The Shot Show is not all about guns and tactical gear. There is a place for art too, as illustrated by Tom Hoover and his Reflective Arts' display of prints, mugs, puzzles and other items that bring a little of the outside indoors.

This show may be heard  following its broadcast date by clicking on the following link:  http://webtalkradio.net/shows/hoveys-outdoor-adventures/. If it is not the current show, it is still  available as an archived show and on iTunes.  

You never know who or what one is going to see at large international trade shows, like the 2012 Shot Show in Las Vegas. This year I had a chance to exchange a few words with Brian “Gunny” Zins, and it is his quote that opens this show amid the clatter of  gunfire in the background. Gunny is an ex-Marine, multiple times U.S. pistol champion, now a TV Personality and reps for Glock Arms and SOG knives. He very much enjoys his present life, and he was not embarrassed to tell me so.

  This show is a special extended edition and runs a full 90 minutes of  interviews with knife, gun, accessory makers and people who make their living in different aspects of the Outdoor Industry. I also took this opportunity to do record a “live” segment on making homemade salsa from experiences derived in the now-closed kitchen of the Casa Hispanica Calente Maximessemo, in  Las Vegas. This pilot restaurant closed because you could only work in the kitchen wearing full protective gear and the kitchen exhaust fumes were so loaded with capsacins that it acted like a bear spray when released in an urban setting near a Las Vegas hospital.

Wenger's new multi-bladed hunting knife intended for the U.S. and European markets - a butcher shop in a pocket-sized package.

  Wenger is a maker of  Swiss Army Knives and introduced an interesting hunter’s knife  to sell in  the American market. It features skinning and gutting blades, a cork screw an awl as well as a combination bone-wood saw. It also has orange scales to prevent it from being lost in the woods. This knife  will retail for about $85.00 in the U.S.  For a look at this and the many other multi-bladed folding knives as well as their fixed-blade patterns go to www.Wengerna.com.  

Lady knives from HallMark.

HallMark Cutlery is owned by the Hall family and is a knife distributor that does cutlery design, sourcing and distribution. On this episode, Jessica Hall and I talk about knifes that ladies might appreciate for a Valentine’s Day gift. While perhaps on the unusual side so far as gifts go, small knives are very useful for many purposes in everyday life and we discuss several possibilities. To take a look at their entire selection of folding and fixed-blade knives go to: www.hallmarkcutlery.com.

Excalibur's new Eclipse crossbow is all black and picks up the modern "tactical" look in crossbows, but is also very useful for hunting from blinds where dark colors are desired to keep from spooking approaching animals.

   Next I consider crossbows and talk to Bill Troubridge, Randy Wood and Scott Belvedere of Excalibur, Ten Point and Barnett crossbows about their new products. Black, tactical and carbon fiber technology are definitely “In” this year, as are progressive improvements by all companies to reduce weight and, in the case of compound bows, limb width.  Ten Points’ Carbon Elite, shown in the photo L,  has all of these features. Crossbow makers realize that no matter how appealing the newest advances in crossbow technology might be, many in this economy are having to watch their money. Each has made the effort to produce very capable crossbows that can sell in the $500 range complete with accessories. These, like Ten Point’s Wicked Ridge brand, have medium-weight draw-strengths, proven technology, excellent triggers and will kill deer and other game day after day.  The lowest price crossbow offered by these three companies remains Barnett’s RC 150. The RC, and the Ranger before it, has a skeletal stock that may be adjusted to fit any shooter.

  The present RC uses compound limbs to develop a 150-pound pull capacity that with its short, light-weight arrows will kill smallish deer at close range  – been there, done that. This bow is a hanger-on of  Barnett’s previous attempt to always produce the absolutely lowest-priced crossbows on the market, and the RC is not as durable as Barnett’s more modern offerings, like the Jackal. The triggers on the RCs are imbedded in the stock and are not  repairable. The Jackal is, by far, the superior crossbow at a cost of  $300 + compared to the RC’s $200 +, with prices depending on sights and accessories.  Nonetheless, the RC retains the advantages of lighter weight and a fully adjustable stock for those who cannot handle a heavier crossbow. There remains a place in the market for an advanced RC with a more dependable latch-trigger mechanism.

Barmett Ghost with carbon-fiber components and a very large foot piece that is convenient for those wearing snow or marsh boots.

Bob Baker of Freedom Arms establish his reputation making beautiful and effective single-action revolvers chambered for the .454 Casull, and later, other calibers including the .22 L.R. Less well-known is that he also makes a single-shot pistol chambered for what are usually considered to be rifle cartridges for long-range pistol hunting. These are most commonly equipped with scopes and shot from braced or supported positions. I often hunt with single-shot handguns, but these are mostly muzzleloaders used at very close range in the thick cover where I take my Georgia deer. I kidded Bob about making one, but warned him that there were probably only six of us in  North America who might actually buy one. For more information go to: www.freedomarms.com.

  I am partial to 1911 platform pistols, and as I had been mostly writing about black-powder guns for the past 20 years completely missed Coonan Inc’s   .357 Magnum pistol.  Dan Coonan took up the challenge of making the 1911 shoot the rimed revolver cartridge in the 1980s and has been producing the guns ever since. He also modified the basic pistol to incorporate refinements that Browning made to his later 9mm High Power design. This allowed him to offer the gun with a 6-inch barrel and compensators without lengthening the slide.  These adaptations give better ballistics from the .357  because of the absence of the barrel-cylinder gap and the longer barrel. To learn more go to: www.coonaninc.com.

Not only is the buttstock adjustable, but many options including a vertical pistol grip and accessory lights/sights can be attached to the forend.

The new polymer Ruger American does not replace the company's existing line of bolt-action guns, but offers a 6.25 pound option in popular calibers.

  Hunting is not all about guns and loads. It takes a lot of other ”stuffs” to get us into the woods and be reasonably comfortable while hunting. One problem that I talked about in a recent show about a  North Carolina swan hunt was not having a place to sit so that I could rise and make effective shots on approaching ducks. Integrity Outdoor Brands now has a Hunters Seat with a swivel top with enlarged feet and a triangle of strong fabric to keep the seat from sinking into the marsh.  This seat carries easily in a pouch and the top moves silently so that it could also be used when deer hunting. To see these an other hunting aids offered under the San Angelo brand go to: www.SanAngeloproducts.com.

Irish Setter boots by Red Wing provide a variety of footwear options for hunters.

I was particularly taken by this Southern hog-hunting print which could depict a hunt anywhere from North Carolina to Texas.

  Concluding the show coverage is an interview with Randy MacMillan and Bill Henson, the “stars” of  the  “Coyote Tales  with Mac and Prowler”    TV show that is available on cable on the Legacy TV channel. To learn more about this pair of down-home characters and their coyote hunting and bowfishing episodes go to www.macandprowler.com. I attempted to entice them to come and hunt with me in Georgia, and we will see what develops. I certainly have the coyotes, and we need to be taking more of them on a regular basis to prevent deprivation on deer fauns and other species. If only we could train coyotes to home-in on armadillos. They may take an occasional one, but they and the hard-shelled opossums seem to be simultaneously increasing in numbers.   

The end product - a bowl of salsa that exactly suits your taste.

 

Making salsa can be a fun family event.

There is a lot of variability written into this recipe. It will likely take several ”experimental batches” until you obtain exactly the taste that you want. If your efforts produce something too hot for you to eat, then freeze it and use it in later soups and vegetable dishes a few tablespoons at the time.

Fewer than half of the shooting events at the Range Day are shown in this photo.

 This show may be heard  following its broadcast date by clicking on the following link:  http://webtalkradio.net/shows/hoveys-outdoor-adventures/. If it is not the current show, it is still  available as an archived show and on iTunes.

For me the Vegas Shot Show got off to a ripping start with shooting a replica .45-70 1877  Gatling gun which is being sold by Colt for about $39,000 each. It has been a long time since I shot that much lead down range in so brief a period. For most of us writers at the Range Day, which precedes the Shot Show, shooting the Gatling gun was a stand-out event.  This touch of the Victorian-era past was much more pleasurable than blasting off a similar number of rounds through a .50-caliber Browning machine gun – which many of us had experienced in the military.  The displays at the Range Day are not restricted to firearms, and a variety of exhibitors participated in this pre-show event. Colt also offers its line of more conventional handguns and rifles at: www.colt.com.

