Game & Gun Gazette

T. Boone PIckens (left) received QU's Lifetime Sportsmanship Award, then convinced two bidders to pony up $140,000 each for a quail hunt on his ranch.

Fieldsport’s Shooting School for Families

As we all know, for the past few decades new participants haven’t exactly been flocking to the shooting sports. The message that has gone out is that it is up to today’s sportsmen—both men and women—to introduce the next generation to shooting if we harbor any hope of preserving the sport’s traditions for the future.

About $550,000 will go to fund efforts at the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch to sustain scaled and bobwhite quail populations.

Bryan Bilinski, owner of Fieldsport, Ltd., in Traverse City, Michigan, has heeded the call by launching a Family Oriented Wingshooting School aimed at introducing young people to shotgunning. According to Bilinski, “Having two daughters, I face the fact daily that today’s youngsters have so, so many extracurricular choices available to them, it seems that finding time to learn to shoot and go bird hunting has unfortunately become a low priority in their busy lives. Thus, my goal to host a Family Oriented Wingshooting School has come to life.”

The guidelines are simple. The father or mother (or both) attends the program with a son or daughter (ages 12 to 17). The parent pays the normal tuition for a traditional school, and the child participates free. In order to allow parents to be squadded with their children, the student:instructor ratio is 4:1—versus 3:1 in other school programs. The only other difference between the Family program and others is that the parents end up shooting slightly less than their children. But what parent isn’t willing to sacrifice a little trigger time for the sake of a child... ?

The two-day program will take place August 25 & 26, with an optional custom gun fit—at an additional cost—offered August 27. Participation will be limited to a maximum of 12 students (with a minimum of eight). The price for parents is $1,195, which includes all shells, clays and lunches. Loaner youth-model guns will be available at no charge. Instructors in addition to Bilinski will be Larry Cavalloro and SSM’s own Michael McIntosh.

What child could ask for a better introduction to shooting?

For more information, contact Fieldsport, 231-933-0767; www.fieldsportltd.com.

—Ralph P. Stuart

A Boone for Texas Quail

Financier helps raise $650,000 at QU Banquet

Proving again that everything’s bigger in Texas, the Park Cities chapter of Quail Unlimited shattered every QU fundraising record at its spring 2008 sportsman’s banquet. More than 900 people attended the event, held March 6 at the Frontiers of Flight Museum, in Dallas. And when the gavel rang down on the last auction item, the net proceeds totaled more than $650,000 —more than double the previous QU record.
Some $550,000 will go directly to the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch, which is the focus of the Park Cities chapter’s fund-raising efforts. The brainchild of a group of sportsmen gravely concerned about the decline of bobwhite and scaled (blue) quail and the future of quail hunting, the 4,700-acre property near Roby serves as a center for quail research and education. Bobwhite populations nationwide have plummeted by more than 80 percent since 1967, and the hope is that the work at Rolling Plains will help Texas remain a stronghold for wild quail.
Purchased in 2006 and incorporated in ’07 as a nonprofit entity, Rolling Plains is overseen by a five-person board of directors. Day-to-day operations are supervised by Dr. Dale Rollins of Texas A&M University.
“Our vision for Rolling Plains is to sustain the heritage of wild quail hunting for future generations,” said Rollins, one of the nation’s leading authorities on quail ecology and management. “We hope to become better students of quail and to parlay that knowledge to hunters, landowners and other user groups. Ultimately, we want to restore quail populations farther east, but we have to stop the bleeding here first.”
Although many people contributed to the success of the Park Cities banquet, the participation of one person was crucial: swashbuckling oilman, financier, philanthropist and lifelong quail hunter T. Boone Pickens. Not only did the chapter honor Pickens with its Lifetime Sportsman’s Award—a spectacular bronze of flying quail created by sculptor Walter Matia—but Pickens himself stepped up to the plate, donating the event’s signature auction item: a quail hunt for six couples at his palatial Mesa Vista Ranch, a hunt that in addition to every conceivable amenity included round-trip transportation from Dallas on Pickens’ private jet.
Those who’ve shot at Mesa Vista, a “little” 68,000-acre spread on the Texas Panhandle, will tell you that the quail hunting there is the finest in the world. So the bidding, needless to say, was fierce. When it “stalled” at $80,000, however, Pickens, who was nursing a badly broken wrist (he’d delayed surgery so he could attend the banquet), took the floor. Displaying the powers of persuasion that have made him a legend on Wall Street, he soon had the crowd in the palm of his hand—and when the auctioneer called, “Sold!” the bid was a stunning $140,000.
But Pickens wasn’t finished. Sauntering to the table where the losing bidder was seated, he made him an offer he couldn’t refuse: If he’d pony up $140,000 as well, Pickens would host the same hunt for him! If anyone knows how to use leverage and close a deal, it’s Pickens, and this one was done before it started.
In about as much time as it takes to gun a covey rise, Pickens had raised $280,000. Plus the example he set—and the galvanizing effect of his presence—inspired the crowd to “bid up” virtually every item offered. The result was a record-breaking night on behalf of the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch—one of the last best hopes for America’s most beloved, and most beleaguered, gamebird.
For more on the Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch, visit http://teamquail.tamu.edu/ RRQR2.htm. For more on the Park Cities chapter of QU, visit www.pcqu.org. —Tom Davis

