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A Carolina Christmas…in the Southern uplands
Winter is here, and leather boots are on the go Wingshooters in orange walking through evergreen groves Red Partridgeberries danglin' everywhere Timberdoodles flushin' in pairs It must be that time of year that brings warm cheer
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Of Impala and Dogs
I knew the shot was good, but as I watched the impala ram run into the thick tangle of trees and brush like nothing had happened, my heart sank. Cape buffalo, kudu, and puku all noticed the .300 Swift A-frame I sent their way, but not this impala. “It’s going to be fine,” my professional hunter, Strang Middleton, assured me as I lowered my rifle. “My dogs will find him.”
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Atlantic Brant & The Death of Blackbeard
It’s the morning of November 22nd, 1718, and the North Carolina Island of Ocracoke will be witness to a battle that will result in the death and beheading of the most famous pirate in history, Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. The golden age of piracy ended almost 300 years ago, but our fascination with pirates is as strong today as it was during the Golden Age. Blackbeard is, without a doubt, the most well-known pirate, but many myths and legends surround him...
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Turkey in Old Mexico
When someone asks me, “Why did you go all the way to Mexico just to shoot a turkey?”, the answer is simple: the experience. The flight down to El Paso, the border crossing, traveling through a truly authentic “border town”, being stopped by the “Federales” on the trip back from camp, and all the great food, followed by some excellent turkey hunting made it a trip truly filled full of experiences. While some better than others, but nonetheless, experiences...
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The Wild Fowl Tastes of Twain
When speaking about Mark Twain (1835-1910), we usually think of him putting pen to paper and not holding a fork. Twain loved to eat. Most people traveling throughout Europe would say the food is exquisite. Whether one is in Spain, France, or Italy, the cuisine is supposed to be the pinnacle of culinary refinement. However, for Twain it was far from it. Twain made it clear while traveling in the 1870s that he preferred and longed for good, ol’ American food.
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A Guineafowl Shoot In Zambia
Guineafowl are an exotic addition on many farms across the South, where they are used for insect control epically ticks. Still, in their native Africa, they offer an excellent wing shooting opportunity. A quick morning hunt for a couple of guineafowl for breakfast would be the ending of a beautiful hunting adventure in Zambia
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Five Quotes By Nash Buckingham
American author and conservationist Nash Buckingham is best remembered for his shorts stories collected in the book De Shootinest Gent'man.
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Sun, Dust & Borrego Cimarron
Do you have that one animal that possesses your every-thought? I’ve hunted quite a few species in over forty years but there is no animal that holds my admiration more than a wild desert sheep. Desert sheep are survivors in the most inhospitable high places requiring the best you have to give both physically and mentally making a successful hunt all the more rewarding. It’s ironic though that such a tough survivor is having such a difficult time. The circumstances surrounding the population struggles of desert bighorn predate my existence and in many cases are still the same. In spite of the conservation success desert…
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A Lion in the Distance
Stinging sweat ran down the face and into the eyes of the man with the big gun. As he walked he took his forefinger and thumb and squeezed the corners of his eyes at the bridge of his nose soothing the pain temporarily. It was mid-morning , but his light green shirt was already darker in sections. In front of…
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Ward Allen: The Shakespeare Quoting Market Hunter Of Savannah
Its the late 1800s in Savannah, Georgia, on a warm fall evening, you are walking down the street and hear the familiar lines of Shakespeare coming from inside a bar. Outside the bar lay a couple of Chesapeake Bay retrievers patiently waiting for someone. Intrigued, you step inside, as the smoke burns your eyes and your nose fills with the smell of whiskey you see a figure in a wide-brimmed Stetson hat and a handlebar mustache quoting sonnets and speaking Latin. The man in the hat is Ward Allen, heir to the Allen Plantation and the last of Savannah's market hunters.