UplandFeathers

The first .410 shotgun I ever fired was an old Stevens side by side. The left barrel didn’t work but the right was just dandy. My childhood buddy and I would use that .410 on our jaunts in the woods behind his house where there just so happened to be a pheasant farm. The unwritten rule was pheasants outside the pens were fair game. I can only image if we had the Arsenal SGL41 .410 Shotgun in our sweaty little hands. Old man Fitch, who ran the pheasant farm, would have called the state troopers, the FBI and the National Guard on us. The SGL41 uses an AK based Saiga platform. It sports an original Russian receiver with a hammer forged barrel. Chambered for three inch .410 shot shell round the SGL41 will accept 2 ¾" and 3" .410 shot shells. It even has a treaded barrel for different choke tubes. I do miss that Stevens, or maybe I just miss that time when it was natural to for boys to walk the woods and fields with a shotgun or twenty-two rifle. That red circle indicates the caliber and yes it is a 10-shot magazine for .410 shotshells.

Posted by SwampYankee at 09:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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What is Unboxing?: Unboxing originated with Unboxing.com, a site dedicated to helping people show off their new techie toys, favorite gadgets, consumer electronics, and more. As their tag line states "Vicarious thrills from opening new gear."

There are gadgets and then there is gear. It is not often a gadget makes it into the gear category. Once a gadget, always a gadget. There are a very few gadgets that graduate into gear. A GPS is a good example. GPS when first introduced were at the mercy of wet weather, very expensive, and harder to program than a VCR. I still don’t know nor do I care how to program a VCR or should I say DVD or TiVo. A button compass sufficed for me until I dropped my Luddite dogma and embraced technology. I don’t know what I did before a GPS. When I first came along the Magnet Gun Caddy I quickly lumped it into the gadget category along with battery-operated socks, 5-in-1 baklavas and hunting knives with gut hooks. Gadget. Gadget. And gadget. Then I used the Magnet Gun Caddy.













How many times does this happen. You are all set to walk into the field when you realize you have forget

Continue reading "Unboxing: Magnet Gun Caddy" »

Posted by SwampYankee at 09:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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A recent survey compiled the brands and products that hunters and target shooters preferred most in 2008. care to guess the mst favorite shotgun brand? How about the most preferred shotshell? I know the anticipation is excruciating. Here's the list:

• Top shotgun brand: Mossberg (29.9% of all purchases)
• Top shotgun ammunition brand: Winchester (35.7% of all purchases)
• Top game call brand: Primos (35.9% of all purchases)

Posted by SwampYankee at 06:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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What is Unboxing?: Unboxing originated with Unboxing.com, a site dedicated to helping people show off their new techie toys, favorite gadgets, consumer electronics, and more. As their tag line states "Vicarious thrills from opening new gear."

It is hard to believe that the Ruger Red Label debuted back in 1978. Seems like yesterday I was blasting skeet with a blued and fixed-choke model. I guess that dates me. This year I wanted to go all American in the pheasant fields and grouse coverts and the newer Ruger fit the bill splendidly. The design has really proven itself in the field and not much has changed from that shotgun I used at the end of the last century. Today it sports choke tubes—and Ruger isn't stingy with them either—5 tubes in total for every shooting possibility. Choke tubes are a lot like ATM cards and cell phones—I don’t know how I survived with out them. The Red Label has a classic look with its combination of wood, stainless steel and blued steel. I like the fact that the receiver is stainless. That means it is easier to clean, less vulnerable to weather, and, as the most common carry point, the finish will not wear like a bluing. Look at your blued-receiver guns and I’ll bet you can tell how you carry it most often. I’ve always been partial to 12 gauge over-and-unders and this Ruger is a real go-to gun ready for any type of weather and shooting condition. Load it up for pheasant and duck or use milder loads for grouse and woodcock. The weight of the gun is substantial when compared to lithe 16s, 20s and 28s especially if you walk all day, but those extras pounds help lap up recoil. It's what I used this season in cut cornfields and through alder choked thickets, and it complimented Cooper and Bella. Here are the specifications for the Red Label:

• Action Type: over and under
• Caliber: 12 (shown), 20 & 28 gauge
• Barrel Length: 28 in. vent rib
• Front Sight: Bead
• Choke: Choke tubes; full, modified, improved cylinder, skeet (2 tubes)
• Overall Length: 45 in.
• Weight: 8 lbs. (unloaded)
• Capacity: 2 rounds
• Stock: American walnut w/ pistol grip
• Finish: blued barrels & stainless steel reciever

I love reading the ends of firearm boxes. After the jump, see more of the Red Label.