Some of Bauer's new hunting line.

Among the non-gun exhibitors at Range Day was the Eddie Bauer company that had a variety of  shooting and outdoor clothing intended for outdoorsmen/women. This was something of  a return to the Washington company’s original roots as an outfitter to hunters  living in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. When I lived in Alaska, I often used Bauer’s gear and still sleep in one of their down bags that I purchased in the 1960s. It could use some refurbishing, but it is still as warm as it ever was. Good gear will last. To see this gear on-line go to www.eddiebauer.com.

More relating to shooting, was EHP’s Hearing Protection equipment which includes an ear canal hearing aid device for about $300 as well as an ear-muff design incorporating the same technology with an ear cup that will resist ballistic impact from shot charges.  Both have circuits that cut out potentially damaging noise while allowing normal conversations to be heard. For more information go to: www.ehphearing.com.

Although I did not have a chance to shoot it, Cabot Arms introduced a left-handed .45 ACP 1911 Colt. This gun is an addition to their line of expensive, but very well made, 1911s which may run as much as $6000 a gun for match pistols. Not only does Cabot make these guns, but they have an associated company that actually builds machine tools to specifications that can range as close as one-millionth of an inch. Each part of their guns is made with such precision that no hand-fitting is necessary.  For more information on Cabot Guns go to www.cabotguns.com.

Cabot left-handed Model 1911 below right-handed version.

In recent years Browning has offered some of  the Winchester classic lever-action rifles, and this year the company has brought back the Model 71 lever-action in 348 Winchester. This gun was much-loved when it was introduced as THE gun for heavy northern deer and elk and for the ease that it packed on the horses used to get hunters into Western mountains during the late 1930s. I have  hunted with earlier Browning versions of the 1886 Winchester in .45-70 which was a similar half-magazine lever gun using the same action, and was very pleased with it.  To see these and other Browning-Winchester products go to:  www.winchesterguns.com.

Following somewhat along the path of earlier Barnes and Remington solid-brass bullets, Cutting Edge Bullets has introduced a line of machined bullets that may be loaded as hollow points, reversed and shot as hollow-based solids or fitted with a tough polymer tip to reduce bullet drop at longer ranges. These are now available to reloaders, and plans are to have these bullets offered as premium loads by a major manufacturer next year. This bullet is designed to penetrate about 2-inches, fragment its front end to make secondary projectiles, while the solid base continues through the animal. If this concept is appealing to you, get your bullets now, because once a contract is signed with an ammo maker, the company may  have few bullets remaining for other customers.  For additional information go to www.cuttingedgebullets.com.

Mike Leeds holding the Instinct L.

Although almost all of my present shotgunning is on game with muzzleloading shotguns, I found one gun of the several that I fired on Range Day that really appealed to me. My feeling about shotguns is that if I can hit something with it, it is a worthwhile gun. If I cannot, it does not appeal to me regardless of  who made it or how much it cost. Franchi introduced their Instinct L 12-gauge over-under, and I was able to break targets with it with monotonous regularity. The steel-framed version  fit me and shot well. That was the only one of the many shotguns I saw and shot at the show that I had any desire to shoot again. The gun is moderately priced at under $1,200, and would be a serviceable gun for upland work , close-in ducks with 3-inch loads and an occasional round of skeet or sporting clays.  At 5′ 10″ and 185 lbs., I fit the profile of the “average hunter.” If you have a similar body size you may also be able to shoot this off-the-shelf gun just as well as a custom-fit model that will cost many more bucks. I prefer the heavier steel-framed Instinct L over the aluminum framed SL. For a look at this and other guns in the Franchi line go to www.franchiusa.com.

If you ever find a shotgun that you can really shoot, let not money, love or kinship part you from it. You may never find another, not even of the same model gun, that you will ever be able to shoot as well.

The next four days of tromping through the Shot Show exposed me to thousands of products. For the purpose of my radio show, I elected to cover them in categories. On this episode I concentrated on muzzleloading guns and accessories which fit in with my gig as a Corresponding Editor for Gun Digest.

CVA's Optima Pistol.

CVA offered one  new gun this year which is the Optima muzzleloading pistol in .50 caliber which comes with a 15-inch barrel and their now-standard quick detachable breechplug.  This gun was introduced mid-season last year and has a suggested retail of $315.   I hope to hunt with this gun next year. In addition, they offer their 6.5-pound Accura with a new WeatherGuard coating and a ramrod with a build-on palm saver.  Other premium features on the gun include an adjustable trigger, one-piece scope base with rings, improved recoil pad and PBI’s new sling with steel fittings.

The interchangeable barrel Apex is available as a .45 or .50-caliber muzzleloader or in a variety of centerfire rifle calibers up to  .35 Whelen and .45-70 as well as a 12-gauge cartridge shotgun.  CVA continues to offer their low priced Wolf drop-barreled gun as well as the bolt-action Elkhorn and, at $177,  their least expensive muzzleloadeing rifle, the striker-fired Buckhorn. For more information go to www.cva.com.

CVA and Thompson/Center Arms have largely stopped producing side-hammer muzzleloading guns with T/C only retaining their Hawken and Firestorm rifles.  Most attention at the T/C booth was with their new switch-barrel and switch-stock bolt-action gun which puts the interchangeable barrel concept in a price range that the average hunter can afford. The Dimension  features a polymer stock, free-floating barrel and is offered in calibers from .204 Winchester through .300 Winchester Magnum.  Caliber and bolt-face interchangeability is aided by offering four bolt-magazines-barrel groups (A-D) to help the shooter properly match the gun’s components.

Thompson/Center Pro Hunter FX is like the Encore muzzleloaders, but without the interchangeable barrel feature.

Vortex LTR.

Traditions continues to offer historic pattern muzzleloading rifles, pistols and miniature cannon. In their line of drop-barrel muzzleloading rifles, Traditions has reduced the weight of their Vortex and Pursuit models by using chromium- molybdenum alloy barrels. The result is that the Pursuit is the lightest of similar production muzzleloading rifles at 5.15 pounds in a .50-caliber rifle. The new Vortex Ultra Light LTR also has an aluminum receiver and 30-inch barrel which may now be purchased with a scope and detachable bipod. While the market generally applauds this trend towards ever-lighter guns, it comes with some costs in off-hand stability and increased recoil. If you are only going to walk your gun a 100 yards or less to your deer stand, a heavier gun will perform better for off-hand shots. With these untra-light hunting rifles, it is imperative that they be shot from stable rests if you are going to try to consistently hit an animal beyond about 30 yards.

If I am going to carry a lightweight gun I prefer a pistol,  and this year  Traditions’ Vortex pistol is

Tradition's Vortex with scope.

offered with a scope package which is an aid to us older shooters who can no longer depend on our eyes to focus well enough to take game with iron-sighted guns. It is unusual that both CVA and Traditions are now offering big-game capable muzzleloading handguns with such similar characteristics the same year. This is a small market. If you feel that you want to buy one of these guns, purchase it now because limited sales will likely cause production to stop after a few years.

I have probably used more of Davide Pedersoli’s replica guns than those of other makers  because this company has offered a larger variety of guns that have been suitable for hunting. This year they have introduced four new models related to the Civil War which are a CSA Richmond rifle, two patterns of Enfield, a Springfield rifle and the Mississippi or Zouave rifle with its distinctive brass patchbox. These models are made to exacting standards to replicate the originals in all respects including appropriate engravings and stampings.

From the top a Richmond rifle, Enfield rifle and a Springfield rifle.

  Pedersoli has not forgotten the civilian arms of the period and has also brought out a new 12-gauge single-triggered double-barreled shotgun which is available as a coach gun with an 11-inch cylinder-choked barrel, a 20 inch cylinder-choked barrel and a hunting-length gun with a 28-inch cylinder& modified-choked barrels.   This single trigger is non-selective and will fire the right barrel first. The shortest-barreled gun is shown here along with the firm’s Queen Anne and Philadelphia Derringer to round out the self-defense selection.

