Tag: Featured

Back in the Serious Saddle…Sorta

Back in the Serious Saddle…Sorta

by Jay We’ve been getting a bunch of “where are you guys?” emails the last few weeks – must be getting closer to bird season! Definitely getting there, thank goodness. The waiting…the anticipating…. In response to all the inquiries, wanted to bring you all up to speed about the hiatus here at SBH, in no […]

July 19, 2012 | By | 2 Replies More
What’s a Classic Gun To You?

What’s a Classic Gun To You?

by Jay Saw this column the other day: What Makes a Shotgun a Classic? I’ll give you my own opinion in a minute, but here’s a little of what the post – by Phil Bourjaily of Field & Stream – said: > The dictionary definition of “classic” reads: “Judged over a period of time to […]

April 20, 2012 | By | 14 Replies More
Kansas Investing in Quail

Kansas Investing in Quail

Quail, the most beleaguered of our beloved gamebirds, is getting a helping hand in Kansas. Or rather, a bigger helping hand. The state just announced that it’s “launching a new quail restoration initiative aimed at making a difference in declining bobwhite quail populations at a landscape level.” Here’s more: > Includes the designation of two […]

April 12, 2012 | By | Reply More
Hey: Franchi Is Pro-Upland!

Hey: Franchi Is Pro-Upland!

by Jay Take a look at that image. That’s one of the upland-focused images you’ll see on Franchi’s new-ish website. Did you get that? “Upland-focused” – that never happens anymore! Upland hunting is treated as the redheaded stepchild of the hunting biz, but not for Franchi, aka Benelli USA. Not only that, Franchi’s new Instinct […]

April 5, 2012 | By | 4 Replies More
The Beretta A400: My First Auto?

The Beretta A400: My First Auto?

(Beretta photo, click to see bigger.) by Jay Brendan is a Beretta guy. The guns fit him, he likes them, he has a few. I’m not a Beretta guy, mostly because they don’t fit me. Or haven’t. At Pheasant Fest this year, I walked into the Beretta trailer and – like I always do – […]

March 29, 2012 | By | 4 Replies More
Worms and Birds: What Else Don’t We Know?

Worms and Birds: What Else Don’t We Know?

Believe we’ve talked about this at least once, but a recent Wall Street Journal article on the plight of Texas quail got us thinking about it again. Here’s the applicable stuff: …Rolling Hills Quail Research Ranch, a 4,700-acre spread an hour west of Abilene. Last month, researchers there found that the levels of parasitic worms […]

March 21, 2012 | By | 3 Replies More
No Grouse Comeback in SW Penn?

No Grouse Comeback in SW Penn?

Sounds like ruffed grouse will never be as much a part of the landscape of southern Pennsylvania as they once will. “Never” sounds ominous. Permanent. But that’s the conclusion of an article by Bob Frye in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Why should you care if you don’t live or hunt in PA? Reasons: > Pennsylvania is […]

March 16, 2012 | By | Reply More
Pheasant Stocking Won’t Help Iowa

Pheasant Stocking Won’t Help Iowa

Iowa has had the quintuple whammy when it comes to pheasants. Bad winters, bad springs, bad forecasts, less hunting and less habitat. In an attempt to shift the momentum the other way, the Iowa Legislature is mulling over a bill for a pheasant-stocking in southern Iowa. Problem is, pheasant folks say that won’t work: Improve […]

March 14, 2012 | By | 6 Replies More
Gun Fit: How I Cheated This Season

Gun Fit: How I Cheated This Season

Hey…I Can Shoot! by Jay This season – or before the start of bird season – I was going to have my 20ga Citori fitted to me. Even had the appointment to do it. But it was last-minute and I ended up running out of time. Why I wanted to do it was any easy […]

March 7, 2012 | By | 2 Replies More
Dog Training: Too Much of a Good Thing…

Dog Training: Too Much of a Good Thing…

by Jeremy Criscoe Everyone has probably heard the statement, “My 6-month-old dog picked up six birds this year!” Or, “My 8-month-old dog started out great this year, but now he/she isn’t getting into the water and seems shaky around guns.” This is quite common. Hunting young pups always turns into too much of a good […]

February 29, 2012 | By | Reply More
Phez Fest Highlight: Hank Shaw

Phez Fest Highlight: Hank Shaw

by Jay Who’s Hank Shaw? I guess a couple ways to answer that. One is that he’s a guy who only eats wild meat, has for years. That’s meat he himself “harvests,” much of it birds. Another way is that he’s a pro cook who started hunting because of the meat – meaning he came […]

February 24, 2012 | By | Reply More
Phez Fest Once Again Outstanding!

Phez Fest Once Again Outstanding!

by Jay Well, if you weren’t there, you missed it. Seriously. Pheasant/Quail Forever’s Pheasant Fest and Quail Classic in Kansas City, MO was what you, a Serious bird hunter, wish every hunting and outdoor show would be. Namely bird-focused, full of like-minded and nice folk talking about dogs, guns and that kind of stuff, and […]

February 21, 2012 | By | Reply More
BSS Best Affordable SxS (Part 2)

BSS Best Affordable SxS (Part 2)

by Dana Farrell “A gun like this, from a gun dealer’s standpoint, has always been a sleeper,” Bryan says. “The BSS has been a tremendously good value, right along with guns like the Winchester 23 – boxlocks made for the American market before SxSs took off. And that’s one of the reasons they never really […]

February 16, 2012 | By | 1 Reply More
BSS Best Affordable SxS?

BSS Best Affordable SxS?

[This post is by Dana Farrell, a Serious birder who writes about bird hunting, guns and sporting clays from the liberal bastion of Ann Arbor, MI. He spends each autumn in northern Michigan grouse hunting with his Brittany, Woodrow. Email him at tamaracksporting AT comcast DOT net.] In a world of smart phones and laser […]

February 15, 2012 | By | 8 Replies More
F&S’s Upland Picks: Our Takes

F&S’s Upland Picks: Our Takes

Field & Stream recently had a rundown of “New Gear for Waterfowl, Turkey and Upland Bird Hunting in 2012,” aka new gear from the SHOT Show in annoying slideshow form. Once again, we save you the trouble by running down our favorites of theirs. We do wonder how much cool stuff was missed or didn’t […]

February 9, 2012 | By | 3 Replies More
Top 10 Reasons To Go to Phez Fest

Top 10 Reasons To Go to Phez Fest

Pheasants/Quail Forever’s Pheasant Fest/Quail Classic is coming up soon at KC, MO (see info in right column), and just in case you’re thinking it’s too far or whatever, here are the Top 10 – really just 10 of many – reasons to go. We’re doing it Letterman-style, 10 to 1. 10. What else are you […]

February 6, 2012 | By | Reply More
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