Continue reading "Unboxing: Ruger Red Label Shotgun" »

Posted by SwampYankee at 01:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

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During the depression, authors like F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote lavishly of the high life. And brother if you could spare a dime, the movie theater was also an escape. They served the purpose that cable TV and the internet do today—they distract the public of hard times and bring us entertainment. Fitzgerald allowed us to peek into an affluent world and become part of it if only for a few chapters. And Hollywood gave us images of we still remember. Benelli is offering more than a peek into that world. A limited edition—only 200 will reach US shores—shotgun called the BiMillionaire. What’s the occasion? It sure isn’t the bullish economy. The BiMillionaire celebrates the completion of the company’s two millionth shotgun. According to Benelli each BiMillionaire shotgun is a work of art—entwined baroque acanthus leaves and fine bevel-cut scrollwork, inspired by Italian armorers of the Renaissance, along with a cartouche of a duck in flight on the left side of the receiver and on the right a Spinone Italiano, northern Italy's classic gun dog, grace the metal. A distinctive half rosette with entwined gold overlay and shaded background accents both sides of the BiMillionaire. Ahhh. I haven’t been able to obtain the suggested retail price, but as the saying goes: If you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it.

Posted by SwampYankee at 07:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Hurd State Park lies on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River roughly between the city of Middletown and the small town of Haddam. The state of CT swears they will stock pheasants in this area. Cooper, the gun pup, and Bella, the old gun dog rescue, visited this spot together prior to bird season. A trial run after which I thought it best to hunt them individually. Bella won the Nutro biscuit toss up. Late in the afternoon we walked the mile down hill to the meadow, known as Higganum Meadows, following powerlines and over a seasonal stream wet from recent rain. The land falls quickly and lower and lower you climb passing through hardwoods bright with fall color until you are on the flat meadow that abuts the river. If I was a farmer I would think corn or hay. The state cuts a maze through grass as tall as the average man. I had been told that Bella was a good hunter but my expectations were low. The previous owner was about to drop her off at a shelter before we took her in and he said Bella was quick on birds. He had also tried to give her away to members of his hunt club, but there were no takers for this 7-year-old. Today she worked close and kept an eye out for me. She, as well as Cooper, have learned to change direction on command. “Whup!” She shifted direction, ignoring other dogs and hunters, honoring another dog’s point. I did not expect much action from the put-and-take pheasant this late in the day either. That was probably a good thing since the Ruger Red Label in the crook of my arm was new. I have held the company of Rugers in chopped corn fields and on skeet fields and sporting clays courses well before they sported choke tubes so this was a reintroduction of sorts, like meeting up with an old acquaintance. Still I shouldered it a few times making sure the recoil pad cleared my vest. Bella was suspicious of the small wave of water coming toward shore but she was thirsty. Reassured when I stood in the swallow water, she felt safe to drink though still suspicious of the rolling ripples. Back up the river bank we made the loop around the back half of the meadow, working the fringe then hunting the soft ground around the marsh hoping for a wayward woodcock. The other hunters had left and Bella was quick to find the remains of downed birds, she looked me in the eyes. "Yes, girl, we are a little late." On the walk back, I cracked the Ruger and carried it over my shoulder. It was stiff like all new over-and-unders so I opened and closed the action on empty chambers and held two shells in my hand as we climbed the hill to the truck in case we flushed a straggler. I thought I would be the one waiting for her to catch up, but she stopped looking back for me. At home I brushed her out and she looked into my eyes. “Yes it was a good day after all.” And then the gun pup pushed his nose between us. He wanted to be brushed, too.

Posted by SwampYankee at 06:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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What is Unboxing?: Unboxing originated with Unboxing.com, a site dedicated to helping people show off their new techie toys, favorite gadgets, consumer electronics, and more. As their tag line states "Vicarious thrills from opening new gear."

