Letters

Cover Cheers & Jeers

Congratulations on the fantastic cover photo on the November/December issue. I am a subscriber, and I look forward to each issue. I encourage and applaud women in the shooting sports. There is a need for this, as shooting should not be dominated by opinionated old men. I can see women in shooting being the spark needed to keep the sport alive. Good job.

Gene Bledsoe
Wilmington, Delaware

Congratulations, your magazine can now be sold alongside Cosmopolitan. Is this a shooting magazine or “Sex and the City”? That cover with the Filson-dressed model and a camo automatic had to be the most contrived cover I’ve ever seen—on any magazine. Sorry, I couldn’t force myself to buy it. Hope you made a lot of money. Next time keep your advertising between the covers and please don’t try and tell me that your model is really a duck hunter.

Disgusted on the West Coast
Via e-mail

Greetings from Bardstown, Kentucky—bourbon capital of the world. I recently found myself watching the sun set over a nearby warehouse filled with aging Kentucky bourbon when a question came to mind—a question I’m sure has been pondered by many sportsmen over the years. Can a young woman walking in a field wearing heavy hunting garb with four ducks draped over her shoulders and a shotgun in her hand possibly look smoking hot?

Thanks to Shooting Sportsman, the photo by Mr. Kjos, and the young lady who posed for the cover shot, that burning question has finally been answered: Hell, yes!

Friends who saw the cover quickly asked if there were more pictures of her inside. Sadly, I had to tell them there were not. They liked the issue anyway and took a few subscription cards.

Thanks for a great publication. I look forward to the arrival of each issue. I know I’ll never own a “best” gun or go to Argentina, but I do enjoy reading about it. I can still dream.

John C. Studey
Bardstown, Kentucky

I wanted to personally tell you how much I enjoy your publication. Most of all I was pleased to see the cover of November/December. As a novice trap shooter and new-to-hunting female, it was wonderful to see such a well-done photograph of a woman in outstanding gear. That said, where did she get the gear? The women’s hunting-clothes market basically is nonexistent, and when you show such a photograph . . . well, we want to know what she’s wearing so that we might find the same.

I would truly appreciate any information relative to her gear—even if she had to opt for men’s, which I am currently doing, although I haven’t found such a nice-looking coat and hat.

Ruth H. Vandegrift
Via e-mail

The woman on our November/December cover is wearing Filson (www.filson.com) from head to toe. In 2008 Filson launched a line of women’s clothing that is worth checking out. Other women’s lines you may want to look at are from Barbour (www.barbour.com), SHE Safari (www.shesafari.com) and Foxy Huntress (http://foxyhuntress.com).

I am a 10-year-old girl who loves hunting quail with my Dad and my Brittany, London. This year I get to go duck hunting with my Dad and close friends in Arkansas for the first time. My Dad and I love sitting on the couch and reading your magazine. I was excited to see a pretty lady on the cover. Why have the title Shooting Sportsman? Why not Shooting Sportspeople? The magazine isn’t just for men.

Audrey Roell
Birmingham, Alabama

My most sincere congratulations for your outstanding cover. I am inclined at first to ramble on regarding the years’ worth of outdoor publications and stirring articles by noted authors that raced through my mind when my eyes rested on your publication. It is an inspiring photograph. Without a doubt the best photo yet on any outdoor- or firearms-related magazine. Probably because I am the proud father of three young women of Montana birth who I’m making an effort to introduce to the pleasures of outdoor pursuits. The cover at first moved me to make several inferences—an unfortunate detraction from the beauty. Instead, thank you very much for the inspiration. I am certain the young woman’s family is extremely proud of her and her accomplishments. You certainly should be proud of your selection of this hunter to represent your publication.

Patrick Campbell
Laurel, Montana

Always in the past you have had cover photos fitting for this high-quality magazine. Now you take some model with enough makeup on her face to walk down the runway and expect a true sportsman to believe she actually was walking out of some marsh somewhere and had fired that 3" Magnum taking all those ducks? Yeah, right . . . .

Don’t go there! Your fine magazine does not need painted models to sell it . . . . Go back to real hunting scenes and real people . . . . I as well as anyone know covers need to be “staged,” but keep it real!

My wife retrieved this from the mailbox and threw it on the counter, exclaiming, “This is offensive.” And she is not a hunter, just married to one. I can imagine what others will say . . . .

Ron Reiber
Product Manager
Hodgdon Powder Co.

“Cover Girl” April Moritz responds:

In reading some of the reactions to the November/December cover, I couldn’t help but be amused. I found the responses both flattering and offensive, and it was interesting to see how one picture could make such a wide range of impressions.

To answer the doubters, the November day that the photo was taken was freezing cold with a relentless wind. But it was nothing I hadn’t encountered a thousand times before. We were going hunting, and there was no way I was passing up an opportunity to spend time outdoors looking for dinner—even if it meant walking around like an abominable snowman wearing five layers of clothing. It reminded me of my first hunting experiences when I was 4 years old and my mother would take me with her in the deer stand. It surprises me that in this day and age people still think women, especially those who are fortunate enough to inherit their parents’ cheekbones, are incapable of hunting. I’m no different than other sportsmen who enjoy the outdoors and have been hunting their entire lives.

I wonder what the naysayers would have thought last year if they had heard my mother, three sisters and me exchanging hunting stories on the deer opener. Or saw me canoeing downriver each morning trying to get to my duck blind before sunrise. By the same token, what would they say if they saw me, depending on the weekend, riding my dirt bike, sport bike or snowmobile? I bet they’d really be surprised to know I have three guns in my truck right now and a permit to carry as well. If they think that’s impressive, then they should meet my Mom. She’s the best shot in the family, has six kids, was a logger in Montana, is currently an RN, and runs the family businesses.

All I can say is: Never underestimate a woman, especially one from northern Minnesota who’s carrying a gun.

Great Guncraft

Vic Venters’ article on Gianfranco Pedersoli (Guncraft, Nov/Dec) is the finest literary effort I’ve ever read on engraving. He needs to be congratulated for creating the perfect balance between thorough and interesting. It is a must read for anyone interested in the art of engraving and a tribute to one of the Val Trompia’s finest artists whose “canvas” is steel.

Keeping both the content and images at a consistent high level is not an easy task, and the entire staff and content providers for SSM are to be congratulated for never leaving the high road.

S.P. Fjestad Author & Publisher, Blue Book of Gun Values Via e-mail