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...
Excerpt from “Amid Whirring Wings”
“Bob White” Shrill and clear, from thicket near, A song within the woodland ringing, A treble note from silver throat The siren of the fields is singing— “Bob White! Bob White!” And from the height, an answer sweet Floats gently o’er the rippling wheat— “Bob White!...
RMEF Acquires More Prime Elk Country for Public Access
The Eagle Cap Wilderness is the largest and most popular in Oregon. And thanks to conservation work by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and it partners, it’s now more accessible for hunters, anglers, hikers and others to use and enjoy. RMEF acquired a 471-acre chunk...
31st Annual George Montgomery/NRA Youth Wildlife Art Contest Winners Announced
FAIRFAX, Va. – The National Rifle Association is pleased to announce the winners of its 31st annual George Montgomery/NRA Youth Wildlife Art Contest. Held in November at NRA Headquarters in Fairfax, Va., the 2018 contest featured 350 entries submitted by young artists...
Alaska Hunt: Ten Essential Tips (Part Two)
This article originally appeared at RonSpomerOutdoors.com In her previous blog on RSO, Alaska hunting guide and bush pilot Tia Shoemaker gave us five great AK hunt tips for a successful hunting experience in her neck of the woods. In this blog she gives us five more....
MidwayUSA Supports DSC as 2019 Diamond Level Corporate Sponsor
(Nov. 30, 2018 - DALLAS) -- With gratitude, DSC, along with Sports Afield, recognizes MidwayUSA as a Diamond level sponsor for the 2019 Convention, Mogambo: Dagga Boy Danger. Because of the endorsement of generous companies such as MidwayUSA, DSC's mission of...
Henry Celebrates a Century of the Cody Stampede Rodeo
A limited edition series of lever action rifles pays tribute to one of America’s longest-running professional rodeos. BAYONNE, NJ – November 29, 2018 – Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the Cody Stampede Rodeo, one of America’s longest running successful...
Sporting Classics 10 Years Ago – A Woman’s Place
From the November/December 2008 Woman's Place column of Sporting Classics Magazine. Augusts full moon – the “dog days” moon relating to the rising of the Dog star Sirius - has a chorus of coyotes baying at the fringes of mv suburban neighborhood. My aging Shetland...
A “Typical” Duck Hunt
Many of my non-duck hunting friends often inquire about what is so special about crawling out of bed way before the sun even thinks of spreading its golden rays, swigging down a couple of quick cups of coffee, then loading the duck boat with decoys, shotguns and all...
SAUER S100 Rifles Now Shipping in 6.5 PRC
San Antonio, Texas (November 28, 2018) – J. P. Sauer & Sohn, Germany’s oldest gunmaker, is now shipping all versions of its SAUER S100 bolt-action rifle in a 6.5 PRC (Precision Rifle Cartridge) chambering with prices starting at $799. SAUER is the first to offer a...
St. Croix Mojo Ice Rods Pack a Serious Punch
Park Falls, WI (November 27, 2018) – Ice fishing rods have evolved much over the past couple decades. Gone are the wooden jig sticks with primitive line winders. Yes, thanks to the research and development to build better ice rods, even your average ice anglers are...
Alaska Hunt: 5 Essential Tips
This article first appeared on Ron Spomer Outdoors An Alaska hunt is a romantic ideal for many, but the reality is it’s cold, wet, windy and just plain hard sometimes. Most of the time on the Alaska Peninsula. In this two-part article professional guide Tia Shoemaker...
John Seery Lester – World-Renowned Wildlife Artist
With an unmistakable style that captures the essence of the heart and soul of the subject, John Seerey-Lester is now recognized worldwide for his depiction of large mammals and birds of prey. The artist was born in Manchester, England, where he grew up with a sketch...
‘Two-headed’ deer killed in Ballard Co., KY
BALLARD COUNTY, KY (KFVS) - A hunter from Marshall County, Kentucky got two bucks for the price of one when he shot what some are calling a ‘two headed’ deer during opening weekend of firearm season. The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources posted...