Not just for the birds
Heading out with the Quilomene Upland Bird Vest, nothing in the bird bag yet Just before New Year's my new Q5 chukar vest arrived, which I'd ordered on November 30th: the Quilomene Upland Bird Vest. I'd been using the Badlands Upland Vest (no longer available) for the past couple of seasons and -- as the …
For the past two seasons I've been wearing the Orvis Pro LT Hunting Pants. I've worn them from opening day through the end of the season. Aside from a tiny hole on the seat of one of them, from getting hung up on some barbed wire fencing, they still look new. I love these pants. …
All charged up and ready to go! I've been thinking about reviewing this setup for a while: Garmin Alpha 100/TT 15 Mini. I wanted to make sure I knew it well enough, and that I had a definite opinion about it. Now that I'm in my 5th season with it, I think I'm there. Before …
We've almost sold out of Joel Loftis's The Chukar Hunter's Wingshooting Guide, and I'm curious to hear any feedback about it. Leslie has been reading it and keeps telling me things she's doing differently because of stuff she's learned from it. So, if you feel inclined, we'd love to hear any thoughts anyone has about …
I just cleaned 20 birds (chukar, Huns, and dusky grouse). As I've mentioned before on this blog, I age my birds before cleaning them, sometimes for up to 3 weeks, so they tend to add up when we get around to cleaning them. They go from Peat or Angus's hand to my Badlands vest to …
A while back we took a shooting lesson from a certified shotgun instructor. We learned a lot, it increased the number of birds we bagged, and improved the ethical component of upland bird hunting: more clean kills and fewer cripples. The instructor, Joel Loftis, has written an impressively detailed guide aimed (pun intended) specifically at …
A few years ago I posted something about what's in my vest, partly to seek advice and partly to offer it. I got lots of great ideas from the comments on what to include and what to jettison. I haven't learned much since (both good and bad, I guess), but thought I'd do a quick …
After Peat's pad debacle, and the post that generated more comments than any other post on this blog, along with a boatload of very helpful recommendations and suggestions, I'm writing to report on a successful first try of one of the recommended products (thanks, Jeff): 1000 Cordura booties from dogbooties.com. At only $3 each (yes, …
If you count calories, weigh your gear, track your vertical, get weepy at the word "minimalism," or fancy a lightweight pack/vest for chasing chukar, the Eberlestock Mini-Me might be worth a look. Leslie has donned it exclusively for her debut season as a hunter, and - as far as I can tell from her notes …
Continue reading "Eberlestock Mini-Me Minimalist Bird Hunting Hydration Pack"
Since my beloved Asolo Cotopaxi boots bare-treaded out on me at the beginning of last season, I've been searching for a suitable replacement. Last year I wrote about some boots I tried, and they got me through the season. But I wasn't satisfied. So I kept looking. Key ingredients for me are sole stiffness and …
Continue reading "Chukar Boot Review: La Sportiva Gore-Tex® Trango S Evo Mountaineering Boots"