Game & Gun Gazette

An immersion in British Countrysports

Last year British correspondent and Editor-at-Large John Gregson described in great detail the importance of the annual CLA Game Fair on the calendar of British countrysports (see "All the Fun of the Fair," May/June '07). Comparing the annual three-day event-the granddaddy of all game fairs-to a requisite pilgrimage, Gregson wrote that "... missing the Game Fair would be unthinkable and the omission would cast a long, dark shadow over the start of the shooting season on the Glorious Twelfth of August."

In 1958 the Country Landowners Association (CLA) initially helped launch an exposition and show to promote country-sports, including hunting, fishing, riding and all manner of related rural interests. The idea proved popular, attracting more than 135,000 enthusiasts in recent years. The Game Fair is undoubtedly the largest shooting event in the UK, with 180 shooting-related exhibitors, including gunmakers, gun dealers and retailers. A complete line of clays stations nearby allows visitors to try out the merchandise.

But last year's Game Fair-the 49th, scheduled for Harewood House, in Yorkshire-was not to be. Torrential summer rains in England made a soggy, flooded mess of the estate, and organizers strained at the decision to allow tens of thousands of participants and their vehicles onto the grounds. The day of reckoning came, organizers pondered, and the rain again poured down, washing away what is essentially a countrysports holiday and an estimated $70 million of economic activity tied to the Game Fair.

On then to the 50th Anniversary, to be held, as if to compensate for last year's loss, at Blenheim Palace, in Oxfordshire-an extraordinary estate, World Heritage Site and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill-among Britain's greatest palaces. The show will spread over 500 acres of the grounds Friday through Sunday, July 25 to 27.

Americans considering a visit will find special packages in the visitors' information section of the Game Fair Website (www.gamefair.co.uk), offering help with airport transfers, hotel accommodations, entrance to the show and complementary use of the CLA Members Enclosure, with its first-class facilities. For more information, call 01144-1256-389767 or e-mail gamefair@cla.org.uk. -Ed Carroll

Owens Hunter Dog Box

Owens Hunter Dog Box

Dogs travel in a variety of ways-everything from riding shotgun in the passenger seat (not the safest method) to curled up in a hard-plastic crate to lounging in a custom trailer that I would be happy to call home. But for the average hunter who is interested in transporting his dogs comfortably, safely and fairly often during the season, it's hard to beat a traditional dog box.

This past fall we tested one of the Hunter Series Dog Boxes-the Model 55009-from Owens Prod-ucts. This is a two-compartment box with outside dimensions of 48" (w) x 45"(d) x 26" (h). The box is made of welded aluminum with a double layer on top for extra strength, and the exterior diamond-tread pattern adds strength as well as hides scratches. The two slam-latch doors are lockable and contain "storm covers" with removable panels. Side air vents measure 7" (h) x 10" (w).

Each of the two dog compartments measures 24" (w) x 44" (d) x 25" (h) and is lined with corrugated plastic as an insulating barrier between the dogs and the aluminum. (Owens also offers rubber mats as well as 2"-thick, water-resistant, Cordura-covered foam pads as flooring.) A barred opening in the partition between the compartments allows for cross-ventilation.

We ordered the box early last fall in time to load it into SSM Ad Sales Rep Jeremy Hatch's Toyota Tundra full-size pickup for a drive to New Brunswick. Jeremy's two medium-size German shorthairs would share one compartment and my larger wirehair would occupy the other. The box was light enough (about 95 pounds) to be lifted by its handles and placed in the truck bed by one person. Straps then were run from the handles to the bed to secure the box.

During our trip the box worked very well,Original Art Befi as the dogs had plenty of room and seemed comfortable. We didn't encounter extreme weather, but there was some early season heat and we were glad to be able to open the side air vents. We also removed the front storm panels, and this resulted in one of our few criticisms: that there is no place to store them. Of course if we had ordered one of the many models that Owens offers with top or bottom storage, this wouldn't have been an issue. (A real plus to these panels, by the way, is that they do not completely cover the door openings, so dogs can never be sealed inside entirely.)

After our hunt Jeremy continued using the box, and it served well into the late season. When temperatures eventually dropped, he simply put blankets in the box for added insulation. And when the second compartment wasn't in use, it came in handy for storage.

