Shotguns Across the Pond
At one time, controversy raged over who made the finest guns. Americans pointed to Parker, L. C. Smith, Fox, Ithaca, Lefever and late-to-the-party Winchester. British gentleman would talk James Purdey, Holland & Holland, Henry Atkin, Grant, Lang, Westley Richards...
Unique Auction Is A Calling For Conservation
That a country kid from Mississippi could build a game call company into a household brand among America’s 15 million hunters is a classic American success story. That he would use his fortune from the sale of the company to, among other things, order a custom...
Kelsey’s Rifle
Bill was morose, angry really, as only a drunk can be when things are not going his way. “Bad Bill,” as he was known, had been causing big trouble in Butte and the local lawmen set out to change his address whether he liked it or not. The city fathers wanted him gone...
GunBroker: The Dick Metcalf Firearms Auction
From March 10th through March 23rd, GunBroker.com is offering collectors a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bid on more than 80 firearms from the personal collection of legendary gunwriter Dick Metcalf. For more than 40 years, Dick Metcalf was a cornerstone of the...
The Day I Went to Audley House
We were young, starry-eyed thirty somethings who found ourselves playing explorer in the Mayfair District of London some 35 years ago. We were there on a work-related trip, but we had some free time, so my wife and I and a friend decided to see some sights. We were...
The Boy Never Had a Chance
Willie Boy made his literary debut in the final chapter of The Greatest Quail Hunting Book Ever. The chapter was titled “ A Small Southern Tale,” and it chronicled the comings and goings of a single family of Georgia bobwhite quail hunters in the period following...
Hunting Africa with a Falling Block Rifle: The Dakota M10 Single Shot
The romance of the falling block single-shot rifle has never been lost on me. The courage to trust my hunts to one sometimes has been. If you’ve ever seen that photo of Selous sitting in his camp chair beside two Kori bustards with his falling block rifle leaning...
Reticles That Help You Hit
When I fired my first shot with a centerfire rifle, only about half of all hunters used scopes. Offhand, squinting down the Krag’s long barrel and struggling to hold it up, I tugged the trigger. The report savaged my ears, the steel butt my clavicle. The oil can on...
The Man Who Resurrected McKay Brown
It all started with an introduction by an English gentleman to two Scotsmen who would thankfully bring a huge sigh of relief to those of us who carried the torch for Scotland’s iconic round-action shotgun. At the time, a 42-year-old Scottish gunsmith named Grant...
The Family Rifle
Remington called it “The Gamemaster.” Serial number 260,000, one of more than a million made between 1952 and 1982. We met on the beach. I was doing turtle work for the DNR, she was on vacation. I was registered with the Feds with authority to possess and transport...