Vintage orange recoil pads that conjure an era we might call the “Golden Age of Shotguns” bestow today’s bird guns with a classic, abiding romance. Let yourself drift and that autumnal ginger color invites the fragrances of pipe tobacco, dewy tweed, musky dogs and wet feathers.
Chris Batha’s British Ordnance Company originated from a happy accident that brought to market a bespoke tour de force attractively priced at $32,000.
The legendary Matarese family continues its winning ways as their M&M Hunting & Sporting Clays – home of champion Anthony Matarese, Jr. and venue for top clays competitions – exerts their presence of three generations in the industry with an expansion of “fair chase” hunting complemented by old-world luxe lodging within earshot of the Mid-Atlantic’s largest cities.
A quail covey exploded from the wire grass and Jarrett Lafferty straightaway downed a double with the 20-gauge Krieghoff Essencia side by side. As Regional Director of Ducks Unlimited from Tallahassee, Florida he has hit plenty of game birds on the wing with shotguns. Still, he was impressed with Krieghoff’s $29,895 game gun and immediately dubbed it “the meat stick.”
Blaser has parlayed its winning reputation with the F3 shotgun into a new line of affordable models that uphold the original’s quality, handling and performance at less than half the price –resulting in the exceptional Blaser technology becoming far more accessible to wing and clays shooters.
The sunsets of Sedona, Arizona draw seekers in pursuit of their own personal spiritual enlightenment to the fiery glow cast on high-desert rock formations. That haunting splendor is a monument to the local mystical soup of Native American beliefs, New Age transcendence and self-proclaimed UFO refugees. As a hot spot of awakening and harmony, Sedona is a natural home to artists who draw inspiration from the beautiful gods of the harsh, majestic landscape.
Round body bird guns exemplify the romance of the pursuit. Like hammer guns, the round body possesses a sense of purity that transports the shotgun and its owner to a time and place bucolic in nature and joyous to behold.
With a round body, the bottom hard edges of the action are softened with sensuous curves that can be cradled in your hand as an organic complement. Hunt in the Oregon high desert of Highland Hills Ranch and you’ll see those contours everywhere as you hunt for valley quail, chukar and pheasants.
“No” is the favorite word of Englishman Robin Watson when it comes to teaching his British Labrador Retrievers their gamebird craft.
“I train a lot around the word ‘no’ because it’s like in the wild when animals growl at each other,” he explained.
Shooting the new ribless Perazzi game gun is a revelation.
At the Orvis Sandanona shooting grounds in Millbrook, New York, the long quartering-away clays presentations appeared with a clarity surprising to most shotgun enthusiasts. You never realize how much the rib intrudes on the sight picture until a ribless shotgun enters your life. The target is whole and clear − like a juicy navel orange ripe on a branch ready to pluck.
As September approaches, in our secret heart every shotgun disciple anticipates their annual pilgrimage to a beloved place. For some of us it’s the autumnal woods of Maine for woodcock, a goose hunt on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, sporting clays at The National Shooting Complex in San Antonio or maybe throwing clays from that rusty hand-loader at a family barbeque. Personally, that special journey takes me to Griffin & Howe’s gorgeous Hudson Farm in Andover, New Jersey.
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