European Indian Clubs

In a sort of random walk through the internets this morning I bumped into this photo essay on the popularity of Indian clubs in European countries. The origin of these is usually ascribed to the enduring popularity of a series of fifteen western novels written in German by Karl May in the late 19th and early …

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End of the Beginning

With thanks to Steve for posting some pictures of our season opener on rails, here are a few more shots from today’s closing day of the early season in Louisiana. To celebrate the “end of a great beginning” to the 2015-2016 hawking season, I Googled a recipe and found our friends Hank Shaw and Holly …

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Mystery Mammal

If this were anywhere near April 1, I would assume it was a hoax. As it is, this report from Sporting Classics Daily borders Cryptozoology. It purports to be a note on a scientific report, on a new species of “ground” squirrel, from Borneo, the “ground” in quotes, because though to all appearances it appears …

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Healthy Dogs

Both Reid and Matt reviewed Ted Kerasote’s first dog book, Merle’s Door, here. His newest book, Pukka’s Promise:the Quest for longer- Lived Dogs, nearly got by me as I worked on my own dog book, and that would be a shame. Less a narrative than his previous book, it uses his present dog Pukka to …

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A little on 4 Bores

We know little about the “ten- plus” bores in America, but in England they still build them. The always- innovative Michael Louca of Watson brothers builds them as Best- quality sidelock ejectors– not just for collectors either, though he admits his over twenty pound, 42 inch plus barrel model is mostly a collectors item. He …

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Before the Fall; Legends of Winter

Rare archival footage from pre- revolutionary Russia of real psovaya borzois catching a wolf, with assist from scenthounds, while greyhounds (galgos? ) look on. No fear if you are squeamish about blood– as often happens today,  at the end, the hunter is going in with a forked stick to pin the wolf and catch it …

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New England Woodcock

I have been saving this for Fall. Nobody in the west knows, or at least believes, how thick the Woodcock (and Ruffed grouse) cover is in the east. This is EXACTLY right; it breeds snap shooters like me, who fire too soon out here, “throwing away” our first shots… And they are often small, and …

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Hunting for “Millenials”

This fine video of deer hunting in Paradise Valley is better than 90% of such stuff: Wild Harvest from Native Boy on Vimeo. But it is more remarkable then that, for it is linked to a Huffington Post article, titled “Millenials Must Hunt. I rather like that imperative– not “can” or even “should”, but MUST. …

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Fridge Cartoons

Lucas Machias just sent me this very apropos Booth cartoon, asking me if I had it on my refrigerator. I answered “I do now!” Here are some that were there already, including two more Booths… I think a double click will enlarge…