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How I Picked a Dog Breeder

How I Picked a Dog Breeder

by Jay If you get on our Facebook page, you may have seen that I recently (finally) picked a breeder for a Lab – which is also the first dog I’ll have with kids in the house, and my first real hunting dog. As you know if you’ve ever been through this process, finding a […]

February 1, 2012 | By | 13 Replies More
Can Bigfooters Teach Us Anything?

Can Bigfooters Teach Us Anything?

Have you been watching that Finding Bigfoot show on the Discovery Channel? From the hype seems a lot of folks are scoping it out. Brendan and his sons watch it with some interest, but Jay and his son watch it with a lot more interest…having to do with an event that happened to Jay and […]

January 27, 2012 | By | Reply More
FL Snipe Hunting: 1K Flushes/Day?!

FL Snipe Hunting: 1K Flushes/Day?!

Florida’s an odd state for hunting. The turkeys are good, but the deer are small and it seems like much of the state is overrun with alligators and hogs. Upland hunting? There may be a few wild quail (we’re ignorant there, so anyone who knows chime in), definitely some put-and-take pheasants, but that’s it…right? Nope. […]

January 24, 2012 | By | 3 Replies More
Hey: All Ruffies Drum Differently!

Hey: All Ruffies Drum Differently!

Did you know that? Not until now…. This info won’t help us hunting, but it’s interesting – and makes sense. Here’s more, from newscientist.com: Male ruffed grouse are the first animals known to make unique non-vocal sounds. Humans and many other animals, particularly birds, can be identified by their voices. But no one had looked […]

January 20, 2012 | By | 2 Replies More
Franchi Intros New Lightweight O/Us

Franchi Intros New Lightweight O/Us

This week is the SHOT Show, the firearms industry trade show, so it’s announcements galore for companies in that biz. Unfortunately, because the hunting side of the gun industry is dominated by deer, there’s not a whole lot of bird-related stuff. But judging from the gun and its new website, Franchi (believe it’s owned by […]

January 18, 2012 | By | 11 Replies More
Hunting Dogs Being Killed in Traps

Hunting Dogs Being Killed in Traps

First, this doesn’t seem to be an epidemic, not even a local one. Second, regardless of your feelings about trapping, trappers are good people – if sometimes odd. (This means you Dan! Lol.) But let’s face it: Any beloved hunting dog or non-hunting pet – and they are all beloved – killed by accident is […]

January 16, 2012 | By | 2 Replies More
Across the Pond Bird Follies, Vids

Across the Pond Bird Follies, Vids

Ah the UK, the land that gave the world 17 pieces of silverware on the table, animal rights and other questionable stuff. Okay, it wasn’t all bad – that’s where our bird hunting came from too. But it’s different here…or there, depending on your perspective. Here’s some recent bird news plus some interesting vids. Katie […]

January 12, 2012 | By | Reply More
Eye Worms Hurting TX Quail?

Eye Worms Hurting TX Quail?

Lone Star Outdoor news recently carried an article on a speech given by Dr. Dale Rollins of the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch near Rotan, Texas. Seems that a major threat to quail, at least in the Lone Star state, may be an eyeball worm. News to us! Highlights: > Especially mysterious were the continued […]

January 10, 2012 | By | 1 Reply More
Will Ethanol Crush SD’s Pheasants?

Will Ethanol Crush SD’s Pheasants?

An article by the awesome Dennis Anderson in the Minneapolis Star Tribune (which again has by far the best bird hunting coverage of any newspaper on planet Earth) paints a picture of a very grim future for South Dakota pheasants – and by extension, pheasant and maybe quail pops in other ag states. The culprit: […]

January 5, 2012 | By | 2 Replies More
Book: Hunting Gambel’s Quail

Book: Hunting Gambel’s Quail

We want to hunt Gambel’s quail. You know, those quail with the topknot that run around the desert and hop on cacti. Jay in particular wants to do it because he still carries images of his head of when he was out in the country around Phoenix one time, and saw “hundreds” of quail running […]

January 4, 2012 | By | Reply More
Ontario Grousin’: Season’s End (Part 2)

Ontario Grousin’: Season’s End (Part 2)

