Letters

In the Interest of Grouse
I have always enjoyed your quality magazine, but the May/June 2009 issue way surpassed all of my expectations. I was surprised and pleased to see that there were four articles on various species of grouse and am glad that there seems to be more recognition of our native upland gamebirds. Having been directly involved in grouse research and conservation for the past 13 years, I especially appreciated the article by Dr. J. Marc Pipas on the heath hen (Conservation, “Revisiting the Heath Hen”). It was very well written and accurate. I hope that readers realize that some of the same factors that led to the demise of the heath hen—primarily habitat fragmentation, population isolation and loss of genetic diversity—are now threatening the existence of the closely related Attwater’s prairie chicken and lesser prairie chicken. It is the responsibility of each and every one of us to ensure that these birds don’t suffer the same fate that the heath hen did. I would like to encourage other readers to join in the effort by becoming members of the North American Grouse Partnership (970-858-9659; www.grousepartners.org).
    Don Wolfe
    Senior Biologist
    G.M. Sutton Avian Research Center
    University of Oklahoma
    Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Cheers for Combo Guns
The May/June issue was, in my opinion, one of the finest you’ve put out. For starters, the Lee Kjos cover photo was simply superb. I also was thrilled to see the versatile combination gun get its due in Steve Hughes’s always-excellent column (“A Continental Combination Gun”). The Peterlongo gun that he featured was beautiful inside and out. There are more of us combo-gun/Drilling fans out here than many realize, and I hope to see more on these guns.
    Jeff Loffert
    Eagle River, Alaska

Pointers on PWDs
I realize that anyone who writes about dog breeds (From the Editor, May/June) always gets lots of advice, most of which is unwanted. However, I will take that risk and provide you with a little more information about the Portuguese Water Dog (PWD). My wife was one of the first successful breeders of PWDs starting in the late 1980s, when the breed was building from a small population in the US. We have had at least two at a time as members of our family ever since, and I have seen how smart and trainable they are.
    When I approached retirement, I was researching what breed of bird dog I would acquire. My wife suggested I try using a PWD, because the owners of a couple of pups she had placed reported that the dogs had responded favorably in the field. I resisted, but after some prodding I relented and selected a pup from a litter about a year before I retired. I keep a chronicle of what is now a 10-year experience with Beamer, my PWD hunting dog. I have recorded many interesting stories, but the bottom line is that Beamer has found, flushed and retrieved ruffed, sharp-tailed and sage grouse; scaled, Gambel’s and bobwhite quail; Hungarian partridge; and pheasants—and she has retrieved a few ducks! She goes river fishing with me sometimes but has yet to retrieve a salmon. She also has never missed a night sleeping on my bed in motels across the country as we’ve searched for new bird coverts.
    I am a longtime subscriber to Shooting Sportsman and enjoy and learn from each issue.
    Doug Forsythe
    Gig Harbor, Washington

The Next Level
I have enjoyed Shooting Sportsman for years. The wealth of information on guns and shooting plus the great articles on travel and gear have been a source of inspiration and education that is unavailable anywhere else.
    However, the March/April issue resonated on a level I have never experienced. Beginning with the absolutely wonderful front cover by Roger Blum (by the way, how about publishing a print?) and through the usual informative and well-written articles and stories by Michael McIntosh, Steve Hughes, Vic Venters et al, this was a fantastic issue. Douglas Tate’s article on Frederick Beesley (“Frederick Beesley: A Patent Success”) was most informative. And that guy Clair Kofoed—how does he do what he does with a camera? (I think I know, because I have had some memorable hunts with him and he is the only one I know who can seemingly shoot with both camera and gun at the same time—a talent I am very much in awe of!)
    Jack Dudley
    Via e-mail

Better with Batha
I want to commend you on your selection of Chris Batha to write the Sporting Clays column for your magazine. I have been shooting for a long time, but his initial series of articles have been both informative and beneficial. In my opinion, his columns make a great publication even better.
    Frank Nicholls
    Via e-mail

Dominance Issues
I had to write and thank you for your article “A Matter of Dominance” (Sporting Clays, May/June). I was told that I was a left-eye-dominant right-handed shooter. I have shot with a Magic Dot for four years. At the time of my first lesson, I didn’t even think to say that I wore trifocal contact lenses. I since have stopped shooting with contacts because I couldn’t ever acquire good distance vision.
    I had an “aha!” moment reading your article and tried the CD experiment. I am right-eye dominant. Joy, joy. I shot today with no dot and did well.
    Gabby Leach
    Via e-mail

Enough Is Enough
After more than a decade of enjoying your fine magazine I finally have had enough. Please cancel my subscription immediately. Michael McIntosh’s caustic comments regarding clay target shooting (“Whatever Happened to Skeet & Sporting Clays?” March/April) and the supportive responses he received from Mr. Brown and Mr. Lucarelli (Letters, May/June) have convinced me that I no longer have any interest in the perspectives of the knee-sox-and-tweed set. In an era when shooters need to be unified, the idea of deriding the interests of many of us who both hunt and shoot clay targets competitively exhibits both incredible arrogance and ignorance. The dedication to fundamentals required to shoot clay targets competitively directly translates to improved skill in wingshooting. It’s unfortunate that this fact appears to be lost on these three gentlemen.
    In response to Mr. Brown: Despite the fact that I am only a mediocre competitive skeet shooter who practices 95 percent of the time with his 32", 10-pound tubed target gun, I can easily break 23/25 low gun with my 28-gauge bird gun and regularly shoot 24/25 or 25/25. If you are challenged to do so, perhaps you should spend more time working on your shooting fundamentals via some high-gun skeet.
    John Schmisseur
    Leesburg, Virginia