Upland Almanac Autumn 2017

Penny’s first-ever point on a wild bird. You can see the woodcock’s tail feathers in the lower right-hand corner (circled). ...Read More >

The poultry farm at Kansas State University is also home to a new research facility. There, a refurbished barn provides animal science researchers with a place to conduct cutting-edge research on game birds. The goal: to create healthy birds, as close to wild as possible, for use in stocking programs. ...Read More >

Greetings fellow grouse enthusiasts! As summer turns to fall, work for the upcoming grouse seasons finds us in preparation for the field days ahead. Practicing on your wing shooting, dog training, hunt planning and getting the honey do’s done so that the time spent afield is well earned occupy our time. In my house, I have been working to train a new yellow Lab, Luke (named after Luke Skywalker of Star Wars), for the upcoming bird seasons in Montana. I am also teaching my daughter, too, so she can hunt upland birds with Luke, me and the older dog in addition to hunting deer and elk. Fun times ahead for our family. ...Read More >

ar Dr. Walt: the prepuce of our 9-year-old male. It seemed to clear up on its own after we got home. To be on the safe side since we wanted to breed him, we put him on a 10-day round of antibiotics we happened to have. Soon after, he tried to breed one of our females that had been standing for about two days. He acted sort of disinterested, but it’s hard to tell if was him or her not really being ready. The next day we tried again, and it became clear that he was having pain. ...Read More >

There is no question among gun owners that the most popular firearms name today, whether in the field or on the clay course, is Beretta. Beretta offers all the classics as well as an extensive line of over-unders, side-by-sides, autoloading and single barrel shotguns, semiautomatic pistols, revolvers, rifles and military weapons including machine guns and launchers. They also have a great line of sporting clothing. ...Read More >

Here we look at more of the reasons we somewhat imperfect human beings all miss with our beloved shotguns. The sad truth of the matter is we wouldn’t need this third installment except for the fact that … the reasons we miss increase. ...Read More >

There is no doubt that to the uninitiated, the Scots have some colorful, offbeat descriptions for their national dishes. Add an accent that requires subtitles, and you can have some hilarious fun pronouncing the names of these delicious recipes. Turning it all into a drinking game kicks it up a notch. ...Read More >

The time has come when we all are focusing on fall. Minds begin to wander as mornings become cooler and dew replaces the dryness of summer. Exercising dogs and sorting gear become necessary tasks, taking priority over the last few honey do’s. A punch list of bells and beepers, shells and shotguns, not to mention gloves, glasses, hats and other sundry items can be helpful. ...Read More >

Depending on how you go about it, traveling with dogs can be fairly simple, safe and enjoyable or, quite easily, difficult, dangerous and a nightmare. ...Read More >

While hunting one of my favorite covers one afternoon last fall, my eldest setter Jodie locked on point in his typical woodcock pose. I walked up for the flush, and sure enough, the bird I’d eventually name “Winslow” popped up – but only about four feet high – and traveled only about 10 feet. Odd. I walked up again seeing him clearly now. Up he went again, four feet up, 10 feet out – something was wrong. ...Read More >

The other day, a social media quiz decided I suffer from Grammar OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). But just because I may pay a little more attention to good English, that doesn’t make me a “Grammar Nazi.” ...Read More >

When I was in high school, a man or woman over the age of 60 was a “Prune” – an individual with wrinkles who was obviously in his declining years. They came from a place we teenagers called “Prune City,” a city without humor, vitality or ambition – certainly not sex – a place largely populated by people we also called “Q-tips” and “blue hairs.” ...Read More >

It was early October, and for a week Bill and I had been hunting woodcock. Not because we preferred it to grouse hunting, but because in our section of the country the first two weeks of open season seldom furnish good sport on the larger birds. T... ...Read More >

Say the words sharp-tailed grouse and most bird hunters think of the windswept prairies of the Dakotas, the Sandhills of Nebraska or perhaps the high lonesome of eastern Montana. Historically though, seven subspecies of sharp-tailed grouse were found in two-thirds of the lower 48 states from Michigan to California, Alaska and in the Canadian provinces from Quebec west to the Yukon Territories. The New Mexico sharptail subspecies was declared extinct in 1952, leaving six, some with huntable populations and others reduced to only remnants of their former populations. Good populations of sharptails still exist in the northern Plains states, eastern Montana and Alaska, as well the Intermountain West. ...Read More >

It’s time, once again, to offer up our traditional preseason look at the habitat conditions, weather phenomena and bird populations across the Lower 48 states that will probably play a major role in the situations you face when you step into your favorite upland bird hunting spot this autumn. ...Read More >

September 28th, Roller Coaster. Plenty of green – like a jungle. Moved six grouse and two woodcock, one “hope” shot. Heard more than we saw. Jess loves this place. Five points. At 7, she still quivers when I pull out the collar. ...Read More >

Peregrine Field Gearwww.peregrinefieldgear.com800-595-3850Venture Bucket Pack - $69.99Quick-Shot Synthetic Shotgun Holster - $39.99•     Pockets for up to five boxes of shotgun shells (up to 3 inches)•     Dual insula... ...Read More >

Among the Aspens is the latest collection of essays on the outdoors from acclaimed nature and outdoor writer Thomas Carney. Culled from fifteen years’-worth of his award-winning “Tailfeathers” column in The Upland Almanac quarterly magazine, each of the thirty-nine pieces has been reworked, renewed, and “remastered” to offer readers a fresh taste of the classic bird hunting themes Tom joyously explores. ...Read More >