Two replica percussion revolvers from Taylor & Co.

Two other companies Taylor’s & Co., Inc. (www.taylorsfirearms.com) and Cimarron F.A. Co. (www.cimarron-firearms.com), supply both muzzleloading and cartridge guns to Cowboy Action Shooters in styles that extend from the Civil War through the 1880s. I cannot say that between the two companies they offer every variant of every gun seen in the American West during that period, but they make a good stab at it. There are Colt and Remington percussion revolvers, both original-style and modern revolver conversions, Colt, Remington and Smith and Wesson cartridge pistols and an equally complete treatment of lever guns from the Spencer Rifle and 1866 Winchester through the 1887  Winchester 12-gauge shotgun. These guns are largely made by Pedersoli, Chiappa, Pietta and Uberti, which are all Italian firms.  One non-traditional varient is the Cimmaron Hybrid which takes a double-keyed Sharps Rifle and converts it into a .50-caliber muzzleloader by employing a 209 primer in a breechplug while leaving the Sharp’s set triggers, sights, etc. intact.  If some of the muzzleloading rifles that I discussed may be too lightweight, the Hybrid  is overly complicated and heavy, but if you’ve got to have a Sharps-style rifle to take your muzzleloaded beasties, this one should certainly do the job and will look good on your wall during the off-season.

  Harvester Muzzleloading has made hard-cast saboted bullets for muzzleloaders for about a decade and has recently introduced a ribbed sabot that reduces loading pressures by 50%.  This Crush Rib Sabot is offered with their Scorpion hollow pointed and polymer tipped bullets in both .50 and .54 calibers. The sabots are available for separate purchase to take  .40 caliber bullets in .45-caliber guns, and for 40, .44 and .45 caliber bullets shot from .50-caliber guns.  A quite-different bullet is their Saber Tooth which has an attached polymer base, similar to PowerBelt bullets, with a star-shaped hollow point. This bullet is available in .50-caliber in 250, 270 and 300-grain weights. This company also makes shotgun wads, including one identical to the Red Winchester wad for 1 1/4-ounce of shot that I commonly used in my muzzleloading shotguns. This wad is no longer sold by Winchester and I am pleased to see that it is available from Harvester. For more information on these products go to: www.claybusterwads.com and www.jron.com.

  After I returned home from the show, I received a catalogue from Rock River Arms, Inc.  I had shot a .308 version of this AR-platform gun at the Winchester Ammo booth using their new Razorback loads, which have delayed opening and are particularly designed for hog hunting. These rounds are available in both .223 and .308. I found the Rock River rifle to be the best shooting AR that I have ever fired. I was impressed with its good, although a little long, trigger pull, adequate weight for the caliber and shot-to-shot stability. Rock River has guns of this type in several configurations and calibers including the .5.56 mm – .223, 6.8 mm Remington, 7.62 mm – .308 Winchester, 9mm Luger, and .458 SOCOM.  Winchester Ammo could have chosen any of a very large number of  AR guns to showcase their new ammo. Their endorsement of Rock River’s rifles is a strong one, to which I am pleased to add my own. For more information on these excellent rifles go to: www.rockriverarms.com.

Swan taken from Bodie Island on a previous hunt. Shown with an original 1842 British musket and swan flag.

This show may be heard  following its broadcast date by clicking on the following link:  http://webtalkradio.net/shows/hoveys-outdoor-adventures/. If it is not the current show, it is still  available as an archived show and on iTunes.  

 Chance plays a significant part in any hunt, and the impact of weather conditions on waterfowl migrations directly controls the likelihood of success on any waterfowl hunt. On Part 2 of  North Carolina Swan Hunting, I continued to Nags Head and duck hunted the public blinds at Bodie Island on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore after taking my swan the previous day near Lake Mattamuskeet. In this episode I describe my hunt in very warm weather and contrasted it with another hunt two years ago when everything was frozen solid. On that hunt I harvested a swan with an original 1842 British musket loaded with non-toxic shot.

  Hurricane Irene had swept through coastal North Carolina and damaged the blinds at Bodie Island to the extent that they could no longer be safely occupied. In many cases shooting locations had been shifted to points where the hunters could set up on shore, but needed to stand during the entire hunt or bring their own stools or marsh seats. I improvised a seat by putting my decoy tub (a reinforced mortar box) over a hummock of march grass on my second day’s hunt at blind number 19, which was on a deep-water pond. Two days of hunting from this location failed to produce any ducks.  I could  have called in some swan, but did not attempt it for fear of pulling them away from other hunters who might have permits.   

 Swan migrations are less impacted by weather conditions than ducks and geese. During the 2011-12 hunting season warm conditions prevented large-scale movements of  most species of ducks and snow geese down the Eastern Flyway to coastal North Carolina. By the time I hunted during the last week in December, some gadwalls were down, the teal had arrived, there were very few snow geese and only the resident Canadian geese were apparently present. Swan numbers were about the same as seen on previous hunts. Those who were fortunate enough to draw one of the swan tags did not have any problems getting their birds, provided that they drew a blind location that was on one of the ponds at Bodie Island that the swan regularly used.

  Both the Thompson/Center Arms’ Black Mountain Magnum 12-gauge shotgun and the original .75-caliber (11-gauge) British musket that I used were loaded with 1 3/8ths ounces of number 4 HeviShot contained in plastic shot-cup wads to keep from abrading the guns’ barrels with the hard tungsten-based shot. In the Black Mountain Magnum I used 100 grains of  Hodgdon’s Triple Seven powder and in the British musket 100 grains of FFg GOEX black powder.  Over the powder I use a stiff 1/4-inch cardboard wad (available in 11 and 12 gauges from Dixie Gun Works), a buffer of 20 grains of Cream of Wheat and then load the shot cups, shot and top the assembly with two appropriate sizes of thin over-shot wads. Both guns were fired with CCI musket caps.

Restaurants to fit every pocket-book are available, including this inexpensive family-run restaurant at mile 5.5 that caters to locals and offers menu selections ranging from sea foods to bar-b-que.

  Interviews in the Nags Head area included one with John Bone, head of the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce who outlined various winter activities and the facilities available in the area and John Wright, the owner of Sanctuary vineyards. Wright makes succpernon-based and European varietal wines from grapes grown on his family’s lands at Jarvesburg, on the mainland across the causeway from Kitty Hawk. His wines are only available from the Cotton Gin stores on the Outer Banks and a few other locations. On the show we tasted some of these wines as well as two others bottled by the Duplin Winery for the Native Vine shop located at the western end of the Kitty Hawk bridge. Duplin products are sometimes available at Wal-Mart stores and provide a nation-wide opportunity  to sample these excellent wines.

  The Sanctuary Vineyard does have an on-line presence, and you can visit their website at www.sanctuaryvineyards.com. John is continuously experimenting with his wines and can be depended upon to offer some new winds each year. Often, a portion of the sale price of these wines is used to promote local causes such as museums and cultural events. Sampling these wines is a unique activity that is available all year to hunters, surf fishermen, bird watchers, photographers and others who visit  the Outer Banks during the magical mid-Winter months when the throngs of Summer tourists are absent.  

Fermentation vessel being chilled to stabilize the wine while the adjacent one is being heated to promote fermentation.

 On line information for all area attractions is available to potential visitors from the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau at www.outerbanks.org, telephone no. (877) 629-4386, as well as from the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce at www.outerbankschamber.com,  telephone no. (252) 441-8144. The Bureau has a very informative booklet that they will mail to those who request it.    

Ads on this show are from the Packaging Division of  Buy Cheap, Make Cheap, Sell Cheap, who provides packaging that is only strong enough to stock on store shelves, but will instantly fail when used, making to customer return sooner to buy more products.  Also, SIN, Inc., (Synthetic Industrial Non-Nutritives, Inc.) was pleased to announce that their standout product, Puke Vodka, is now available in 5-gallon and 1-gallon pails for home consumption, so that the user can receive the full impact of his drinking experience in the safety of his own home.

Mattamuskeet swan. The author's bird is the gray-necked bird on the right.