Owens offers a variety of boxes with different numbers of compartments for everything from trucks to ATVs. (Regarding sizing, the company recommends that a compartment be wide enough for a dog to comfortably turn around in and lay down but not high enough for the dog to be able to stand throughout a trip.) The SRP on our box-the Model 55009-is $624.

For more information, contact Owens Products, Inc., 800-726-9367 or 269-651-2300; www.owens-pro.com. -Ralph P. Stuart

Wingfield: Wingshooter's Paradise

It seems a shooter's dream come true-to buy a home and not only receive with it a bespoke "best" gun but also to be able to walk out of the back door and enjoy sport in one of the nation's most exclusive and finest shooting areas.

What promises to be one of North America's most impressive life-style communities based around wingshooting and fieldsports is taking shape in southeastern South Carolina. Wingfield, located just off of I-95, is planned as a 1,900-acre low-density residential resort community featuring a 100-acre English-style shoot-ing ground; dove and quail fields; waterfowl impoundments; fishing lakes and river access; a Continental tower shoot; rifle and pistol ranges; and hunting programs for wild... Read More »

turkeys, deer and boars. Plans call for it to be fully operational in 2008.

Chris Batha, Wingfield's Director of Shooting, announced the project at the 2007 Southern Side-by-Side Championships, in North Carolina. Batha, a well-known shooting instructor and director of England's Charles Boswell (Gunmakers), has played an integral role in developing Wingfield's concept and will oversee its shooting program. The project was initiated in 2004 by a group of developers headed by Stan Kirkland, of Columbia, South Carolina. When completed, Wingfield will offer 40 equity memberships and 200 transferable, full-facility club memberships. Equity members will be able to choose from 20 lots for custom homes or 20 cottages, which may be rented out. Each of the equity owners will have 1/40th ownership in the project and will share in profits generated by anticipated corporate entertainment. Plans also call for a "best" European gun, to be built by FAMARS or Boswell, to be included in the purchase price.

Wingfield is located 42 miles north of the Georgia border and is flanked by the Combee and Black Creek rivers. It is roughly equidistant from Augusta, Charleston, Hilton Head and Beaufort and is near the heart of South Carolina's plantation Low Country. Atlanta is approximately four hours' drive away.

In addition to extensive fishing opportunities and hunting programs for both wild and reared game, Wingfield's sporting centerpiece will be its 100-acre shooting-grounds complex. Batha has modeled it after the finest shooting grounds in England, where he has extensive experience, having served as chief instructor and gunfitter at E.J. Churchill's West Wycombe Shooting Grounds, near London. According to Batha, there will be nine separate shooting fields, each large enough to be a stand-alone course, with 42 stations (not including the 5 Stand, skeet and trap fields). Some of the courses include a South American Dove Field, with two small towers to replicate dove shots; Grouse Butts, to replicate driven grouse; a Decoyed Ducks stand, with a lake (and boats and docks), a Low Coun-try Walked Up Quail Flush, replete with statues of pointing dogs and covey-rise shots; a Rabbit stand, with seven rabbit presentations; and a multi-station corporate field, with softer targets for newcomers to the sport. The highlight will be a 120-foot High Tower mounted with 16 traps capable of throwing targets at 60-, 80- and 120-foot heights. Surrounding it will be 20 stations that can be shot 360 degrees. The Continental Tower Shoot is sited on a 40-foot bluff and will allow shots at high pheasants, in Batha's words, "As good as anything in Devon." The entire grounds will be extensively bermed and landscaped to prevent spillover noise into residential areas.

"Wingfield's shooting grounds have been designed very much in the tradition of the best English grounds," Batha said, "but they will be much bigger. There's really nothing like this concept in the rest of America."

In addition, Wingfield membership will include reciprocal agreements with some of the world's finest shooting grounds and clubs as well as unique sporting travel opportunities. Although private, it will be able to host major competitions and shooting events. "It's big enough and sited so that we could have two competitions simultaneously and our members could carry on as normal," Batha said.

Prices for equity membership are expected to start at $695,000 for a home site and $895,000 for a rental cottage, which will include profit sharing from non-member events. Non-equity memberships will be approximately $45,000 paid in five annual installments, with annual dues of $4,800 per year.