Prolific Fine-Gun Author Marco Nobili Dies

Marco Nobili, the writer who published so many books and magazine articles on fine guns and left his imprint on the shooting world, died suddenly March 12 after suffering a stroke. He was 52.
Marco Ettore Nobili was born in Milan on May 19, 1955. Shotguns and wingshooting were early passions, and he published his first magazine articles on the topics when he was just 18. After graduating from the University of Venice, he pursued a career as a professional journalist. His articles have appeared in many European gun and hunting magazines. He was also a marketing and image consultant for specialized editors and Italian fine gunmakers.
Nobili wrote more than 20 books, including several fine-gun books that include complete English translations. The current Safari Press (www.safaripress .com) title Fine European Gunmakers is typical of Nobili’s work, featuring histories and profiles of the best gunmakers on the Continent in a large-format hardcover with many photographs of the best guns and engravings. Other titles include The Unique Work of Creative Art, The Great Book of Modern Engraving, Fucile d’Autore: The Best Guns, and works on Lebeau-Courally, F.lli Piotti, Austrian & German guns and the Winchester Model 1894.
Guitars were another passion, and Nobili made little distinction between the aesthetics of fine guns and fine guitars. He wrote that “A good guitar is like a good shotgun; both are made of wood and metal, both are assembled by expert hands in order to obtain a harmonic unit.” Gibsons were among his favorites, and his guitar books include The Gibson Les Paul Guitar, Everything Gibson, and The Electric Guitar Customized.
In recent years Nobili devoted himself to fine rifles, not only writing exhaustively on the subject but also claiming a benchrest title in 2007.
Laura Bosis, daughter of the well-known gunmaker Luciano Bosis, said, “In Italy we were all so sorry. He was a nice man, a very good gun writer. We have lost a gun expert and a nice man.” He is survived by his daughter, Lorella. —Douglas Tate

Cabela’s Stocking New Robertsons

In a move that shows that outdoor industry giant Cabela’s is delving even further into the fine-shotgun market, Retail Internet Gun Library Manager Tom Bryant announced in mid-March the arrival of six 20-bore side-by-side game guns bearing the name John Robertson (see “The Robertson Returns,” Jan/Feb ’07).
These Boss-built “entry-level” guns are made in Birmingham on sideplated Anson & Deeley actions and were ordered by Cabela’s more than a year earlier. The first half-dozen arrived with identical features, including 30" demi-block barrels choked Modified and Full, stocks with 151/8" lengths of pull, and Boss-designed recoil-activated non-selective single triggers. They also share a very high level of finish—as one might expect from Boss. In fact, both metal and wood are finished in the same manner that Boss guns are, with traditional English case colors and hand-rubbed oil finishes on French walnut stocks. Combining this with foliate English scroll engraving, Cabela’s has brought in a gun with very much the “British look.”
Bryant has looked over the guns carefully and declared the machinework on the barrels to be almost perfect. The polished bores measure .628" without variation from chamber end to choke. As a further indication of careful manufacture, they are extremely well-struck: The .042" wall thickness of the tubes varies by only .002" when measured at 9", 15" and 21" from the breech.
Boss owner Graham Halsey told Bryant that he has had very good luck shooting a pair of Robertson prototypes in the bird fields of Argentina and the UK for the past two years. Bryant said the 6-1/2-pound guns balance nicely and have a lively feel, yet are of sufficient weight to take heavier loads as necessary.
Given the abysmal exchange rate, Americans wishing to own a new British-made side-by-side for less than the price of a small condominium may want to take a hard look at the Robertson. At press time the Cabela’s price was $17,000, and Bryant said the guns are attracting interest, with at least two of the six already sold.
For more information, visit Cabela’s Gun Library at www.cabelas.com and find the article on the Robertsons, or browse the category “English Shotguns.” —Clair Kofoed

