Sporting Notes

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…
ruffed grouse
The gun is a Charles Lancaster, circa 1912. September 25 is the traditional opening day for ruffed grouse in Ontario — a day more magical than Christmas.

Autumn Leaves

Summer’s gone, with its choking humidity and waves of heat and those highly overrated green…
arxus boots
The Arxus Primo Nord Zip: These boots are made for walkin’…and wading…and climbing…and…

Tornados, Hurricanes, and Arxus Boots

A perfect testing ground by Terry Wieland On July 16 of this year, a small…
With Skeet, as with any skill, a good instructor helps immensely, and not just at the beginning. This is Maci Tegethoff getting some advice from John (JB) Bauer, manager of the St. Louis Skeet & Trap Club.

Practical Paradox

A few months ago, some lads and lassies at the club where I shoot trap…
boss shotgun
This 28-gauge Boss & Co. over/under, built in the early 1920s, brought $164,500. Photos courtesy Rock Island Auction

Another Boss Triumph

If not a record, then very close by Terry Wieland Gun auctions always produce their…
federal paper shotshells
The paper is first rolled into long laminated tubes.

Gold Medal Gold

Federal Paper at the Olympics by Terry Wieland Across the screen this afternoon rolled a…
tom turpin
The closest a writer comes to immortality—having words and thoughts enclosed between hard covers. These three books, plus a complete collection of Gun Digest from the mid-80s onwards, will give you the breadth of Tom Turpin’s work.

Lives, Deaths, Eras, and Random Thoughts

As you might have read here, in a note by Dave Petzal, the rifle world…
Volumes that should be found on every outdoorsman’s bookshelf. And in case you’re wondering, I have never found a single female who enjoyed reading Jack London. No idea why. Maude Brewster, the heroine of The Sea-Wolf, is eminently admirable.

Perfection Revisited

Beginning with my sojourn in high school, which was never yesterday, as Robert Ruark would…
Paper laminated and rolled into long tubes, yet to be cut to length.

Paper Gains (Again)

It’s been a while since I’ve sung the praises of Federal Paper shotshells, and it’s…
purdey gun
Fantasy engraving by Aristide Barre, unusual for 1912. Courtesy Rock Island Auction Company

Rock Island Preview

Rock Island’s second premier auction to be held at its new premises in Texas is…
Volume One, Issue 1 (left) with a painting by Chet Reneson on the cover, and our November, 2023 issue, sporting a painting by Brett James Smith. If that cover is not timeless, what is?

Timeless (II)

According to Oxford, the definition of elegance, dating from 1797, is “refined tastefulness.”
audley house
The home of James Purdey & Sons since the 1880s, Audley House, on South Audley Street—at one time, Beau Brummell lived on that street in Mayfair.

Timeless (I)

It is a truth universally acknowledged—at least among those who have it—that you can’t buy…