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woodcock
Detail of a John Twigg duelling pistol circa 1772. They don’t make them like this anymore.

Lovely Old Things

Sometime way back when, in the early 1950s, J.K. Stanford ventured down to Cornwall to…
wood stocks
Stocked by James Flynn of Alexandria, Louisiana, this Dakota No. 10 is a .250-3000. The walnut blank originated somewhere in the Himalayas, and Dowtin purchased it in a street market somewhere in the ‘Stans. Wonderful wood is where you find it. Bill called it the most extraordinary blank he’d ever seen, and we pondered long and hard where to use it.

The Devil Dwells in Wood

I dote on wood stocks. A really fine hunk of walnut is something that nature…
professional hunter
Botswana professional hunter Chris Dandridge, wearing the world-weary expression of the PH experienced beyond his years.

A PH’s Lot Is Not A Happy One*

I grew up watching safari movies in which African professional hunters were portrayed by Clark…
blowing bubbles
Blowing Bubbles, MET

Who Is Chardin?

by Brooke Chilvers Jean-Siméon Chardin (1699–1779) is one of those 18th century French artists whose name always…
YUSEF DIKEC
Yusuf Dikeç shoots in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games (Wikimedia Commons), sans accessories.

Does Gear Make the Outdoorsman?

The first time I attended a grouse trial event, I donned knee-high rubber boots, “reenforced”…
Lou Pasqua
"Get 'Em Up, Beau!" by Lou Pasqua

Earning the Meal

Early in my quest to learn how to hunt what I cook, I realized there…
winter partridge
"Winter Partridge" — Brett James Smith

My Friend the Partridge

There is a charm in the pursuit of New England upland game that appeals to…
"Hare with Flask and Game Bag," Chardin (1728–30), Louvre, Paris
Hare with Flask and Game Bag, Chardin (1728–30), Louvre, Paris

Jean Siméon Chardin – Who He Is Not

Picture in your mind the artwork you associate with the Château de Versailles during the…
ithaca e
This Flues-model Ithaca 4E trap gun was a mess when Edy received it, and a lovely article when he returned it to Dick Stephens a year or so later.

Edwin von Atzigen, RIP

The name “von Atzigen” is not familiar to most, but in my opinion it should…
Granite Mountain .505 and Blaser R8 chambered for the equally fearsome .500 Jeffery. Both have short, heavy barrels — the Blaser’s is 24 inches, but it saves length on the action — which are exactly what the doctor ordered for such bruisers. They weigh an identical 10.4 pounds.

Weight a Minute

What follows was triggered (so to speak) by my learning that the Army’s new rifle,…
Edward Curtis’s famous portrait of Chief Joseph, from Timothy Egan’s "Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher."

On the Road

I don’t necessarily like it.  I really don’t.  But one of the pleasures of finding…
People who participate in grouse trials are, much like their dogs, a special breed.

Bells in the Forest

Last April, I was invited by my friend Jeff (yes, I know him through the…