This show may be heard  following its broadcast date by clicking on the following link:  http://webtalkradio.net/shows/hoveys-outdoor-adventures/. If it is not the current show, it is still  available as an archived show and on iTunes. 

The North American Tundra Swan is the largest waterfowl that may be taken on the Continent. This magnificent bird breeds in the Arctic areas of Alaska and Canada and migrates from there to winter in coastal North Carolina and Virginia in populations that number in the hundreds of thousands. A limited and closely controlled harvest of these birds is allowed each fall with the majority of the birds taken in Coastal North Carolina near Lake Mattamuskeet and fewer on the Outer Banks. Swan shooting is also allowed in some states in the Western Flyway, but the grain-fed birds taken in late December and January from eastern North Carolina taste much better than those harvested from the alkali lakes of the desert Southwest.

If a sport takes more junk to do than this, I don't think I want to do it.

 For decades, I have hunted these birds with a variety of muzzleloading shotguns using the non-toxic shots now required for all waterfowl shooting. As this is a draw hunt, I may not go every year; but when I am drawn I assemble my growing pile of swan hunting materials and head north. In recent years I have taken a boat in case I am not drawn for public blinds at the Lake Mattamuskeet Wildlife Refuge or for the blinds on Bodie Island which is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Using a boat allows me to hunt on public game lands in Pamlico Sound. My boat is a 14-ft. aluminum boat that is fine for lake hunting, but is only suitable for very near-shore work in protected waters near the sound. This year three hunters sank a 19-foot duck boat when waves driven by high winds splashed water over the back of the grounded boat and flooded it with the result that the boat pulled itself off shore and sank in 15  feet of water. The hunters were stranded until they were rescued several hours later.  These shallow sounds can be dangerous and unforgiving places in any weather that is harsh enough for ducks to fly well.

The weather for this season’s hunt was unusually warm to the extent that mosquitoes were bothersome at Bodie Island compared to my hunt two-years-ago when many of the fresh-water ponds were solidly frozen and there was  2-inch-thick ice in front of the blinds on Lake Mattamuskeet.  The result was that the swans had arrived, but other species such as snow geese and many varieties of ducks had not yet come in anything like their usual numbers. As with any hunts that are scheduled months in advance, I must go and take whatever weather there is. This is the reason that I stay for several days to increase my chances of success.

This year’s gun was a Thompson/Center Arms Mountain Magnum 12-gauge single-barreled percussion shotgun. The gun features interchangeable chokes and a relatively short barrel because it was principally designed as a turkey-hunting shotgun, rather than a waterfowler. I increased the gun’s weight by adding lead shot and beeswax to the hollow plastic buttstock and also often use a metal, rather than a wooden, ramrod. These weight additions, along with a slip-on recoil pad, make the gun more comfortable to shoot with 1 3/8-oz. waterfowl loads. The charge I used was 90 grains of Hodgdon’s Triple Seven FFFg powder, a 1/4-inch over powder paper wad, 30-grains by volume of Cream of Wheat, a red Winchester plastic wad for 1 1/4-ounces of shot, 1 1/4-ounce by volume of HeviShot no. 4s, and two thin over-shot cards to hold the shot. The Mountain Magnum rifle and shotgun were somewhat unusual in that they used musket-cap nipples, instead of the more common no. 11 caps; and I employed CCI’s Musket caps on the gun. I like these larger caps for waterfowling because they are easier to handle than the tiny no. 11s.

Billy Best (L), Andrew (C) and Author (R) at Mattamuskeet.

Through a series of chance circumstances I hunted with Billy Best and his son Andrew when we appeared to claim a blind that a person had drawn, but could not legally hunt for some reason.  (Perhaps he forgot his Federal Duck Stamp or HIP report.)  By chance, this was blind no. 6, which is located in an impoundment back from the lake. Very often this blind is frozen in when I come to hunt. As it was still very windy,  I had thought that this blind would be an ideal as waterfowl from the lake might come seeking quieter waters. This proved to be the case,  and we had the best shooting that I have ever had from a Mattamuskeet blind. I had two chances at swan. On the first opportunity, the cap fell from the nipple as I raised the gun. On the second, I apparently aimed between two approaching swan and missed them both. We all did shoot some ducks, and I also took a coot. You may now view “Coot Soup for the New Year” on YouTube by clicking on the following link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sirFsYeHvAM.

It is entirely possible to miss swan, as was illustrated the next morning when I was invited by  Carl Hyatt  to join his group from Wilmington to hunt a private farm near the lake. There were thousands of swan over us shortly after dawn when they flew to feed in some of the many fields around the lake. These are very large farming operations, and these particular swan were coming to glean waste soybeans remaining after the harvest. The youngest shooter in the group had not taken a swan before, and he struggled to overcome a gun that did not fit him and was perhaps a bit over-coached by his dad and everyone around him, including me. It was agreed that he was to have the first opportunity at a swan when one appeared. He emptied his gun and did not hit it. On the second one, he repeated this event, and I fired a follow-up shot, dropping the bird stone dead in the decoys. Taking that bird finished my hunt, and I did not reload. I could not shoot another swan and nothing else was flying.

Permit holders with their swan.

One-by-one the other shooters filled their tags, although two of the birds had to be run down and finished off. On these enormous birds you must shoot at the head and neck to kill them cleanly. In the meantime, our young shooter continued to manipulate the gun and fire. Between he and his dad, one swan was killed leaving him as the last shooter to fill out. At long last, a swan landed in the decoys and he killed it by shooting it in the head and neck. In retrospect, that was about the only shot that he could likely have made with any degree of precision with what was for him an oversize and ill-fitting shotgun.

A very effective spread of mixed painted plywood and Bald's full-body swan decoys.

Bon Bald with one of his swan decoys and calls.

Although some shot opportunities would likely have been available had we just sat in that field, the calling and full-body decoys made by  Don  Bald  and the plywood silhouette decoys brought by  Hyatt, really worked to bring the birds in close enough to shoot.  If anything, this hunt illustrated that decoys and calling were useful and that nothing beats good gun pointing. It is also vital to know where the gun shoots with a particular load. It is common for heavy waterfowl loads to pattern low in many guns, and HeviShot loads will often impact  feet below the point of aim. With my muzzleloading guns, I tailor the loads so that they shoot to the point of aim, even if I must use less powder and/or shot to achieve that result.   On this hunt, I  fired two shots and killed one swan, which is about my usual result. I resolved the loose-fitting cap issue by crimping the copper caps as I put them on the gun, and never had another cap fall from the gun. This was a simple act that I had to be reminded to do.

Bald, who is from Illinois, is noted for his championship-quality hand-made turkey calls. Some of these he makes out of ivory or other exotic materials, although he also commonly takes even these “art calls” and kills birds with them. He hand molded and carved his full-sized swan decoys, but does not offer these as a commercial product. His swan whistles are also custom crafted, and with proper inducement, perhaps he might be persuaded to make another one. His calling appears on the radio show as the frequent softer and higher-pitched calls in the background that are frequently masked by the louder calling of the live birds. To see Bald’s calls, which are unusual and handsome, go to his website www.baldscalls.com. He may be contacted by E-mail at baldscalls@baldscalls.com.

Although I had my Swan, I continued my planned hunt to the Outer Banks to see what conditions were like there after Hurricane Irene had swept through the previous summer.  Some coastal areas had been hard hit, particularly the small community of Stumpy Point. There, half-sunk boats and  debris still choked the canal from two hurricanes ago, and last year’s storm had not resulted in any significant improvement. Although people had, and were, rebuilding their homes, the town’s few businesses remained largely closed. This community needs some help from heavy-lift cranes and other construction equipment to help restore it to functionality and restore it a place where a visitor might want to come to enjoy the water, fishing and hunting opportunities in a truly wild environment.

 On the next show I will continue my hunt on Bodie Island and contrast the wild and cultural environments between the largely uninhabited lands of  Hyde County and the built-up resort and tourist facilities found across the sound in Dare County where towns like Nags Head attracts tens of thousands of summer visitors.

Roger Kicklighter with a road-killed buck that was hit in front of his in-town home. He gave it to me for processing.