A Triple for Doubles in Minnesota

Three events in Minnesota this summer will offer side-by-side shooters opportunities to try their skills on sporting clays alongside like-minded practitioners of the true and proper gun.
The Side-by-Side Challenge & Triple Double will consist of three events in different locations and with different shooting styles. The Triple Double Grand Prize will be awarded by a ticket drawing at the third event. Shooters get one entry ticket at each event, thereby tripling their grand prize chances by attending all three events.
The first shoot will be Saturday, June 7. This is the second year for the Deep Portage Side-by-Side Challenge, held at the Deep Portage Conservation Reserve in rural Woodrow Township, about 10 miles east of Hackensack. The course features stations based upon ruffed grouse shots; eight out of 10 stations can be shot with Skeet and Improved Cylinder. The two remaining stations will imitate those birds that act “different” and for which any preparation will be inadequate. Lodging at the Reserve is available, and all meals are included. The event proceeds will be used to fund Upland Bird Camp scholarships for youths 12 to 14 years old at the Deep Portage Reserve. The week-long camp is a joint project of Deep Portage, The Ruffed Grouse Society and Pheasants Forever. For more information, contact the Deep Portage Conservation Reserve, 218-682-2325; www.deep-portage.org.
The second event will take place a few miles north of Duluth on August 2 & 3. The Puglisi Gun Emporium Side x Side Challenge is held at the beautiful and challenging Old Vermillion Trail Hunting Pavillion sporting clays course. The old Whiteside family show farm from the early 1920s is a perfect backdrop for the fine doubles on display and a lovely meal under stars and canvas after the sporting clays and (clay) pigeon ring events. The proceeds are paid back to participants based on their performances, and there are 12-gauge as well as smallbore classifications. There also will be plenty of door prizes. For more information, contact Randy Zahn or Mike Koranda at Duluth Double Gun, 218-879-0034; www.duluthdoublegun.com.
The last shoot will be held August 23 at Rice Creek Hunting and Recreation, east of Little Falls. The 4th Annual Great Northern Side-by-Side Event will be put on by Woodcock Minnesota, a charitable organization for tax purposes but less so for shooting. WM’s members have designed a sporting clays course with all of the traditional challenges, plus a flurry and a custom-designed woods walk. The shooting will be followed by a great meal of wild game put on by Rice Creek and the drawing for the first Triple Double Grand Prize. For more information, see www.woodcockminnesota.org or e-mail Jim Koehler at jkoehler@hqa.com.
Shooters should note that these are not tie-and-breeks challenges, but good manners and fine guns are appreciated. Costuming and dress might cause snickering and wise comments, but the quality of shooting by those so inclined might provide plenty of chances for rebuttal. —Ted Nelson Lundrigan

