Letters

Short Praise

Thank you for the article on the two-inch 12-gauge ("The Two-Inch Twelve Revisited," March/April). I have had three of these guns and currently own a ca. 1930 Holland & Holland, which is the finest of them all. It is truly the ultimate grouse gun. Ditto quail, doves and woodcock. I also have had wonderful snipe shooting with this gun.
Please, more articles on these fine firearms.
Ansell Bray
Lambertville, New Jersey


Ethical Thoughts

I wanted to take the time to tell you how much I enjoyed Michael McIntosh's essay "Matters Of Ethics" (Shooting) in March/April. It was one of the best pieces I've read in SSM.
Michael did a fine job of dealing with the difference between ethics and morals-"ethics define what you do, and morals define who you are"-as well as how what's legal and illegal in different areas of our country can tangle up those two things in a tight knot. The example of "In some states it's perfectly legal to bait deer and black bears, so why not ducks?" sure makes you think about our laws, even for those of us who morally don't believe in baiting.
I particularly like his answer to those who sneer at driven shooting as being unethical. He threaded the needle with his delivery on that, sighting just how hard it can be to hit some of those high-flying birds being pushed by a stiff wind.
This is a particularly good article for younger-generation hunters to read and understand prior to taking to the field or marsh and establishing what they will do and who they are. And it sure wouldn't hurt some established hunters to take a peek and maybe do some soul searching as well. It sure made me do a little.
Gary Cappelletti
Via e-mail


. . . And a Bit of Disbelief

As a 76-year-old who has been hunting for about 65 years and who has shot birds in Africa, England, Scotland, Colombia (in the old days), Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico and more than one US state, I found Michael McIntosh's March/April Shooting column to be interesting and well done, except for a couple of comments. "In 11 seasons and thousands of birds, we lost a sum total of one-and that was my fault . . ." and "Personally, I make every reasonable effort to retrieve what I shoot . . ." and "I can't tell you how many hundreds of pheasants I've shot with a 28, but I can tell you that I've never lost one . . . ."
First, I simply don't believe what he says.
Second, is there an inconsistency in stating that he makes "every reasonable effort to retrieve" and doesn't beat himself up and never lost but one bird or not one lost pheasant?
Third, is he going to tell us that he never feathered a bird that obviously was hit and would go down and die? Come on, Mr. McIntosh. You must be a hell of a shot!
Fourth, thousands of birds in 11 seasons . . . . Does he include South America in his seasons?
Oh, well, as an old codger, I just don't believe him on some of the BS, although I agree completely with the discussion on ethics.
George M. Cowden
Austin, Texas


Michael McIntosh responds:

Mr. Cowden: I do not tell tall tales, neither in person nor in print. Hell, some of the true stories I can tell are more bizarre than anything I could make up. But you are of course entitled to believe anything you want.
I've shot birds in all the places you have and then some (excluding Africa) and in most of those places more than once. If you care to reread the story, you'll notice that those 11 seasons when I lost only one bird were seasons when I hunted with one particular dog. I did kill thousands of birds over her and lost but one. I thought I made it clear that this was her doing more than mine. She was hell-bent to retrieve anything, including ducks, because she loved water. But I never took her out of this country. I do count South America in my seasons, but she never went there, not even to Mexico or Canada. I do not, by the way, keep score of doves in Argentina, Paraguay or Bolivia. I'd rather shoot picazuros or perdiz, anyway.
And sorry to tell you, I truly have shot hundreds of pheasants with a 28-gauge gun and never lost one. I didn't say I've never missed any, only that I've never lost one that I hit solidly. These were either released birds or early season wild ones. I've also shot doves, pigeons, starlings, chukar, gray partridge, three species of quail, ruffed grouse, woodcock, spruce grouse and sharptails with a 28. It's an ethical exercise called "picking your shots."
I frankly don't see any contradictions. Of course I've feathered birds that have flown off. Who hasn't? I would have looked for them diligently if I'd had any clue where they'd gone.
Am I a hell of a shot? I don't know, only that I'm as good as I can be. This is the result of scores of thousands of rounds fired in practice-but I suppose that's a number you don't want to believe either.
I see that you live in Texas, my favorite place in the US to hunt quail, especially south of San Antonio. In the parts of Texas I know best, a man is expected to be as good as his word, which is how it should be. There's also a lovely local axiom that says, "It ain't braggin' if you really done it." I'm getting to be something of an old codger myself, but I'd have to think long and hard and search every corner of my soul before calling another man a liar.


A Not-So-Average Reader

Let me see. I am female, married, at most 44 years old and attended college. Guess that makes me not your average Shooting Sportsman subscriber (From the Editor, March/April), but your publication still works for me. You see, even though I may not be your average reader, my interest in the subject matter could be described as "highly enthusiastic."
About a year ago a friend invited me to a day at the local sporting clays club. I had never handled a shotgun before but thought it sounded like fun. I love walking, being outdoors and a challenge when given one. The truth? The first shot with the borrowed Beretta 12-gauge gave me a strong and firm reminder of how not to mount a shotgun, but I learned very quickly!
It doesn't matter to me that my score was something like a 19 that day. I have had many better days at skeet and trap since then, so there is hope. The score is a small part of the fun for me. The thing I remember most is the feeling that came over me while I held, maneuvered and fired that shotgun. I get it every time I go shooting, and there are no words that come close to describing it except for "passion."
Now back to your average SSM readers. I must mention that the people I have met in this sport really do "give back," and, yes, they are mostly male, married, at least 50 and attended college. They also own an average of 12 shotguns and are doing their best to get me to that point as well. Last summer I bought my first 12-gauge (a used Sabatti) and recently purchased a new 20-gauge Rizzini, and I have an appointment at Cole Gunsmithing, in Harpswell, Maine, for a gunfitting. Very exciting.
And now my point. You mentioned the attrition in hunter numbers, and I am finding that to be true. My "shooting buddies" at the range have shared their skills with me, and they have given me opportunities to try at least a dozen different shotguns in order to help me find the right one. The wealth of their shared knowledge is priceless, but many of them do not hunt. I would like to get out there and go hunting. Where do I start?
Carolyn Borgman
Winsted, Connecticut

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