This past October we visited my wife’s sister and brother-in-law in central Nebraska. I was a willing participant. I love my extended family, I love visiting that part of my country and I had a selfish motive: shooting at the Oak Creek Sporting Club in Brainard, Nebraska with a pristine thumb lever Purdey built in 1869 loaned to me by a friend. Shooting a classic British shotgun in the heart of the New World intrigued me.

I learned of the CZ Sporter shotgun improbably. I was at the last station in a registered shoot at the Colorado Clays Sporting Club in Brighton, Colorado, a thirty-minute drive from downtown Denver. The station had five true pair of overhead tower shots coming from behind like F-16s. I was shooting my favorite Italian over/under masterpiece but I wasn’t hitting the targets solidly and even missed a few. The joy of shooting felt like a week-old soufflé.

The drive from Denver had been uneventful, which was good. I listened to a stack of CDs hoping to learn how to say ‘good morning’ in Italian and trying not to spill Diet Pepsi all over the box, while anguishing as the gas gauge plummeted down like weights at the gym. On the rural roads the weathered buildings and farm houses with sharp angled roofs reminded me of my family car trips from Long Island to Miami Beach when my age was written in single digits.

Castelnuovo

I was stunned. Pleasantly stunned. Roberto Ferrata uncased his new titanium Fabbri 12 gauge shotgun and handed it to me. “I want you to use my gun today.” I received the magnificent firearm and held it as gently as if it were a newborn baby. Bringing it to my shoulder, I noted with conflicting emotions and thoughts that it fitted perfectly.

Here in Colorado Springs, a bright and unseasonably warm February afternoon boasted clear skies and no wind — perfect for a clays-shooting session with USA Shooting team members, skeet whiz Amber English and her trap colleagues Dakotah Richardson and Collin Wietfeldt. We also caught up with team trap shooter Kelsey Zauhar.

Fate! Mark Reynolds saw the gun’s potential immediately, an impulse founded on years of experience as much as upon carefully reasoned thought. Ambling about at the 2009 Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, Mr. Reynolds met Iñigo Lopez, director of the prestigious Spanish sporting arms maker, Aguirre y Aranzabal (AyA), at its exhibition booth.

I bring my best to Lazy Triple Creek Ranch – my best guns, my best clothing, my best accessories and my best cigars. Lazy Triple Creek Ranch induces the best as iron filings are drawn to a magnet. In July, my wife Nancy and I visited Lazy Triple Creek Ranch to experience its clay target offerings, savor its cuisine, traverse its new hunting acreage and become educated about the art of the driven shoot.

I was walking down the aisles at the 2007 Safari Club International Convention where the high grade guns and gunmakers were concentrated. I had just passed Hartmann & Weiss on my left, made a turn by the stunning Purdey exhibit to go up the aisle to my left. I said ‘hello’ to Steve Lamboy at Zoli, kibitzed with my long-time pals at William, Larkin & Moore’s extensive exhibit and began to amble toward the far wall to find my friend, Dale Tate, to view his exquisite custom hammer shotguns.

Giancarlo & Stefano Pedretti – Master Engravers is the third book in a series on Italy’s most prestigious and venerated engravers. The book contains 256 pages of text and sumptuous full-color plates in an oversized hardcover format. The first Master Engraving volume featured the work of Gianfranco Pedersoli; the second, the art of Firmo and Francesca Fracassi.

I love elegant shops. I love shops drenched in dark wood paneling and have dark leather chairs and couches. Sparkling crystal, fine clothing hanging in rich wood cabinets and stunning firearms with fancy walnut stocks stir my soul.