This show may be heard  following its broadcast date by clicking on the following link:  http://webtalkradio.net/shows/hoveys-outdoor-adventures/. If it is not the current show, it is still  available as an archived show and on iTunes. 

  Cleaning road-killed deer concludes the final show of  2011 which features my almost believable ads from Velcro Wall, The leader in child suspension systems; Misty Mange, The hair care product that you and your pet can share; and SIN, Inc., The leader in synthetic food technology along with others that feature nude hunts in the wilds of West Texas and a romantic get away on Gator Island where your privacy is assured by more than 500 alligators that live in the surrounding waters.

  Broadcasts activities during 2011 took me from Coastal North Carolina through Nebraska to the Silver Valley of Idaho to Las Vegas, Nevada, and down to the beach at Biloxi, Mississippi. All of these locations inspired ads from local sponsors and a number of these are re-broadcast for this program.  Among them are those from the Strip Down and Dry Bar at Kellogg, Idaho, the Bare Butt Hunt Club of the Solitario in West Texas and Mega Gator Park in Orlando, Florida.

  I also provoked a little history with some of these ads including those from  Big Boomer of Nevada who sells muzzleloading supplies, including full size cannon, from the firm’s location on the edge of the Federal Proving Range in Central Nevada and who also offers a unique form of anger management therapy having to do with learning to shoot Civil War era cannon.

  Inventiveness is highly prized on my programs, and I documented the attempts and failures of SIN, Inc.’s attempts to launch their Fire-Breathing Dragon in time for the Chinese New Year celebrations. Their initial efforts failed when 12-feet of flame was projected across the table and resulted in burning down the test facility. An alternative of projecting a green pistachio jello with solid particles was also less than satisfactory, according to focus groups. They had better luck with their Mascot Division which produced eatable gators and bulldogs in time for the tailgate parties associated with the annual Georgia-Florida football game.

  SIN, Inc. also continued to explore the potential of the synthetic turkey and produced a red, white and blue turkey for July 4, a green and red version for Christmas and a turkey in a cooking pack which cooks itself to perfection in any well ventilated and combustable-free outdoor location, such as a concrete test stand.  The spirit of many of these shows was captured as YouTube videos on the wmhoveysmith Channel,  such as my production of  “Bear Paw Pumpkin Soup for Halloween,” which may be viewed at the following link: http://youtu.be/hkvBWzq_R-s.

  Have a good holiday seasion. I will see you back next year with my annual broadcast from the SHOT Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, which will feature  interesting products for outdoor folk who want to do things outside of the built environment and perhaps put some wild game on their kitchen tables.

Ruger Old Army .44-caliber percussion revolver with deer and squirrel taken with the same load on the same hunt.

This show may be heard  following its broadcast date by clicking on the following link:  http://webtalkradio.net/shows/hoveys-outdoor-adventures/. If it is not the current show, it is still  available as an archived show and on iTunes. 

  The ability to take a variety of game animals close to home is highlighted in this show which features Cabela’s .44-caliber Buffalo revolver that is made in Italy by Pietta, Ruger’s Old Army revolver, Knight’s Rolling Block .50-caliber in-line rifle and Thompson/Center Arms’ Mountain Magnum 12-gauge percussion side-lock shotgun. These more traditional guns are in contrast with the CVA Electra, the electric-fired ,50-caliber muzzleloading rifle used by Hunter Deen to take his deer in a previous episode.

  Following the successful deer-squirrel hunt with the Old Army using a new 240-grain bullet designed by Kaido Ojamaa, I attempted a hunt a few days later with a percussion revolver, in-line rifle and cap-lock shotgun to see if I could take more than one species of game the same day. Although this was the day after Thanksgiving and the woods were full of hunters, almost no shots were fired by anyone. I found nothing to shoot at and the only game seen was a very distant flight of geese than flew over the other end of the food plot where I had my decoys.

Buffalo revolver with loading components.

Notwithstanding, I discuss the guns and the loads. The Old Army is loaded with 35 grains of  FFFg Triple Seven powder, Ojamaa’s 240-grain bullet,  Ox-Yoke’s wax Revolver Wonder Seals and Remington no. 10 caps. This is a potent load fired from this pistol. It penetrated the shoulder joint, made a good wound channel and exited the deer after passing through about 12-inches of animal.  The charge for the Knight rifle is two of  Hodgdon’s Magnum Triple Seven 50-grain Pellets  and CVA’s AeroLite 300-grain bullets.

  Ojamaa has both 240 and 255-grain versions of these flat-nosed bullets which he designed for percussion revolvers. He sells these cast bullets as well as 6-cavity molds for making your own.  For more information contact him at kaido93@hotmail.com.

  For the Mountain Magnum shotgun I employed 90 grains of Hodgdon’s Triple Seven powder a heavy card over-powder 12-gauge wad, 40-grains of Cream of Wheat and a red Winchester plastic wad for 1 1/4-ounce of shot that as filled with no. 4 HeviShot and capped by two thin 12-gauge over-shot cards. Nothing appeared before the gun the day before I had to record this show. I have taken small game, geese, turkey and swan with this gun before, and I see no reason why the gun should not perform well again.

 Osceola turkey taken with Thompson/Center Arms’ Mountain Magnum 12-gauge shotgun and components.  

Ads on this show include pickled calf’s and hog’s eye-balls for an attention-getting holiday soup from Old Home Products and a new self-cooking turkey from SIN, Inc. (Synthetic Industrial Non-Nutritives, Inc.). Gift suggestions from Hovey include his outdoor books (Backyard Deer Hunting, Crossbow Hunting, Practical Bowfishing and X-Treme Muzzleloading), Backyard Deer Hunting T-Shirts and donations to finance his delivering a paper or poster at the 9th INTECOL Wetlands Conference sponsored by the University of Florida in June where he will present a long-term plan for the preservation of the Mississippi River Delta.

In the cooking section I discuss making  “Perlow with Green Balls” from the shredded meat derived from a boiled deer neck roast, two medium-sized ducks and Brussels sprouts. The recipe for this dish is given below:

 Perlows are rice-based dishes often done with chicken and/or wild meats to which peppers are added to make a spicy after-hunt meal. These are free-form creations, but most commonly have some fowl, any wild game meat, sausage, peppers and more or less vegetables as they are available. Traditionally they would be cooked in a cast-iron pot over campfire coals or on a wood stove.

This was cooked, as I often do,  in a pressure cooker. For those who don’t know about these efficient and fast cooking devices I have a YouTube video up at: http://youtu.be/REhez3aEjN0 that will show you some old and modern pressure cookers.  Many of  my cooking videos at the wmhoveysmith Channel also feature these useful pressurized cooking pots.  

This particular one was constructed with:

Perlow with Green Balls.

2 medium boiled ducks with meat stripped from bones

1 deer neck roast boiled and meat removed and shredded

12 Brussels Sprouts

6 small mushrooms

1 cup brown rice

2 cans tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste

1 pound frozen butter beans

1 chipped large Spanish onion

1/4 chopped bell pepper

1 small diced very hot red pepper

1 medium hot round red pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Pressure cook and shred all meat. Retain  broth. Add all ingredients to pot and boil until Brussels sprouts are tender. As rice cooks and absorbs broth (start with 4 cups of broth to one cup of rice), adjust liquid content as needed to keep from sticking. The dish, as shown here, is a very thick soup; but could be served dryer if desired.  The rice should be slightly firm and not cooked completely soft.

This show may be heard  following its broadcast date by clicking on the following link:  http://webtalkradio.net/shows/hoveys-outdoor-adventures/. If it is not the current show, it is still  available as an archived show and on iTunes. 

  Moncks Corner in central Berkeley County, South Carolina, is the gateway to fishing and hunting opportunities in the Santee-Cooper Region. It is located  only 30 miles from Charleston and has access to abundant power, water and transportation resources making it a nearly ideal place for  industry,  businesses and  outdoor activities.  Individuals and retirees also enjoy the nearly limitless cultural opportunities offered in Charleston and nearby historic communities. 