For more information, visit www.WingfieldPreserve.com or contact Chris Batha, 866-254-2406, ChrisBatha@aol.com -Vic Venters

Original Art Befitting a Fine Reproduction

One upshot of all of the winter gun shows is, of course, the chance to see some very nice shotguns "in the flesh." Attendees at the American Custom Gunmakers and Firearm Engravers Guild of America Show, in Reno, also get to "press the flesh" with the craftspeople responsible for some outstanding gunwork. At the show this past January, one of these craftsmen, engraver Sam Welch, had a shotgun on his table that caught my attention for several reasons.

First, the Parker Reproduction is my candidate for best modern production-made side-by-side. Whether you're a Parker nut or not, you have to admire the fit and finish put into these superb examples of what modern machinery and hand finishing can achieve. The workmanship and metallurgy seen in the Skeuse family's vision of what a Parker should be could not be duplicated today for five times the money. That's why it was so gratifying to see a Repro A1 Special 20-gauge two-barrel set (bought in the white) on Welch's table that had been fully engraved with seven bird species. Welch had painstakingly applied decoration to the surface of the Repro that was up to the quality of the gun. Indeed, the owner of this fine shotgun will have something to be proud of for the rest of his life.

Welch lives in the outback of central Utah, but he's no stranger to fine shotguns or accolades for engraving them. He's a past president of the Engravers Guild, and his personal L.C. Smith 20-gauge won the Guild's coveted Engravers' Choice Award in 1983. From that recognition, Welch went on to engrave several Model 21s for the Winchester Custom Shop. For more examples of his work, look to the membership directory of the FEGA Website: http://fega.com.

Even as an "old timer" working full time on guns and knives since 1985, Welch maintains an enthusiasm for the art that is hard to miss. For example, he secretly added a small sleeping fox on the distaff side of the Parker toplever without the owner's knowledge. "With all of those birds on the gun, I just had to include him," he said with a twinkle in his eye. He also will tell you modestly that, after 40 years of effort, he just now is beginning to understand something about engraving.

If you're interested in securing a commission on a dream gun or simply want to see some beautiful work, you'll want to mark your calendar for the 2009 Custom Gunmakers and Engravers Guild Show, from January 23 to 25, at the Silver Legacy Resort Casino, in Reno. If this year's turnout-with more than 100 engravers in attendance-is any indication, it will be bigger and better next year -Clair Kofoed

The North-South Skeet Championship

We all know that the pioneers of clay-target sports were enthusiastic hunters who were developing methods to hone their shooting skills in the off-season. The clay games gained in popularity, and competitions developed to the point where national organizations were formed to organize, manage and promote the sports. The first, the American Trap Association, began in 1900.

Circa 1915, at the Glen Rock Kennels grounds in Andover, Massachusetts, a group including C.E. and Henry W. Davies and William Harnden Foster-all upland game hunters- began developing a new activity that evolved into the game of skeet. The original field was laid out in a circle, with one trap at 12 o'clock throwing targets toward 6 o'clock. The participants would shoot two shots from 12 positions and one final shot, at an incomer, from the center. The game was known as "shooting around the clock." But even back then it became clear that the layout took up an excessive amount of acreage, so Foster introduced a second trap at 6 o'clock throwing targets toward 12 o'clock and changed the field into a semi-circle.

Foster was enthusiastic about the new game and took on the challenge of making it a national competitive sport. He refined the field and established the rules, which were published in National Sportsman and Hunting and Fishing magazines in 1926. A $100 prize was offered for naming the new sport, and the winner was an old Scandinavian word for "shoot."

The D.C.-area National Capital Skeet and Trap Club began one of the sport's greatest traditions with the North-South Skeet Championship in 1934, just six years after the National Skeet Shooting Association was formed. The North-South shoot spent many years as one of the top 10 tournaments in the country, and it is one of the longest-running NSSA shoots (2007 was the 71st championship). It also has attracted top shooters throughout its history.

Shooting tournaments are often known to operate on precarious budgets, but the North-South has been fortunate to have some generous and prestigious help. In 2005 Krieghoff joined as the signature sponsor; other supporters include Westley Richards, Briley, J.W. Hulme, White Flyer, Ballistic Specialties, Seminole Gunworks, Wenig Gunstocks, Cabela's and HiDefSpex.

