I will probably get eviscerated for even writing this column however its one of those things I have to say. I read the upland Facebook groups daily and everyday the subject of beginners shotguns comes up. Someone will ask “what’s a good 28 gauge over and under for a beginner?” It won’t be 30 seconds before someone chimes in with a 555 Stevens or another of the plethora of Turkish guns available. The logic applied is almost always that you don’t have to worry about scratching these under 500.00 guns. Perhaps it’s just the old man in me but I have never, ever worried about dinging a stock or scratching a barrel. My go to quail gun has some dings and scuffs but they are more memories than detriments in my mind. I have never worried that one of my shotguns will shoot straight, mainly because I pattern them on an actual patterning board. I would venture to say most of the “cheap gun crowd” has no idea how their gun patterns because “its a 500.00 gun and it must be a super duper value for a beginner.”

When you bring up “little things” like how a gun patterns you get hammered by the cheap over and under crowd with the venerable statement ” It will kill birds as dead as a 3000.00 gun” Yes they are right it will kill birds but then again, I saw a man kill three pheasants with a slingshot loaded with number 6 shot. I have also watched people kill upland birds with a recurve bow as well. That does not mean that we should all trade in our shotguns for slingshots and recurves, It simply means that someone has done it. I read a post about someone who shot a Turkish gun, hunted over a pit bull, and wore Chaco’s sandals on their upland hunts. There may be nothing wrong with any of that but why ? I think the answer to why lies in the social media world. People just want the attention of others, not to mention the manufacturers. The logic here seems to be traditions get no attention so everyone jumps into the abyss of craziness to get their proverbial 10 seconds of fame.

Good guns all have a couple things in common. Of course they all kill birds consistently, and the barrels both shoot where you point them. If your top and bottom barrels don’t shoot the same that 500-dollar gun is no more than a single shot. If your shot dispersal is not 60/40 or 50/50 the gun is not actually a shooter its a shot slinger. So unless you have taken the time to shoot at a patterning board with all your chokes you don’t actually know where your gun shoots, and yes it’s possible to kill some birds with a poorly patterning gun. I mean blind squirrel’s actually do find nuts also.

Then there is the suitability of a cheap gun versus both mid grade and high end guns. If you hunt upland birds twice a year as a social event then a cheaper gun it probably not a bad idea. However, if you’re a hardcore bird hunter and/or shoot sporting clays a lot you may be in trouble. The cheaper guns are just not built for someone who shoots 50K rounds a year on the range and in the field.

Upland hunting is steeped in tradition, some are admittedly ridiculous and some pretty dang logical. However the influx of younger folks into the sport has thrown tradition out the window, among other things upland related.

Now all that said my first upland shotgun was a Harrington and Richardson Topper model single shot 20 gauge. Of course I was 7 years old and only an idiot would have placed a fine shotgun in my hands. I, like most of the inexpensive gun crowd, can say I killed a lot of birds with that old gun. The reality is that in the 70’s that was an adequate starter gun and an Ithaca model 37 featherlight, in 16 gauge was what I dreamed about at night. After growing up and getting out on my own I couldn’t stop myself from handling every shot gun I could find looking for a better option. I never did acquire that Ithaca, thanks to an extended stint in the Military. However I I found my true love in some Browning and Beretta over and Under shotguns. Much like a divorce, good shotguns cost so much because THEY ARE WORTH IT!

Rant over.

The first quarter of the year is always a busy time in the outdoor world. I am trying to wrap up quail season in the southeast while fly fishing on the Florida coast is getting fired up. I spent 3-days in Winghaven lodge hunting at 20 Degrees, and had a banner hunt. Then a weekend at Prairie Wildlife hunting quail at 30 degrees. The quail were flying very hard in those colder temperatures. Then three days later I was getting off a plane in Miami Florida with enough gear to open a small fly shop, and it was 85 and Sunny!

It was my first time at Winghaven and it sure was a treat! We had great food, fabulous bourbon, and a wonderful quail hunt in the rolling hills of Eastern Kentucky. Our guide was a young lady named Brittany and her pack of dogs Lucy, Lacy, and Daisy. What a treat it was to see a young lady working hard in the outdoor community. We tend to just say “we need to recruit more women into the outdoors”. I disagree and think we need to recruit the right women and Ms. Brittany is one of those women. It was cold, the quail flew hard and the dog work was amazing.

The next weekend found me down at Prairie Wildlife in West Point Mississippi. Now this is what I call my home lodge and I love everything about it. From Ms. Emily at the front desk to Marty the gentleman who keeps the fires burning and gets hunters their birds. A couple years ago I hunted there and was paired with Todd Robertson as my guide, and I have tried since that day to make sure I hunted with him. All the guides are great but hunting with Todd is much like hunting with an old friend. His pace and demeanor are that of a gentleman bird hunter from back in the glory days of southern quail hunting. We normally hunt his dogs Izzy and Hootie. This trip he asked could he bring a young pup to see how he worked. We didn’t hunt the young pup long but he sure did do a great job! We managed two good days of hunting, despite the cold. I am typing this thinking about getting back down there one more time before the end of the season.

There are a lot of great hunting lodges these days and they all offer great hunting opportunities. However Prairie Wildlife offers an experience rather than just a hunt, and the experience is phenomenal.

I left Prairie Wildlife on a Sunday. Then Wednesday I was getting on a plane in Nashville Tennessee headed to Miami. The plan was to link up with “On the Fly Magazine” for a few days of fly fishing for my favorite saltwater fish, the snook. When I boarded my plane it was 34 degrees and raining. When I deplaned in Miami it was sunny and 85 degrees! Talk about a great feeling after two weeks of bird hunting where is was lucky to get above freezing. We were scheduled to head to the everglade’s but a scheduling conflict prevented us from going that way,

So we headed to Stuart Florida to fish with 772 Fly and Light Tackle Charters. On the way there we stopped at a couple fly shops that were, in total honesty, not all that impressive. Then we happened upon Whites tackle shop. White’s is a fly shop with a gear shop around it. The staff was extremely welcoming, knowledgeable, and they were happy to point two tourists in the right direction! Since the first trip out was night fishing for snook we hunted up some food and a good cigar from Southern Draw Cigars before we headed to the ramp. We caught plenty of fish and laughed until our stomachs hurt. If you want to catch fish, learn a little biology of the area, and improve your cast then 772 fly and light tackle is your guy!

Being an upland hunter, sporting clays shooter, and fly fisherman I tend to be a bag hoarder. I have bags on top of bags. Like most however I only really use a handful of them and the rest were just money down the drain. That is not the case with the Clay Shooter Bag from Lakewood products. Being a hard sided case was the first thing that got my attention. I have a closet full of soft sided range bags that all got retired when this case arrived.

The case is typical of all Lakewood’s products in that the exterior is a foam lined denier Nylon with a ballistic nylon bottom. The interior is made of ABS plastic. I have literally parked my Polaris UTV on this case and not collapsed it!

The things that set this case apart from my plethora of soft bags is that is has three compartments, The sides are capable of holding 200 shells and the center compartment holds another 200 empties. I generally carry 100 rounds, A pair of Ranger Shooting glasses with multiple lenses, Orvis shooting gloves, and my Otopro Hearing protection rather than the total payload of 200 shells and 200 empties.

Other handy features are the adjustable shoulder strap and the fact it floats. Floatability makes this a great bag for the waterfowl hunter since it floats with 200 rounds of shotgun ammo inside of it! The soft exterior pocket is perfect for lens cleaners and range cards.