  Elaine Morgan, Chief Executive Officer of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce, gives an enthusiastic welcome to the Carolina Low Country and highlights the areas’ business, cultural, recreational and retirement-home possibilities. A 5th generation resident, she is well seeped in local history and culture. This includes the making of a Low Country Perlow, a distinctive rice-wild game dish which I cook and sample on the show using some “mystery meat” salvaged from my freezer.

 Morgan may be contacted at the Chamber via their website at www.berkeleysc.org, by E-mail at emorgan@bcoc.com or telephone at (843) 761-8238.  The Chamber is located in the historic 18th Century  Nesbitt   House located at 1004  Old Highway 52 near the intersection of  Dennis Blvd.  

General Francis Marion at the head of his rag-tag troops in a Carolina swamp as shown in a mural at Blacks Camp.

  Hunting and fishing opportunities are discussed with Kevin Davis, one of the owner of Black’s Camp which is a historic fishing-hunting camp located on nearby Lake Moultrie. This lake and Lake Marion to the northwest are connected by a canal that was dug when the lakes were formed during the early years of  World War II to provide power for war industries. Not only was this area significant because of its contribution to the war effort, it is historically important for the part it played during the Revolutionary War when Francis Marion, The Swamp Fox, conducted guerrila warfare against General Lord Cornwallis’ British and Loyalist troops which ultimately resulted in the general’s defeat at Yorktown, Virginia.

 General Moultrie, whose statue stands at Black’s Camp, was also a participant in this often

General Moultrie

bloody conflict. These  events were captured in spirit, if not in absolute fact, in Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Patriot.” A part of this movie was filmed in nearby Cypress Gardens and on other locations in South Carolina.

 Fishing opportunities discussed by Davis include record-size crappie,  shell crackers (red-eared sunfish), catfish and stripers from the lakes as well as his taking an alligator that weighed over 1,000 pounds. Hunts are also offered from the camp at the nearby Black Brier Hunting Preserve in addition to free-lance hunting on nearby Wildlife Management Areas. To contact Davis go to the camp’s website at www.blackscamp.com or call for room reservations at (843)753-2231. Guided fishing and hunting trips are available as well as restaurant and meeting accommodations for about 150 people.

  Although the deer that I and others hunted for three days on the Black Brier Hunting Preserve were not cooperative, I killed a small doe once I returned home to Georgia with  Cabellas’ Buffalo stainless steel .44-caliber percussion revolver using a round ball load and 40 grains of Hodgdon’s Triple Seven powder.  Felt Ox-Yoke Wonder Wad were used under the balls and  wax Wonder Seals over them.  This is a powerful load, and it is not recommended for brass-framed versions of this, or other,  percussion revolvers.

  The first shot on the moving deer hit high on the spine (above the hammer) and knocked it down. As it attempted to rise, I put a second shot through its heart.  These shots were taken while sitting on the ground.  Both were fired from a range of about 35 yards and completely penetrated the deer. Others using this round-ball load in this gun have killed deer weighing up to 130 pounds and hogs up to about 150 pounds. I do not know what the upper limit of this load is for double-lung shots on heavy whitetailed deer.

 This revolver shooting is documented in a series of seven YouTube videos on the Modern Percussion Revolver. The first of these, “Part 1. The Pistols” may be viewed at: http://youtu.be/PB0SYhonsqM.   On this series I introduce the pistols, load development, cleaning as well as using them for small and big game hunting.  Another revolver with big-game hunting potential is the now discontinued Ruger Old Army. This pistols shoots heavier bullets better than the Buffalo and develops over 500 ft. lbs. of muzzle energy. I am also attempting to take deer and other game with it. I have used it to shoot squirrels and to kill alligators in the past.

Wild Game Perlow

  Perlow cooking was undertaken using a medium-sized duck, sausage, deer backstraps, smoked wild-hog meat, onions, bell peppers, small hot red peppers and brown rice. This was cooked in a pressure cooker and yielded a first-time product was too hot for my taste, but otherwise worked out well.  Had I used one, instead of three, of the small hot peppers that would have been about right for me. Those who like hot foods, would probably think that my recipe was about right. After cooking, the only thing that I found it needed was a little additional salt.  

  Perhaps my only difficulty in cooking the Perlow was not partaking of the traditional Bourbon drinking that traditionally accompanies this activity, and my taste buds were not sufficiently alcohol-dulled to properly enjoy this traditionally hotly seasoned game-camp concoction. I gave it to a more pepper-tolerant friend who pronounced that it rated 5-6 on a 10-point hotness scale  and took it home.

 Ads on this show include SIN’s Synthetic Berry Division’s new blueberries that rely on copper ions fixing in algae from the Berkeley Pit in Beautiful Butte America, Montana, to color this synthetic product an azure blue while retaining the sugar, salt and butter tastes that you crave in a non-nutritive product. As this product is not attacked by bacteria or insects it may be cured hard and strung as colorful beads.

Hunter, now known as "Dead Eye" Deen with his first deer - a 5-point Georgia deer taken with a CVA Electra .50-caliber muzzleloading rifle.

This show may be heard  following its broadcast date by clicking on the following link:  http://webtalkradio.net/shows/hoveys-outdoor-adventures/. If it is not the current show, it is still  available as an archived show and on iTunes. 

Witnessing a young man taking his first deer is always a heart-warming experience and this was especially true when that young man is the 13-year-old son of  an Iraq veteran  in the  Wounded Warrior program.  Sgt. Billy Deen, who is totally disabled, and his son Hunter arrived full of hopeful expectations after having read my book, Backyard Deer Hunting: Converting deer to dinner for pennies per pound.

  “I told Hunter that we were going to learn some things on this trip, and it certainly turned out that way,” Billy Deen remarked after they both had been introduced to the CVA Electra .50-caliber rifle that Hunter was to use on the last day of Georgia’s muzzleloader season. This unusual rifle is the most advanced muzzleloader ever built and features electrical ignition, requires no  primers, and is easy, although somewhat different, to operate.

  Even though only 13, Hunter is large for his age and was able to handle the gun with an adult-level charge of 100 grains of  Triple Seven Magnum pellets and PowerBelt’s  new AeroLite 300-grain bullets.  After father and son watched the buck slowly approach the blind from 200 and turn  broadside 40-yards from the blind, Hunter became increasingly focused on the deer.  He  forgot that he had to turn the electric-fired gun on and wait for it to charge up before he could shoot.  

The indicator light on the top of Electra's grip.

“It seemed it took forever for that light to start flashing,” Hunter said. After that, he aimed at the deer and pulled trigger and the gun would not fire. The safety was still on. Coached by his father, he pushed the safety forward, re-aimed and nailed the deer with a  shot through the shoulder. The deer ran about 40 yards and died at the edge of the field.

  I arrived almost immediately, and we all walked up to the deer while I recorded  Hunter’s excited remarks. For those  moments he lost his characteristic microphone shyness, and this historic father-son experience was captured on radio. This included the traditional bloodying of Hunter’s face by his father and their jointly dragging the deer across the field.  

  The pair hunted the same food plot the following day, but no deer appeared. Nonetheless, both were more than pleased that Hunter had killed his first deer. The remainder of the day and the next morning were spent packaging the deer for the freezer and making  a custom low salt, low pepper deer sausage. This was also recorded for the radio show, and highlighted the “Converting deer to dinner for pennies per pound” aspect of deer hunting.

Electra's ignition system.

Because of the Electra’s unusual nature, I also go through the gun’s disassembly and cleaning on the show. Although the gun is no longer sold by CVA, the rifle is currently available for less than $200  through Sportsman’s Guide. Before purchasing the gun, make sure that it is legal for your state’s muzzleloading season. For more information about the gun, listen to my previous program, “Muzzleloading Marvels,” where you will hear an interview with Dudley McGarity, the president of BPI, the company that owns the CVA and PowerBelt brands.

  If you are interested in the Electra go to www.sportsmansguide.com. In Nov., 2011, the guns were priced ranging from the stainless steel scoped gun at $209.97 – Club Price 179.97 to $188.97 – Club Price $161.97. This is the last remaining stock. Once these are sold, there will be no more of  them; although CVA continues to offer support, accessories and repairs.