A Rare and Treasured Resource

The British Shotgun, Volumes One & Two

This pair of highly collectible books charts the evolution of the shotgun in Britain from 1850 to 1870 (Volume One, published in 1979) and from 1871 to 1890 (Volume Two, published in 1989). During that era, Britain still maintained colonies around the world and was an economic powerhouse. All the factors were in place for a thriving gun industry: people with a keen interest in game shooting and enough money to buy personal firearms (ranging from the cheap and cheerful to the very finest), a skilled labor force, and factories with sophisticated machinery—and inventive minds that could design a vast and sometimes bewildering array of sporting arms.
With their two volumes, authors I.M. Crudgington and David J. Baker remove much of the bewilderment from this period of extensive development. Both are longtime shooting men. Crudgington started off with a Joseph Manton flintlock in 1937, when he was 12, and began collecting guns at the same time. He worked as a gunmaker in Bath for many years. (His son, Mark, carries on the family marque; see my article “Gibbs Guns,” SSM Nov/Dec ’07.) A pharmacist by trade, Baker commenced shooting with a cheap Belgian hammergun but soon graduated to a hammer Purdey and, smitten with its quality, began collecting Victorian-era guns. Baker has written several excellent books, including Heyday of the Shotgun (Safari Press, 2000) and Thomas Horsley, Gunmaker of York (self-published, 2006; reviewed in SSM in July/August ’07).
The British Shotgun, Volume One, includes chapters on the origins of breechloading guns; the Great Exhibition, held at the Crystal Palace in London in 1851, when gunmakers and shooters first saw the French Lefaucheux breechloading gun as well as the first modern British breechloader and rushed to adopt the new style; early trials of various guns; assorted action types produced from 1850 to 1870; “Bizarre Actions” (think of them as failed offshoots on the evolutionary tree); and early hammerless models. Volume Two starts with “The Lever-cocked Hammerless Gun” and proceeds through the demise of the hammergun, with succeeding chapters on “The Safety,” “The Forend Fastener,” “Multi-barrels and Repeaters,” “The Ejector,” an examination of choke boring and much more.
The authors conducted their research by scrutinizing records in the patent office, interviewing elderly gunmakers (many of them now long-deceased), and studying the actual surviving firearms from their own extensive personal collections and those owned by friends. Where possible, Crudgington and Baker shot the guns to get a better feel for how the different designs functioned.
Both books are replete with patent drawings, photographs of whole and stripped shotguns, portraits of key figures in the British gun culture, period engravings and manufacturers’ advertisements. The prose is straightforward and readable—largely descriptive but with occasional colorful anecdotes. For example, the granddaughters of famed London gunmaker Frederick Beesley told the authors “how they had been bounced on numerous noble knees” at the Beesley shop, which was “on the route of a variety of Royal Processions” and where “seats were sold to all sorts of titled customers.”
I wish I owned these authoritative volumes. Both have held a welcome spot on my shelf for two years, a period sandwiched between the grouse-hunting visits of a friend who lives 500 miles to the south and who loaned the books to me. During that time I have used them as resources and also dipped into them for fun, finding the stories and details fascinating. I know I’ll miss them.
It’s not like I can go and order them on Amazon, as both books have been out of print for years. According to Carol Barnes of Gunnerman Books, in Rochester Hills, Michigan, the Crudgington/Baker works are “wonderful books but almost impossible to find. I’m looking for them all the time.” Volume One is easier to find, because the publisher did two printings. But Volume Two, which is in a larger format than its predecessor, is particularly rare because only one printing was issued before the publisher, Ashford Press, went out of business.
I looked for both titles on the Internet and found a first edition of Volume One in very good condition for $175; examples in lesser condition and missing the dust jacket were more than $60. The only Volume Two I located had a price of $400. Ex-library books crop up now and then, and if you’re simply after the information, they’ll do just fine. Says Barnes, “I really wish someone would come along and reprint them.” Perhaps the continuing interest in hammerguns and other early English double-gun designs will prompt a publisher to do just that. —Charles Fergus

Modele de Grande Luxe Redux

A century ago, when the satraps of the subcontinent were as likely to journey to Britain to buy a shotgun as they were to visit Mecca or Medina, Birmingham’s Westley Richards offered the Modèle de Grande Luxe high-grade shotgun. Built on a fancy-back Anson & Deeley action, the “Deluxe,” as it is now known, was a clean sheet for decorative fantasies.
According to a 1925 catalog: “This class of ornamentation interlaced with engraving produces a very striking effect when tastefully carried out. Westley Richards undertakes all kinds of gold inlaying, scroll patterns, birds and animals, or animal devices, either in conjunction with the ordinary engraving or separately. Persian, Arabic, or inscriptions of like character receive the most detailed care and attention, and a well executed and accurate reproduction is guaranteed.”
Now for the first time since anyone can recall, Westley Richards has taken an order for a complete set of new Deluxe guns in every popular gauge from .410 through 12. The project began when Westley’s Managing Director Simon Clode located an early example in Australia that company records indicate was built for an Indian Maharajah. Like the original, the new set will feature rectangular game-scene-engraved panels set in scroll on the sides of the action.
At a later date the Deluxe will be built to stock. Complete and engraved guns will be available at Westley’s new Birmingham premises, with side panels left blank so clients may have their own scenes engraved in the vacant space. The strength of semi-finished guns is that they can be delivered in the short time it takes to make a pilgrimage to anywhere. —Douglas Tate