Snapshots

The parent company that bought Seattle-based C.C. Filson in early 2005 has hired an outdoor clothing veteran to run the 110-year-old firm. In early October Bill Kulczycki, who worked for clothing maker and retailer Patagonia for 17 years, took the positions of president and CEO. He had been Patagonia's vice-president of business development for the past seven years. Doug Williams, the former Ralph Lauren executive who came out of retirement to lead Filson after the company's purchase, will become the chairman of the board.

Filson has become legendary for its rugged outdoor wear, specialized clothing for sportsmen, and "Made in America" quality. This past year the company introduced a new line of casual clothing-the Lodge Collection-and opened a second retail store in Denver. In a recent interview in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Williams, who grew up hunting pheasants in South Dakota, pledged that the company will remain committed to products for outdoorsmen. He also acknowledged that customers have complained that the new casual clothes are made in Asia as opposed to the famous Seattle factory. His response was that Filson's growth has led to new hiring in the US, and he estimated that 85 percent of the company's goods are still made in this country.


The traditions of rugged outdoor wear are alive and well at Orvis, which has reached all the way back to Teddy Roosevelt as a model for a new clothing line. The TR Collection literally was designed using the Rough Rider's own clothes as prototypes, with features researched from museum items and photographs of the most famous American outdoorsman. The line includes a leather jacket and vest, a canvas field coat and vest, twill pants, a hunting sweater and a rabbit fur felt hat.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of TR clothing will be donated to the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Part-nership, a coalition of leading hunting, fishing and conservation organizations. The TRCP works with its members to expand access to hunting and fishing as well as to conserve and manage fish and wildlife habitat. David Perkins, the executive vice president of Orvis, serves on the TRCP board of directors. For more details, visit www.orvis.com/roosevelt or www.trcp.org.


Also on the "portion of proceeds" theme, Remington has unveiled its first Conservation Gun of the Year: the 2007 Premier Over & Under RGS. The Italian-made gun, a dressed-up version of the company's recently introduced Premier line, will be offered in a limited edition for one year, with sales to benefit the Ruffed Grouse Society. The 20-gauge has a straight English stock of oil-finished, upgraded walnut and engraved game scenes featuring gold grouse and woodcock on a black-finished receiver. It's a real grouse gun, right out to the tips of its 26-inch barrels, and is priced at $2,065. For more infor-mation, visit www.ruffedgrousesociety.org.


Enthusiasts passionate about shooting old doubles have a new choice in ammunition, thanks to the attention of one of the country's largest shooting-supply retailers and a big-name shotshell manufacturer. Midway USA recently introduced a reduced-pressure 12-gauge load made exclusively for the company by Federal. The 23/4" shell pushes 7/8 oz of No. 71/2 lead at 1,200 fps, generating a vintage-gun-friendly 5,000 psi of chamber pressure. At the time of the introduction, Midway was charging $6.89 per box and $64.99 for a flat of 10 boxes. And in an apparent effort to stave off any disappointment with the performance of its products, Federal has printed on each and every shell, "Not for use in semi-autos."

You remember those . . . .


James D. Julia Auctioneers claimed the two top-grossing firearms auctions in North America for 2006, with sales in March and October totaling $17.3 million. The two-day March auction grossed $9 million on just more than 1,000 firearms and was the first firearms sale at Julia's new facility in Fairfield, Maine. The three-day October auction included military and sporting arms as well as Civil War and Old West memorabilia and grossed $8.3 million. The auction company attributes its sales success to "pedigree, diversity, quality and rarity," and its firearms auction catalogs are typically an educational tour through the history of fine gunmaking, extraordinary collections and guns of story-telling provenance.

Among the shotgun highlights in the October sale: A stunning and scarce Parker AAHE 20-gauge brought $34,500, a Parker CHE 20-gauge drew almost double the high estimate at $29,900, a cased pair of Holland & Holland Royals sold for $60,950, a Westley Richards Ovundo in 12 gauge brought $22,425, a Fox DE Special Grade in 12 gauge sold for $24,725, and a Parker DH upgraded by Angelo Bee brought $18,400.

Shotgun collectors were not alone in paying high prices, as records set at the October auction included prices paid for a Civil War battle flag and an engraved Colt Dragoon. The flag of the 23rd Georgia Infantry from early 1863 sold for $161,000, and the revolver sold for $138,000.

The complete October auction catalog with prices realized is available online at www.juliaauctions.com. For more informa-tion, call 207-453-7125.

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