  The pair left Sunday morning with frozen deer meat in their cooler and a cleaned and caped deer head ready for their taxidermist. Although dad was uncertain if he was going to have the head mounted, mom had no such doubts and told them over the telephone to, “Mount that deer.”   As a precaution, I had skinned the head for mounting and these extra cleaning steps are described in the program.

A "cleaned up" Hunter Deen with Electra rifle and first deer.

 During and following the Deens’ hunt I had been hunting with Cabela’s Buffalo .44-caliber

First of 5 squirrels taken with percussion revolver.

percussion revolver. This gun had taken five squirrels, but my one chance out of a dozen hunts for killing a close-range doe failed when the ball was deflected by an unseen twig.

  To more fully consider the range of hunting possibilities offered to returning veterans, I also interviewed Chris Chaffin, who is the Public Relations Coordinator for the Paralyzed Veterans of America Outdoor Recreation Heritage Fund. This organization arranges for both the specialized equipment and outdoor opportunities needed for paralyzed veterans to hunt deer, hogs and other game.  For more information on the PVA and their hunting programs go to their website at: www.pva.org and www.pvaheritagefund.org.

  The PVA has recently launched a new way for people to donate money to finance these hunts. Using a mobile phone, text “HERO” to number 25383.  A $10 donation will be added to your next telephone bill.  You may also contact Chaffin directly to offer hunts or for making larger donations by calling his office at  (321) 729-0280 or his mobile phone at (321) 508-5500.  

  The Wounded Warrior program (AW2)  is administered by the U.S. Army. This program offers a range of  services to the nation’s most severely disabled veterans. Participants in the program must be recent veterans and have  30% disability in certain categories, which may be physical and/or mental injuries.  For more information call toll-free to: (877) 393-9058 or send an E-mail inquiring about the program to: AW2@conus.army.mil. There is also a website at:  http://wtc.army.mil/AW2/index.html.

  New products introduced during this show include PowerBelt’s .50-caliber 300 grain  AeroLite bullets for standard charges (80-100 grains of  black powder equivalent) This bullet features a longer profile for less bullet drop and more retained energy at longer ranges.  This new bullet significantly extends the range capabilities of .50-caliber muzzleloaders.  Although this deer shot at 40-yards was certainly no test of long-range killing power, it made a .50-caliber hole where it hit the shoulder and blew a 2-inch hole through the shoulder bone sending bullet and bone fragments through both lungs for a very quick kill.

McKenzie's Scent Fan Duffle can scent and re-scent hunting clothes using aromatic materials from the hunting environment.

 McKenzie’s Scent Fan Duffle is a bag with a fan designed to draw scents through hunting clothes. This may be used at home before a hunt to pre-scent clothes using natural pine or other scents (like the persimmon I use) from the hunting area. It may also be used  to help dry clothes and re-scent them using a vehicle plug-in on trips to and from the hunting area. For information on this product go to: www.mckscent.com or E-mail McKenzie Outdoors at mckscent@gmail.com.

Margaret Hice welcoms visitors to EPIC Game Fair sponsored by Safari Club International and Quail Unlimited.

This show may be heard  following its broadcast date by clicking on the following link:  http://webtalkradio.net/shows/hoveys-outdoor-adventures/. If it is not the current show it is still  available as an archived show and on iTunes.

What if you gave a party and nobody came? That is about what happened at the first EPIC Outdoor Game Fair that was held by the Safari Club and Quail Unlimited at the Foxhall Resort near Douglasville south of Atlanta on Sept. 23-25.  This was an attempt to do an Americanized version of a European Game Fair to showcase the diversity of  outdoor experiences. There were separate sections dedicated to horses, dogs, fitness, water sports, hunting, fishing, entertainment, archery, ATV use,  and the resort was large enough to enable these activities to take place without   conflicting with each other.

  The organization and execution of the event went well. Foul weather prevented an appearance by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal, a high school classmate, but outside of that all of the planned events took place, even though there might have been only a handful of people attending them. Being an unabashed Gun Nut, I enjoyed the vendors with their $5,000,000 worth of fine guns from all over the world. I cannot afford these things, but I do enjoy looking at and handling shotguns that may cost $100,000 and more.

The Ellusive Whitetail, one of the last stands made by Tree Lounge.

I first interviewed Margaret Hice who, with her late husband Bob, ran the Tree Lounge tree stand company for more than 30 years. These stands were among the first safe and workable climbing stands and the husband and wife team made a success out of making them. Among their activities was producing a series of videos that progressed into movies like “The Red Neck Hunting Club” and “Hunting Moonshine Island” that became classics of outdoor advertising. Unfortunately, they sold the company, the new owners got stuck with boatloads of products that they could not unload following 9/11 and the pair got their company back with a load of debts piled onto it. They tried to revive Tree Lounge as a Georgia company, but Bob died after a long illness and Margaret suspended operations in the Spring of 2011.  Margaret was Tree Lounge’s COO for those last years of operations, and is now the Secretary of the Georgia Chapter of Safari Club International. Still as active as ever, she attended the event in that capacity, and we enjoyed talking over old times and past adventures.

  A new friend was made in the person of Jack Jansma who imports fine Spanish double guns and also arranges for driven bird shooting and wingshooting  in Hungary, elswhere in Europe and in Argentina through his business, Wingshooting Adventures . We had a great conversation about the best characteristics of double guns, how barrel length and weight are important and also about the 24-gauge, which is a gauge that is almost unheard of in the U.S.  You can see Jack’s guns and find about his wingshooting opportunities at www.wingshootingadv.com or by telephone at (616) 837-9000.

Fine doubles like this 20-gauge at $49,500 are nice to look at, but impossible for most people to own.

 Keeping with the gun theme, I followed up with a conversation with Bill Hadfield of Robin Hollow Outfitters who deals exclusively in fine shotguns, many of which costs $50,000 or more each.  Among the questions asked, and answered, was “How can these guns  be worth so much?”  “Who buys them?” and “Are these guns ever shot?”  The answers are that these guns may take more than two years to complete. They are works of art done by the finest craftsmen in the world. Those who purchase them do so for investments against inflation and some actually take them out and use them, although many are seldom, or never, fired.

  This is the reason, Hadfield said, that sometimes these very high-grade guns might be made in the 1880s, but are, even now, in new condition.  Such guns are obviously not for me or for most hunters. I have no interest in owning something that I can’t take into the field or duck blind for fear of getting a spot of rust on it. If I own it, I’m going to shoot it. Nonetheless, such things are beautiful to look at, if not to use.

  Robin Hollow Outfitters is located in Mapleville, Rhode Island, on a shooting and hunting preserve.  For information go to www.robinhollow.com or call them at (401) 568-0331. On their website they have photos and prices of the guns that they currently have in stock. If you wish to contact them by E-mail their address is RHOAddieville@aol.com.

Old-New Rigby big game rifle is to be made in London for a revived John Rigby Company that is now based in the U.S.

 Old, but good guns, have the habit of resurfacing from time to time. This is the case of John Rigby and Company’s guns which were made in Dublin starting in the 1700s, continued through the cartridge-gun era and then the company was sold to American owners. During this company’s long history they made a variety of guns including a turn-of-the-century bolt-action big-game rifle that was much-loved by British hunters and used throughout the Empire. The most famous propriety caliber was the .416 Rigby, which is still being made and used in other maker’s guns for game like Cape Buffalo.

  A decade, or so, ago the company was moved to California and has now been re-sold. The current owner, John Reed, plans to reintroduce the big game rifle in its original contours, make it in London and offer it in the .416 and .275 Rigby calibers starting in 2012.  Pricing and availability are to be announced at SCI events and at the Shot Show in January,  2012. To see the new gun go to www.johnrigbyandco.com. You can contact John directly at (214) 880-9993 to get on his mailing list and inquire about distribution opportunities.

This short barreled instrument of death reached its highest development and use in the late 1700s.

  John did have one interesting gun at his exhibit. This was an original Rigby blunderbuss dating from the late 1700s which may have participated in the failed Irish rebellion of 1796-99. This was inspired by the success of the American Revolution, and the rebels also solicited the aid of the French in their efforts to throw off  British rule.  General Lord Cornwallis commanded the British forces. The rebels were ill armed and largely untrained, but many used blunderbusses against the British regulars and Irish loyalist. This time period represented the most common use of the blunderbuss as a military and civilian arm. Period paintings often show one or more rebels armed with a blunderbuss.

