Sporting Notes

DUELLING PISTOL
…and a John Fox Twigg duelling pistol, circa 1775. He finds it very restful.

Trade Show Blues

Had everything gone according to plan, I would be writing this from the annual Dallas…
Not a still-life watercolor, but close enough. A little reading material and all, in its own subterranean way, interconnected.

Words About Words About Words

If that seems like a fatuous truism, then I congratulate you not only on your…
SHOTGUN
Now fitted with a new Lee Shaver Soule-pattern tang sight and Hadley eyecup, the Stevens Model 49 Walnut Hill is ready for the range.

The Stevens Mystique

Everyone needs a purpose and, for many years, one of mine — a minor one,…
The food’s good and the waitresses are good looking. No wonder it’s always crowded.

Breakfast at Hickman’s

Hickman’s Cafe, Aspermont, Texas, Saturday morning. All the booths are occupied, and most of the…
TRAP SHOOTING
A capsule summary of what presentations I saw and how well I did. ‘X’s are hits, ‘O’s are misses.

Radar Trap

After a few sessions on a trap field with the Garmin XERO S1, here is…
napolean garniture
This garniture of six weapons was made by Nicolas-Noël Boutet and presented to (then) General Napoleon Bonaparte in 1797. The reported cost was 1,000 Louis, or roughly 20,000 francs — an immense sum at that time. The set was first put on display in London, at an exhibition in 1816 to celebrate Napoleon’s final defeat at Waterloo. Most recently, it formed part of the collection of Robert M. Lee. Photo courtesy Rock Island Auction.

The Hand of Bonaparte

When an item sells at auction for more than two million bucks, the air is…

Patterns in the Cloud

For more than a century, the ability to see a shot pattern in the air…
rifle
Mannlicher-Schönauer Model 1956, in .257 Roberts, outfitted for accuracy with set triggers and a Schmidt & Bender scope.

SET … MATCH

Anyone who has done any precision shooting at all, from a 1,000-yard rifle match to…
shooting
Rarer than hen’s teeth, boxes of factory .256 Winchester Magnum ammunition are collectors’ items. Neat little cartridge, though, huh?

Yet Another Boyhood Dream

Every time I write about finally acquiring something I first desired a half-century ago, I…
sporting dogs
Mark and Dinny, with the dogs: Fiagia, the red-and-white, Harry Flashman (rear) and the puppy, Arthur. All being de-burred.

Pheasant Pharewell

One of our number, arriving in Platte, South Dakota, the day before we were to…
There are few better books for travelling than Gene Hill. Wieland has forgiven him for having his James Woodward fitted with choke tubes. The gun is a Purdey, circa 1880.

Road Lit

Wingshooters are truly blessed in that we have at our fingertips a wealth of literature.…
rifle
A top-quality rook rifle from Joseph Harkom, one of Edinburgh’s finest makers (later absorbed by Dickson’s). In all likelihood, it was made by W&C Scott to a design by Holland & Holland and (perhaps) finished at Harkom’s shop at 30 George Street. It’s chambered for the .300 Rook.

Rooked

A “rook,” as in “rook & rabbit” rifle, is a black bird, found in England,…