In the world of international hunting there are several ways to book your “hunt of a lifetime.” It could be at conventions such as Safari Club International, or a local show, the Internet, word of mouth or through a booking agent. The easiest, and honestly, most reliable way to book a hunt will be through a booking agent. Here’s why:
The mule-drawn bird wagon trundled through Chokee Plantation in Leesburg, Georgia − a 5,800-acre homage to the vanishing wild-quail hunts that for generations put meat on the table and tendered sporting birds by the good graces of the land.
In America, you would be hard-pressed to find a more magnificent collection of fine shotguns than at the Safari Club International Convention, held this year during the first week of February at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. One of our perennial favorites there is Austrian, Peter Hofer. Mr. Hofer specializes in drilling shotguns that include rifle barrels in a brilliant display of artisanal workmanship befitting royalty. At the 2017 SCI convention, he unveiled his latest creation, “The Peter Hofer Special Double Shotgun with Hidden 17 Hornet Rifle Barrel.” We asked him to explain the intricacies of designing and building it.
− Irwin Greenstein, Publisher, Shotgun Life
There were at least two Browning Superposeds in Ernest Hemingway’s life. One of them was a very early model that may have come indirectly from Val Browning, the son of John Browning, the genius who designed the gun. However, neither its serial number nor its fate are yet known. However, the second B25 − as the Superposed is still known in Europe − is a standard–grade 12-gauge field gun, Serial No. 19532, with double triggers and 28-inch barrels (both choked Full) with a ventilated rib. It was made in Belgium and sold to Master Mart, a retailer in Fremont, Nebraska, on 26 October 1949 for $195.20. After that, we don’t know how, when or where Ernest Hemingway acquired the gun, whether new or second-hand, or what he accomplished with it, but we know where it is today and how it got there.
While Uruguay has been a player in the international wingshooting scene for many years, the country has been slightly overshadowed by Argentina. Uruguay is a true wingshooter’s dream, and quite possibly has the best mixed bag of wingshooting in the world.
In 1979, at age 35, Jeri Booth journeyed by herself from Houston, Texas into testosterone-charged southern Mexico to meet with the 6-foot, 4-inch Robert Brand at his new wingshooting operation, Paloma Blanca. Her objective: book American hunters there through an outfitter company she had just started, Detail Company Adventures.
As a hunting and fishing consultant, it’s a daily task to make sure each one of my customers gets the very best trip they can possibly have. Part of my job is to ask questions, and match each client to a lodge or outfitter that best matches their expectations and desires. That’s why I believe working with an agent or consultant is the number one thing the traveling wingshooter can do to ensure a good trip. Since most agents have been to the places they represent they have insights as to how you can maximize your money and time. What follows are a few things that I recommend to my clients and think they apply well to most any wingshooting adventure.
The town of Albany figures large in Southern Georgia’s legendary bobwhite quail culture. Most of the year Albany hosts some 76,000 everyday residents, but from November through February the local Southwest Georgia Regional Airport is jam-packed with high-net-worth luxury personal jets conveying quail hunters, their dogs, shotguns, family, friends and business associates,
Suppose you were a connoisseur of fine shotguns. And suppose you possessed a vision of the best way to sell those beautiful firearms to fellow disciples of the shotgun sports. And finally, let’s suppose you were a successful retired banker with the time and resources to make your vision a reality.
There’s a term in international wingshooting called “High-Volume.” Most outfitters claim they have truly high-volume shooting, and in many cases they do. Especially when you’re talking about shooting doves in South America. But what is High-Volume shooting, and more importantly how do you determine what High-Volume shooting really is?
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Shotgun Life is the first online magazine devoted to the great people who participate in the shotgun sports.
Our goal is to provide you with the best coverage in wing and clays shooting. That includes places to shoot, ways to improve your shooting and the latest new products. Everything you need to know about the shotgun sports is a mouse-click away.
Irwin Greenstein
Publisher
Shotgun Life
PO Box 6423
Thomasville, GA 31758
Phone: 229-236-1632