The DT H20 1810 ecollar works as advertised and that is such a comforting thing. It did not over promise nor did it under deliver. You will recall we posted an Unboxing story on the DT H20 1810 ecollar a while back. While using the collar--and yes to answer your question, I did try it on myself. I thought I had a duty to understand how the ecollar worked. A slight nick on the lowest setting had my complete attention. And I thought this might not be such a good idea, so while we experimented with the ecollar we also tried an alternative training method positive reinforcement. The ecollar was obviously negative reinforcement. I had many conversations with trainers who are devotes of the ecollar and think they are the best invention in the world--even better than ATM cards, sliced bread, and canned beer. On the other end of the spectrum are the trainers who believe in positive reinforcement, e.g. give the dog a treat if he performs as directed. The positive reinforcement trainers abhor the use of an ecollar and think it is cruel and inhumane. The negative trainers wonder what the dog will do if you run out of treats. Regardless which side of the fence you are on, I really wanted my money back on the DT H20 it worked so well in such a short time with Cooper when teaching him to "come" and to "leave it." I never turned the power intensity past 2. As Cooper has grown from a long legged pup to a muscular adolescent, he tests his boundaries and judicious and prudent use of the ecollar has produced excellent results. But back to the actual collar. The controller comes with a lanyard, which can be convenient especially if you have a check cord in one hand and a wand in the other to teach "whoa." The nick button does just that, a quick zap that's designed to get their attention. The continuous button provides stimulant for a longer period, no more than a few seconds and then turns off. Use this if your pup thinks the neighbor’s cat is lunch. We used the DT ecollar in the land trust where there are streams and beaver ponds, steep hills and deep gullies and never once did we loose a signal. We used the tester, which is included in the kit, just to be sure. The collar strap is actually the antenna and is stiff since wires are sandwiched inside the plastic covering. Waterproof and definitely shock proof--Cooper proof would be more correct. It holds a charge over days and weeks depending on use. To recharge, pull out the rubber stoppers and plug in the charger. Both collar and controller can be charged at the same time. The DT ecollar definitely convinced me that gun dog training can be easy and safe. And yes, we still give positive reinforcement with treats as well.

Posted by SwampYankee at 09:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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I guess the clue was too easy in the Sarasota Sporting Clays posting: Il fucile da caccia è inceppato or roughly translated from Italian to English: "The gun for hunting is jammed" or "The shotgun is jammed." Sorry my Italian is rusty. I recieved emails with the correct brand and a few with the correct brand and model, and I would like to award a prize to those who responded, but I don't even have a blaze orange UplandFeathers.com cap to give away. For those of you who didn't guess right or are just wondering, the culprit shotgun was a Beretta Silver Pigeon II. It should be no surprise to those of you who hunt and shoot regularly. Gear breaks. That's why they make spare parts. Shortly after arriving back in CT from FL, I contacted Beretta Service Repair and crossed my fingers. Customer service departments can make or break a company. I don't even want to start in on a mega-size home improvement store I've had dealings with. Beretta's service department asked me to put my problem in writing and ship the note along with the unloaded shotgun to their repair facillity in MD. While they were at it I asked to have the trigger pull weight lightened. You can see the letter below. Come back to find out what the oldest maker of firearms in the world had to say about their shotgun and the type of service I recieved.

Posted by SwampYankee at 04:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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What is Unboxing?: Unboxing originated with Unboxing.com, a site dedicated to helping people show off their new techie toys, favorite gadgets, consumer electronics, and more. As their tag line states "Vicarious thrills from opening new gear."

The SBW liked the review of the boots in a previous post, but was at loss as to why I did not include a image of the said unboxed and used boots. Well to satisfy SBW's courisoity as well as any other's an image of the used boots is posted. You can see that they are really holding up good after hunts, hikes and yard work. As stated before, the boots feel like sneakers.

Posted by SwampYankee at 09:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

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If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then it is with mixed emotion that someone is taking our cue. We noted shortly after this year's SHOT Show the Benelli Ultra Light was a shotgun of merit. Well it was selected as the winner of OL's Choice Award for 2008. Ok so maybe the editors at OL really do know a thing or two about shotguns. The hard part now will be finding one of these 20 gauges in my dealer’s rack.

Posted by SwampYankee at 09:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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What is Unboxing?: Unboxing originated with Unboxing.com, a site dedicated to helping people show off their new techie toys, favorite gadgets, consumer electronics, and more. As their tag line states "Vicarious thrills from opening new gear."