Despite all of its wonderful history, the National Capital Skeet and Trap Club has been dissolved. For the past few years the tournament has been held at Maryland's Prince George's County Trap and Skeet Center, in Glen Dale, Maryland, with the 72nd North-South scheduled there for June 6 to 8.

Robert Paxton, one of the best-known champions, sums up how many shooters feel about skeet: "It's the social atmosphere-the people-a special fraternity. They're passionate about the game-fierce competitors. Yet at the same time they're your greatest friends-always helpful, urging you to do your best."

For more information on the 72nd North-South Skeet Championship, contact Debbi Perry, 301-601-0048; debbi.perry@verizon.net. -Berle Cherney

Purdey of Birmingham' Sold

In late February William Powell & Son, then the oldest British gunmaker still in family hands, was sold to Christine and Mark Osborne of Sporting Land Agency. The Osbornes are perhaps best known to SSM readers for consolidating the E.J. Churchill Group, Ltd. (see "Churchill Parties Unite," March/April '98).

The couple wrote of the acquisition in a prepared statement: "We are delighted to now be involved with such a prestigious name in the shooting industry. When so many other Birmingham gun makers have folded, William Powell & Son (Gunmakers), Ltd., under David and Peter [Powell]'s stewardship has continued to prosper. We intend to take the business forward, which will include a move to new, much larger premises and expanded mail order and Internet sites-our aim is to enhance William Powell's position as the preeminent shooting supplier in the Midlands."

David and Peter Powell will stay on as consultants and said in the prepared statement: "We were both looking to retire from the business and were very keen to find a purchaser who has a good knowledge of the gun trade, who would not only continue our company but take it on to the next stage of its development. We are absolutely thrilled that Christine and Mark Osborne have purchased our firm. As they were both instrumental in the resurrection of the E.J. Churchill Group, they have the experience of the industry and the determination to continue to grow our family business."

Begun as a partnership between William Powell and Joseph Simmons in 1802, the firm came under the sole ownership of Powell when Simmons died in 1812, the year the US declared war on Britain and James Madison defeated DeWitt Clinton for the presidency. Powell has been called "the Purdey of Birmingham" for his long tradition of finely finished guns built there.

Powell's initially sold both military rifles and sporting guns, but in the mid-19th Century developed the technologically innovative Lift Uplever snap-action shotgun. The design was a phenomenal success, as more than 5,000 were built-a remarkable achievement in an age when everything was made by hand.

In recent years Powell's developed a lucrative catalog trade, with every imaginable shooting accoutrement and accessory offered and distributed worldwide. The catalog also featured Powell's best British-made gun, the No. 1 Sidelock, of which only about a dozen a year were built. In addition a Heritage series of guns was offered featuring relatively inexpensive guns sourced in Eibar, Spain, and a superb round-action boxlock from Abbiatico & Salvinelli, in Italy.

William Powell & Son will maintain its Carr Lane, Birmingham, premises, retailing and repairing guns and sending its comprehensive catalog of shooting accoutrements all over the globe. For more information, contact William Powell & Son, 01144-121-643-0689 or -8362; www.william-powell.co.uk. - Douglas Tate

TECH TIP: Do-It-Yourself Laser-Level Stock Measurements

I have found an easy, accurate and inexpensive way to measure the cast and drop of shotgun stocks with a method that makes visualizing the relationship between the stock and the sightline of the gun's rib very easy. This project kicked off when I came into a used but working industrial laser-line device that put a nice red vertical line across my workbench.

For a shotgun to fit properly, its stock's comb must properly position the shooter's eye relative to the rib. The relationship of the comb to the rib is determined by two characteristics: drop and cast. Drop describes the distance of the comb below the sightline of the rib, whereas cast describes the amount that the comb is left or right of the line of sight when viewed from the butt to the muzzles. ("Cast-off" is when the comb's top-to-bottom centerline is to the right of the line of sight, and "cast-on" is when the centerline is to the left.) In terms more applicable to rifles, drop controls elevation and cast controls windage. Typically, drop and cast are measured at both the nose of the comb and heel of the butt.