[Here’s the second and final part of contribution by Serious Canadian grouser Jeff Laberge on his season and lessons learned in winter grousin’. We continue with the rest of lesson 2 (hunting grouse on snow) as well as a wrap-up. Thanks Jeff!] Theoretically the birds would stay in thick cover until the sun hit the […]

December 30, 2011 | By | 2 Replies More
Ontario Grousin’: Season’s End (Part 1)

Ontario Grousin’: Season’s End (Part 1)

[This is contributed by Jeff Laberge, a Serious grouse hunter from Sudbury, Ontario – an area known for hard rock mining, a big nickel, and Saturday Nights (search Sudbury Saturday Night). He hunts along the North Shore of Lake Huron, apparently one of the best-kept secrets of Serious grousers.] In my book, Dec. 15 is […]

December 28, 2011 | By | 1 Reply More
Check Out L.L. Bean’s 100th Guns

Check Out L.L. Bean’s 100th Guns

The 100th Anniversary of L.L. Bean is next year, and you better believe this iconic American outdoor company is going to do a bunch to celebrate. (Unfortunately, our idea of free Setters for everyone wasn’t embraced by Mr. Bean….) One thing they’re doing is producing a variety of 100th Anniversary heritage products, including a canoe, […]

December 21, 2011 | By | Reply More
Do Congress, Tea Party Hate Pheasants?

Do Congress, Tea Party Hate Pheasants?

We make it a point to try not to get suckered by political hoo-ha, so that’s not what this is about. We ran across a blog post on the Discovery-owned treehugger.com titled “Why Does Congress Hate Pheasants?” and a related one, “Do Tea Party, Heritage Foundation Oppose Hunting?” Interesting stuff, written by the same gent, […]

December 19, 2011 | By | Reply More
What Do You Know About Tollers?

What Do You Know About Tollers?

I (Jay) had never seen nor head of a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever until the 2011 Pheasant Fest last winter. In fact, when the guy I was talking to about the dog told me, I thought he was yanking my chain. Who in their right mind would give anything that long a name? And […]

December 16, 2011 | By | 4 Replies More
Gift Idea: Rite in the Rain Notebooks

Gift Idea: Rite in the Rain Notebooks

‘Tis the season of gifts and giving, and as you might have noticed we’ve mentioned a few ideas and wants recently. Here’s another, this time penned by C.H. Judson of internet retailer Wood & Metal. Why? Because C.H. is a bird-hunter who only sells quality, battle-tested stuff. In fact, if we got his story straight, […]

December 15, 2011 | By | Reply More
Upland Stuff We Want for Christmas: You?

Upland Stuff We Want for Christmas: You?

Just like the title says, here’s some stuff we want for Christmas – “we” being Jay and Sean, Brendan’s brother. Apparently Brendan has all he wants…not really but he didn’t type something up in time for this post. So here goes – with two disclaimers: 1. Thanks to the exploits of our Pheasants Forever brothers […]

December 14, 2011 | By | 2 Replies More
Cold Weather: Go Up a Pellet Size?

Cold Weather: Go Up a Pellet Size?

Did you see the article titled “Cold Weather and Shotshells” in the Nov/Dec issue of Shooting Sportsman? Interesting stuff. Makes us think we really need to pattern our guns when it’s cold out. Never thought to do it. Here are some quotes…and check out that cover below. Does that Lab look huge or what?! > […]

December 12, 2011 | By | 4 Replies More
Geier Glove Giveaway Winners!

Geier Glove Giveaway Winners!

As posted waaay back on Nov. 29, Wood & Metal decided to give away two pairs of its custom-made-by-Geier Glove Co. goatskin gloves to a couple Serious hunters. We found it a bit odd that so few folks entered, but hey, if that means you’re happy with your gloves, great. Then again, as Jay said […]

December 9, 2011 | By | Reply More
PF Rooster Road-Trippers Q&A, Part 2

PF Rooster Road-Trippers Q&A, Part 2

As the title says, here’s the second and final part of our Q&A with the guys who went on Pheasants Forever’s (PF) recent and 2nd annual Rooster Road Trip. Quick review: 5 states in 5 days, all public land, they find birds. Serious. Here we go, some good info. SBH: Which one place you hunted […]

December 8, 2011 | By | Reply More