The Devil of Bangalore
The night was warm and still and, although there was no moon, the myriad stars cast a bright glow over the village as the hunter took his position outside one of the huts. He had just arrived in the Bangalore region of southern India where he was waiting for one of...
New Dogs, New Challenges
There is a certain knitting together of warmish air temperature and moisture in the environment that forces the upland bird hunter to pick his poison. A “wardrobe dilemma,” you might call it. You can dress to prevent the moisture—in the form of rain and/or wet...
A Boy, a Dog and a Shotgun
Over there, to the southeast and on low horizon, a 6:30, end-of-the-year sunrise emerged. This sunrise was one of those generated only by prescribed conditions, specific peculiarities not often available—late year, rain probable, skeletal trees framing muted pink,...
A Night with the White Goats
Having hunted elk, sheep and other big game through the West in previous years, we were anxious to add a goat’s head to our modest collection. After many inquiries for a “sure place,” we started for Lake Chelan in the State of Washington. We left the railway at...
This Blessed Rage to Order, Pale Ramon
Ernest Hemingway, Wallace Stephens, Mark Twain and a Cock-eyed Consideration of Time and Space Wallace Stephens wrote an obtuse poem, “An Idea of Order at Key West,” wherein this gal was singing on the beach at sunset, about 1934 near as I can figure, and Stephens was...
Legendary Game Warden Forrest Hanks
“There’s only two things to fear in Alleghany County— that’s God, and Forrest Hanks.” The Texas firing range was hot as blue blazes, but not as hot as Forrest Hanks’ M1. His Garand boomed, each time the .30-’06 bullet ripping another dime-sized hole in the...
The Foundation Formerly Known as NRA
NRA Foundation and the Art of the Steal: A Heist So Clever Donors Must Forget Why They Donated America has produced some remarkable business models over the years. Apple convinced millions of people to stand in line overnight to buy phones that were only marginally...
Full Circle
The fact that I am sitting here writing this makes me smile a little bit in serendipitous gratitude, for it is abject proof that you can, in fact, will something into existence. My journey to Sporting Classics actually started 11 years ago. I was hosting a gun...
Wolving (With Complications)
It began with a lucky shot. a cave and a rattlesnake furnished the complications.