Measuring drop and cast accurately, then, is important for gunfit and for an intuitive gun mount that is consistent and results in accurate shooting. By extending the rib centerline over the stock, we are able to measure from this "imaginary line" to determine the amount of drop and cast. Some of the mechanical tools designed for the task work well. The easy-to-use tools are usually expensive, and the inexpensive tools are either more difficult to use, less accurate or both. Of the two measurements, cast is the more difficult to determine accurately.

Setting a gun with the muzzles pointing at the ceiling demonstrated that the laser line aimed precisely down the center of the rib would indeed show up on the stock. I dug out a laboratory base plate with an upright rod and a horizontal clamp. This held the gun steady in the vertical position and allowed a bit of scooting the butt around to align the center of the rib with the laser line. A ruler was all that was needed to measure the distance from the bright-red laser line to the visualized centerline of the stock comb. Thus I had direct measurements of cast.

By turning the gun 90 degrees and aligning the rib, sight beads and receiver top with the laser line, I was able to recreate the line of sight as seen from the side. The line didn't show on the stock, but it showed up across a ruler that was placed on the comb and that was pointed in the direction that normally would be up. The distance from the comb to the laser line on the ruler was drop at that comb location. This is, again, a direct measurement. By placing white paper behind the gun, I was able to see the line relative to the stock and had an excellent visualization of the drop as well as the measurement.

Once satisfied that this method worked, I started thinking about simplification. After all, not everyone is lucky enough to have an industrial laser-line device. I remembered an unused laser level that had come my way as a door prize as well as a small tripod that had been kicking around. Long story short, the laser level and tripod performed just as well as the industrial unit.

So what do you actually need to put together a similar setup? A suitable laser level can be had from a hardware store for about $25. A small tripod is nice, but any stand approximately 18" high will work. The holding arm to brace the gun needs to be about 10" long and 36" to 45" above the work surface. A base plate, upright "rod" and holding arm are easy to build from scrap lumber. About any ruler will work. It may be useful to put some masking tape "targets" on the barrels and rib to help show the laser line.

And there you have it: a cheap, easy and convenient way to measure drop and cast. As a bonus, the measurements are visual. Looking at the laser line down the stock will give you a reference for developing an eye for seeing the cast of a stock by looking down the rib and across the comb. -Don Amos

Webley & Scott Shotguns Return

Webley & Scott claims to be "the oldest name in the UK gun industry" because the company can trace its origins to 1790 and William Davies, a bullet-mold and implement maker. However, the firm's fame as a manufacturer of affordable double shotguns dates from a century later, when Philip Webley merged with W&C Scott in 1897. Part machine-made, part hand-crafted along the lines of its famous revolver, Webley & Scott produced unprecedented numbers of shotguns that frequently were sold bearing the names of provincial retailers.

the 1970s and '80s Webley & Scott underwent a series of management changes in an attempt to stay afloat in a market flooded with an armada of inexpensive Spanish guns. The company disappeared as a shotgun brand around 1989 but continued as a maker of spring-cocked air guns intended for children and young adults. Now by the simple expedient of having its guns made in Turkey, Webley & Scott has reentered the affordable shotgun market at a price point calculated to sink the Spaniards.

An entire range of side-by-side and over/under shotguns is in development, including a return of the famed Model 700 in both game and sporting configurations (for more information, visit www.webley.co.uk). But Webley & Scott has not forgotten its recent history as a maker of children's guns, and with this in mind it has introduced a scaled-down shotgun with the idea of "introducing young shooters to this great sport of ours." The over/under .410, known as the Junior, has a length of pull just less than 13" and a barrel length of 26". According to the press blurb, it "can often be off-putting and difficult for a smaller shooter to try and control a full size gun, so we have designed the Junior specifically for the slighter framed shooter."

The gun has fixed chokes and unspectacular wood and is proofed in Birmingham. It currently sells for just less than 500 quid ($1,000) in the UK. At press time it was unavailable in the US, but Andrew Litt (01144-1633-250025; www.litts.co.uk/) in Wales will send them on demand.

Two hundred and seventeen years on, the Junior could make the new Webley & Scott an overnight success. - Douglas Tate