BB gun, 12-year-old John Gegen had never fired a rifle of any kind. That is, until he went on a recent elk hunt to Colorado where he shot and dropped a nice bull. That adventure happened thanks to Carson Wentz, quarterback of the Super Bowl champion...
Announcing Our 2019 January February Issue
Cover Photo: Jungle Impasse by John Seerey-Lester Features: TRUE BLUE With each of us, Grandma passed on her love for nature, hunting and the color of blue. Dr. T. C. Jennings DUEL ON TABERNACLE MOUNTAIN Partridge and setter, each born to best the other. Mike Gaddis...
The Blaser F16 Intuition is the Women’s Shotgun from Germany
Think of the Blaser F16 Intuition as the classic power suit of women’s shotguns. Free of gimmicks and doo-dads, the Blaser F16 Intuition’s plain gun-metal gray receiver is accessorized by only a discreet logo. If you appreciate understated over/unders that exude...
Elk Hunt at Two-Ocean Pass
TR was especially pleased with the bull, but what he couldn’t know was that he would bag eight more elk, including an even bigger trophy. Clad in buckskin hunting shirt, moccasins and leggings, the hunter crept silently toward the bull elk and his harem as they grazed...
Parker Bows says Goodbye
From Parker Bows - Parker Bows has made the difficult decision to cease operations. We have explored what we believe to be all possible options to continue operations in one form or another but to no avail. It has truly been an honor to have been a part of your...
Why We Miss Birds in Upland Hunting
The pointer was facing me, and I could see that he was locked up tighter than a tick. His head was high, his tail set was ramrod straight, and there was no question there was a covey of quail under his nose. The birds were between him and me, and since it was my turn...
Your Next Must-Have Rifle Accessory
The Spartan Precision Rifle Bipod Is Built For Hunters By Hunters. Let’s face it, as hunters we love gadgets. It’s why our closets are always so cramped, and our garages look like a sporting version of the junkyard on Sanford and Son. We tinker, we modify, we hoard....
Avedon & Colby’s New All-Terrain Field Pants
Deliver Performance and Function Without Sacrificing Quality, Comfort and Style (Black Earth, WI) Avedon & Colby has introduced the ultimate All-Terrain Field Pant. Sewn from a combination of 7 oz. and 10 oz. 100% cotton All-Terrain canvas, the new pants offer all...
Duncan Dobie’s Dawn of American Deer Hunting: Volume II
Order online at www.SportingClassicsStore.com, or call 800-849-1004. Duncan Dobie’s first Dawn of American Deer Hunting has been a best-seller among deer enthusiasts and hunters. Now, Volume II is even bigger and grander. The new book features 240 pages with nearly...
In Pursuit of the Beceite Ibex
Slowly negotiating our way over the side of a dangerously steep, boulder-ridden mountain, we spied a herd of ibex in the distance, feeding on the same slope. With daylight fading on a dangerously rocky slope in the Beceite Mountains of Spain, pessimism ran rampant in...
Degrees of Skunked
The stream we call Humility Creek gives up trout grudgingly on good days. This was not a good day. The water trickled at half its spring flow while fish shivered with closed mouths. Icicles hung from banks where water seeped. I had tried teasing fish with streamers in...
Wildlife Habitat Management Wins in Court
MISSOULA, Mont.—A U.S. District Court judge ruled a habitat management project in west-central Montana designed to benefit wildlife will go forward as planned. The Johnny Crow Project will utilize prescribed burning and the removal of invasive junipers into grasslands...
The Magic Hour
The sun is setting on a brilliant hunting career. Though his big game hunting bag isn’t particularly mixed, it is well stocked. A couple of pronghorn antelope, one empty elk tag. Maybe a hundred deer across a forty-year career, many of which were bagged when...
The Christmas Trout
A well-meaning friend once asked about the most perfect meal I ever had, and I thought for a moment and then responded, “Anything my Mom ever cooked. ” That’s about as far as I could narrow it down. The truth is, there are precious few encounters with Perfection in a...
The Gilded Age of Whitetail Hunting (Early 1900s)
Chapter 2 from Duncan Dobie's Dawn of American Deer Hunting available for purchase here. Order before 12/18 to ensure Christmas delivery. The Gilded Age in America was a 30-year period of rapid growth, expansion and industrialization that took place from the end of...
5 Ways to Weather-Proof Your Dog’s Offseason Training
Weather extremes make it difficult to train and keep your hunting dog sharp during the offseason. Just as you probably don’t want to work in kneedeep snow, heavy rain or brutally hot, humid days, neither does your dog. Professional gun dog trainers Paul McGagh, Clyde...
Sporting Classics Knives
Order your knife set today! Call (800) 849-1004 to order. 2019 Knife of the Year Presentation Michael Presnell, our 2019 Knifemaker of the Year, has handcrafted three distinctive cutting tools. The first is Michael’s rendition of an early Olsen hunting knife carried...
Sporting Classics Brass Big Boy Rifle
Call Wayne at (803) 744-9026 to order your rifle today! Specially priced at $1,395. Made entirely in America of all-American materials, the Henry rifle is an authentic link to our country’s past. From the steamboat to the airplane, there have been countless inventions...
Featured Artist: Shawn McAvoy
The realistic approach that Shawn McAvoy reflects in his sculptures is a testament to his respect for the natural world. With over twenty years of experience, his attention to every detail is precise, depicting his subjects in an exceptional fashion, capturing extreme...
Announcing the Winner of the Queen Lace Crystal Giveaway
Congratulations to Margaret Craig for winning the Queen Lace Crystal giveaway contest! More about Queen Lace Crystal Queen Lace Crystal distinguishes itself from others by using a renaissance technique called Copper-Wheel Engraving. Copper-Wheel engraving is...
Hands-On With The Bergara Premier Mountain Rifle In 6.5 Creedmoor: The Most Accurate Factory Rifle I’ve Fielded
When my first 3-shot group with a brand-new rifle measures a quarter of an inch, it immediately has my undivided attention. Add to this that the rifle in question is billed as a mountain rifle and I quickly go into Planet of the Apes mode…tilting my head as I look at...
Minnesota DNR Adding 2 Extra Weekends in December for Deer Hunters
These hunts are being held to help limit the spread of chronic wasting disease. Dates Friday, Dec. 21, through Sunday, Dec. 23 Friday, Dec. 28, through Sunday, Dec. 30 The hunts will occur in deer permit areas 603, 347 and 348 and portions of deer permit areas 343 and...