Letters

New Hope for Quail Hunters

After reading Vic Venters' article "Quail Hunting's New Good Old Days, Part I" in May/June, I feel like we have been reborn! Thank you, thank you, for such a concise and informative article on Gentleman Bob. You do justice to all those who have hunted the Millpond and Elsoma plantations of South Georgia.

Looking forward to Part II.

Patrick T. Casey
Kiawah Island, South Carolina

More Visual Adventures

The old adage "a picture is worth a thousand words" seems most appropriate to describe Gary Kramer's photo essay "In the Shadow of Kilimanjaro," in March/April. No words could describe the three-panel shot of the incoming spurfowl resulting in a clean kill-it was like watching a video-or the colorful outfits warn by the Maasai bird boys.

As a bird hunter interested in the international experience, this glimpse into the adventure offered in East Africa was excellent. I would encourage you to consider more of this type of article in future issues, particularly on areas not well known to your US readership.

Robert L. Bean
Mill Valley, California

It's Bivins Already

I was disappointed when Clair Kofoed in his article "Walnut of the World" (March/April) identified a well-known gunmaker as "John Givens." A letter in May/June offers the correction that the name in fact begins with a "B," resulting in "John Bivens," the correction being accepted in print with thanks.

Now my disappointment is evolving toward heartburn. The man referred to in both cases is the late John Bivins Jr. This is not an obscure name in the fine-firearms world. Mr. Bivins was among other things a frequently published writer, the author of at least one definitive book, a full-time gunmaker, a firearms historian of some note, and curator of several collections of Americana.

This careless and easily avoidable double blunder inevitably raises questions. I assume you would prefer not to be addressed as Rolf Stewart at Shooting Spurtsman Magazine.

Thanks for a usually fine publication. If the bar were not set as high as it normally is, we might care less about this sort of thing.

Bruce W. Buckley
Southern Pines, North Carolina

This one's beginning to give us indigestion as well. We'll take some Bromo-Seltzer and not make the mistake again.

Black-Fly-Free Shooting

It was a pleasure to see your bit on "The 'Yooper' Side-by-Side Classic" (Game & Gun Gazette, May/June). My attendance this year will by my third, and I have yet to see-or feel the effects of-black flies, as the shoot is too early in the season for them. Otherwise, a nice article.

Louis N. Browning
Maysville, Kentucky

What? No black flies in the Upper Peninsula in mid-June? Good thing The Yooper isn't held in Maine. We hope our assumption didn't discourage attendance.

Joe Knapp Club Redux

I just finished reading Jim Fender's and David Trevallion's very fine piece on the Joe Knapp Club ("Member-Joe Knapp Club," March/April). As a source of Mr. Fender's, I would like to make a few comments and some small corrections. I recently have learned that there were about a half-dozen gold-engraved membership cards issued to Joe Knapp Club members in the early 1930s. This would seem to support the article's premise of how exclusive this club was. I would surmise that some of these charter members included Knapp's cronies like Thomas Lamont (head of J.P. Morgan Co.) and Myron Taylor (US Steel) and Knapp's son, Joseph F. ("Dodi") Knapp. I'm sure that finding one of these cards would prove as difficult as finding another Joe Knapp Club firearm.

Joseph P. Knapp was 27 years old when he formed American Lithographic Co. in February 1892. During the 1890s he was one of the leading amateur wingshots in the US. This talent was passed on to his great-granddaughter, Sibby, who was the first person to tell me about the Joe Knapp Club in 2001. Knapp's other passion was fly-fishing, and the Beaverkill Lodge mentioned in the article where Ducks Unlimited was formed belonged to Knapp. Today it is the location of the famous Wulff Fly Fishing School. Also Knapp's ownership of the ahead-of-its-time Sea Sled (granddaddy of the Boston Whaler) boat company from 1924 to 1933 should be of interest to your waterfowl readers. Joseph Palmer Knapp was truly an all-around outdoorsman and, as the article states, an unsung hero of the conservation movement.

The correct address for my Website is www.spoonercentral.com/knapp.html. My continuing research and interviews with folks from around the world have led me to surmise that there are more than a few unaccounted-for Joe Knapp Club firearms-probably of several makes-still around. (Knapp used a Francotte in his 19th Century tournament shooting.) I know that a small cache of engraved shotguns and pistols were left behind in an abandoned Knapp mansion that J.P.'s son owned on Long Island. I am hopeful that some of them will surface after 50-plus years.

Ken Spooner
Nashville, Tennessee

A Mis-Gauged Merkel

I respected Don Zutz. I highly respect Bruce Buck. I love the 16 gauge. However, Don Zutz's Merkel O/U was a 12-gauge (Gun Review, March/April). You publish a great magazine.

John Lowe Jr.
Via e-mail

Bruce Buck responds:

Guilty as charged. I had been told that Don's favorite gun was a Merkel 201E in 16. That seemed to fit with his well known comment that a reinvention of the ideal shotgun shell would look a lot like the 16-gauge. When I considered his praise of William Harnden Foster's and Burt Spiller's 16s, I cleverly put two and two together to get five. My new math isn't always good math. The last time I shot with Don he was using a Beretta 303 auto and we were shooting sporting clays. I should have questioned him more carefully about his Merkel. Thanks for taking the time to set the record straight. That said, if Don had had the opportunity to hunt with the new Merkel 2116EL, I bet he'd have had a new favorite.

We appreciate receiving your comments, criticisms and suggestions. Please send correspondence to Letters, Shooting Sportsman, PO Box 1357, Camden, ME 04843; editorial@shootingsportsman.com.

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