I started this "Unboxing" post with: "Yankees are a frugal lot...". What's that you say, "No foolin'!" But really, it rubs my feathers the wrong way to pay a lot for a name brand and not have that brand deliver. These Browning boots deliver. I don’t get excited easily but a good pair of boots is priceless especially if you spend any amount of time chasing grouse or pheasants in New England or any where for that matter. You know a good pair can mean the different between a great day a field or blisters or wet feet. I have used the Kangaroo Featherweights regularly since I purchased them. Cooper and I have this habit of going for a hike on our town's land trust area, which is hilly, wet, and steep. It boasts a small switchback trail that leads to down to a beaver pond but not before crossing a 6-foot wide stream. The trail continues to meander through a maze of mountain laurel and hemlocks and then starts back uphill through a stand of hardwoods. It gets my blood pumping and Copper, well nothing tires out that pup. The boots feel like sneakers (I don't trip up over the soles like I have with a heavier soled boot) and are truly water proof (Ms. Deborah thinks I'm crazy for walking in the streams). Plus—and this is important—my foot slides easily into the boot. Ever have the rough side of leather exposed inside your boot? It’s like you have carpet tape on your socks. The Featherweights lace and unlace quickly. No fussing to loosen the laces and no pulling each criss-cross of the lace to tighten them. This all from day one. They never needed to be broken in. Well, Cooper is jumping on my lap looking for attention. I do belive he's suggesting we go for a walk on the land trust.

Posted by ras400 at 02:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

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What is Unboxing?: Unboxing originated with Unboxing.com, a site dedicated to helping people show off their new techie toys, favorite gadgets, consumer electronics, and more. As their tag line states "Vicarious thrills from opening new gear."

Back a few years ago when I was a pup, I had the great fortune to train a German Wirehaired Pointer otherwise known as a GWP or if have a Teutonic bent a Drahthaar. GWPs fall into the versatile hunting category and can be trained to hunt anything. And when I say anything, I really mean anything. My GWP, named Blue, was a natural-born hunter and anything I did help Blue’s training along he ignored. Back then there were no VHS tapes or DVDs to visually show you how to train a dog, just books. And since I had the time to train Blue, I thought I would do it myself. Blue obviously had read all the books and no matter how much I tried to teach him whoa and other gun dog commands he ignored me. He chewed a few of the books I read cover to cover in an effort to tell me he had everything under control. We finally reach an understand that if I would stop reading the gun dog training books he would oblige me and hunt birds. So that was how our hunting relationship ensued. I took no responsibility for his fieldwork prowess and he found birds where other dogs couldn’t. Now that Cooper is in the picture I pulled out my old dog training books for a refresher course. Blue never knew that I taped the pages back into the binding. If training Blue was an exercise in traditional dog training methods, then Cooper’s training would use 21st century methods. Electronic dog training collars, or ecollars, have been on the market since 1970s. These collars give the dog wearing it an electric shock stimulus. There are two sides of the fence with ecollars; those who think it is humane and those who think it is cruel. In a future post I will present both sides of the ecollar and let you know where I stand. The DT H2O 1810 series collar system is an example of an ecollar that can be applied in both basic and advanced training needs Some of the features are:

• Range: 1 Mile
• Intensity Levels: 16 adjusted from the transmitter
• Antenna System: built into the collar
• Power Source: rechargeable Ni-MH battery
• Waterproof: yes
• Functionality: 2 buttons; 1 nick stimulation, 1 continuous stimulation

Here’s what I found and what Cooper found when we opened the box.

Continue reading "Unboxing: DT Systems - H2O 1810 ecollar" »

Posted by SwampYankee at 08:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

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Now that the barrels of test guns at the SHOT Show have cooled we find that the trend in shotguns this year is light weight and trap-competition-ready models. Benelli's Ultra Light is a 20-gauge auto loader that weighs in at 5.2 pounds. Talk about svelt. Sign me up to walk all day in woods with one of those. Franchi, too, has an aluminum alloy 12 gauge auto at a lithe 6.5 pounds. You heard about Browning's BPS in 16 gauge from a previous post, plus the low profile Cynergy is now rigged for trap shooting. Caesar Guerini is also falunting their Magnus Trap, which has this DTS system with an adjustable rib to change the point of impact. The Browning and Guerini come with the typical trap features—adjustable stock, extended tubes. Remington has also tarted up thier 1100 with a nickle-plated reciever, gold trigger, and with semi-fancy American walnut. Who are they kidding, that's full-fancy if you ask me. What really caught my eye in the trap offerings, however, is the