Stephen Mackrill international cutlier.

 Although it did not make it on the radio show, I also talked to Stephen Mackrill who is a South African knife maker who commonly exhibits at the annual Blade Show in Atlanta. Among his products are cutlery sets handled with ivory and horn as well as hunting knives. Among his unique offerings is the ability to make knives using the teeth and horns from a person’s African trophies which provides an interesting product while saving the increasingly expensive export fees for African game animals. Regardless of what you shoot, it seems that every time you turn around you have a charge of  $500 for  dipping or something else. This is something to do with an animal that you took, but do not wish to mount.

Georgia wildlife artist David Lanier paints landscapes, dogs and realistic hunting scenes.

Not to neglect the fine arts, I also interviewed one of Georgia’s best wildlife artist, David Lanier of Albany, Georgia. Lanier specialized in ultra-realistic paintings of dogs, hunting scenes and landscapes. This is, and always has been, one way that you and future generations can enjoy something of a hunt that you experienced.  He operates a gallery at 2010 Weymouth Drive in Albany and may be contacted by telephone at (229) 435-8027.   He also has a website at www.dlanier.com which shows a selection of his paintings.

Alabama Black Belt Quail Salad aka Quail Balls.

Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association, who promotes hunting experiences at lodges and outfitters in the rich agricultural area of the Black Belt of  Central Alabama, attracted attention by feeding passers-by with their Quail Salad aka “Quail Balls.”  This is a product made of boiled picked quail meat that is mixed with pamento cheese, dipped in flour, deep-fried and served with a mix of cut salad vegetables.  These made for a tasty appetizer with a somewhat lighter impact than the usual smothered quail and grits.

Georgia's antique pear trees provided the raw materials for Pear Slap.

  I tried one of my own products, Pear Slap, out on Lance Ferguson of B.B.G. (King Frosch) Wines who offers a variety of  German wines that may now be mailed to your home, due to a recent change in regulations. Previously, wines could not be mailed which reacted adversely with wine producers nationwide whose production was not large enough to attract national distributors. Ferguson and Klaus Bellinghausen thought that my homemade wine was quite good with interesting flavors with an alcohol content that likely was in the 12% range, about double that of  conventional wines.

  This they described as a dry wine with fruity taste, a hint of butter, tannin overtones and only a ghost of a pear taste in the finish. This is in sharp contrast with the typical sweet to very sweet wines made from pears and other fruits. I also tried this out with the Quail Balls mentioned above and both I and the Alabama Black Belt delegation agreed that it went well with quail and similar foods. It also acts  as a mouth

Pear Slap a dry fermented pear product.

freshener and pallet cleanser.  

  I had fun at the Fair with fox hounds, a retriever dog  jumping contest, archery and shotgun shooting as well as interchanging with the exhibitors. I made no attempt to get around to everything, but a regular run of transportation vehicles enabled visitors to get from place to place. This was an interesting event and worth attending with something for everyone in the family. Georgia’s depressed economy obviously impacted attendance as did the somewhat out-of-the-way location, mandated steel shot at the shooting events, its taking place during archery deer season and the generally poor reputation that Safari Club International has of being an elitist group with little in common with the average hunter.

Hovey’s hip X-ray front view. Sorry about the zipper, but my lady doctor insisted on my having clothes on.

This show may be heard  following its broadcast date by clicking on the following link:  http://webtalkradio.net/shows/hoveys-outdoor-adventures/. If it is not the current show it is still  available as an archived show and on iTunes.

America’s population of deer hunters is increasingly populated by ageing or injured hunters who are finding that they are afflicted with a new crop of  pains each opening day. One way that may quickly relieve some of them is a visit to a Doctor of Chiropractics who might be able to offer immediate relief with a spinal adjustment, as happened with me, and start on a long-term recovery program which can have you in better shape for next season.

  On this program I interact with two Doctors of  Chiropractic, Dr. Kelly Morgenroth, who practices in my home town of Sandersville, Georgia, and Dr. Tom Potisk, who has his office in Wisconsin. This started with Dr. Potisk  discovering  my radio show, Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures  and finding out about my book Backyard Deer Hunting: Converting deer to dinner to pennies per pound.  He had also written a book. Whole Health Healing: The natural wellness bible for all ages, and suggested that our general objectives were quite similar, i.e., promoting better health and family life by living a more holistic lifestyle, exercising and a natural diet.

  To order Dr. Potisk’s book you may place an order at www.thedowntoearthdoctor.com. This book is also available from all outlets such as Amazon and Borders Books. My own books, Backyard Deer Hunting: Converting deer to dinner for pennies per pound, Crossbow Hunting, Practical Bowfishing and forthcoming book X-Treme Muzzleloading, all contain easy to cook wild-game recipes and may be viewed at www.hoveysmith.com and also ordered from E-commerce sources and book stores.   

  I had long advocated these principles along with taking charge of one’s work life by starting your own outdoor-based business (including 21 YouTube videos).  Only the week before I had given an hour-long teleseminar on the subject.  My experiences with a natural diet included eating almost exclusively wild game meats, fish and fowl as well as what plant materials, fruit and nuts that I could gather. I am now, for example,  making persimmon bread and beer.

  Making persimmon beer from the left-over skins, seed and clinging fruit resulting from the making of persimmon bread. This beer has a slight citrus taste and yields a refreshing Summer drink. I have a YouTube video on the topic at: http://youtu.be/1Ny_uauehsk.  

  I had absolutely no problems with the great majority of  Dr. Potisk’s opinions on holistic living, but some resistance emerged when I received his book and found out that he was a Chiropractor, who I had put only a slight bit above snake oil salesmen. I had never been to one in my life. I read his book and found out that not only did his arguments make sense, but that chiropractic could likely help me with a 10-year  problem of neck stiffness resulting from an auto accident.

  There is considerable distance between Georgia and Wisconsin, so I could not consult with him, but fortunately a lady Doctor of  Chiropractic, Dr. Kelly Morgenroth, had recently opened her practice in Sandersville.  After a single adjustment to my neck, I had 30 degrees more movement and could now see over my left shoulder. In addition, the extreme tightness of my neck muscles and pain was gone.

  X-rays revealed that one of my legs was considerably taller than the other, resulting from an injury at about age five, and there were some other areas that could likely benefit from adjusting the spine. I sent photos of a couple of  my X-rays up to Dr. Potisk so that we would have a real case to talk about during the program. One of these X-rays is at the top of this post.  Although I was attempting to stand level and square to the X-ray camera, one hip socket is higher than the other and the pelvis is twisted to the extent that it is not lined up with the spine.

  This is likely why I never could run without pain, even as a young man, and long driving trips left me very stiff.  Before Dr. Potisk and I did the interview, I had the chance to have  two spinal adjustments and could talk about the process and include the sounds of Dr. Morgenroth adjusting my spine on the end of the program. The metallic clinks that you hear are not my spine, but her table rebounding to increase the effectiveness of her manual manipulations.

 Ads included in this program are from SIN, Inc.’s, (Synthetic industrial Non-Nutritives, Inc.) Diet Division. This firm offers diet pills that have no known medical effect that they make for about four cents and sell for between $0.40 and $40,000 a pill, price-adjusted according to a person’s income. This graduated cost is designed to encourage the dieter to follow the dietary changes and exercise parts of the weight-reduction program.

This black rat snake will take care of our rodent problems.

  A new sponsor, Rent A Reptile, specializes in renting snakes and other reptiles for an all-natural method of pest control. These include smallish snakes for apartment dwellers with roaches to pythons for those with larger animal problems. This service is unfortunately not available in the United Kingdom, where they have no snakes and take the strong position that they want none.

 A buried electric dog fence is necessary to confine the reptiles to the subject property. For difficult animal control problems, such as with armadillos, Fred and Freda, a pair of anacondas, will usually take care of these with a few nights’ work. These snakes require access to ponds or other cooling sources of water. It is wise to keep small children and pets confined when Fred and Freda are deployed.