DECEMBER - JANUARY 2017 ISSUE

As the wingshooting seasons continue to unfold this year into next, we move deeper into the experience of traditions that bind us to the elements we love about the sport. We’re part of a collective, members of the international wingshooting tribe, and the gear and shotguns we use and clothes we wear announce our identities.

For one family and their well-known business, these outdoor traditions stretch over generations and are passed along to and nurtured among family members—and shared with customers worldwide. We’re speaking of The Orvis Company, at which the latest generation of Perkins brothers join their father, uncle, and grandfather in helping to define and refine what it means to love the outdoors lifestyle. Based amid Vermont’s Green Mountains, Orvis is the longest-running mail-order business in the United States, founded in 1856 in Manchester, Vermont. Please see our feature, “Family Ties.” 

We delve further into traditions with our continuing series on best London shotguns, and introduce the Covey Rise Gentleman’s Shotgun currently being built in the UK. In this issue, best London shotgun authority Chris Batha begins to tell us how the guns are manufactured, with specific descriptions of how the action comes together. This gunmaking process has changed little since the 1800s. Which fact also is very much true for gamekeeping, a profession that endures at estates throughout the UK. First and foremost, the gamekeeper is responsible for the health and perpetuation of wildlife on the estates, especially gamebirds. As the author Roger Catchpole writes, it’s part art, and part science.

US hunters—particularly those in the Northeast, Midwest, and along the Atlantic Coast, where woodcock are found—will be delighted to learn about woodcock shooting in the UK, specifically on Harris in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The birds migrate through these UK Western Isles just as they do through parts of the US on their journey from summers in Canada and the northern states to wintering grounds in the Southeast.

Our “Conservation” department this time is about the recovery of snipe, a close cousin of woodcock though snipe tend to inhabit marshy lowlands or meadow wetlands. The author, Chris Madson, writes about his own lifelong reverence for these birds, and shares the great news about their recovery. Enjoy making and reflecting upon your own upland traditions throughout the seasons.

FEBRUARY - MARCH 2017 ISSUE

February and March can be brutally cold, so in this issue we spend some time by the fire, reflecting on the grand adventure that is the upland hunting lifestyle. 

For starters, how about a little snipe hunting in the far reaches of Scotland, a place so remote even the snipe get lost. To warm your cockles after that coastal adventure, we’ll settle in by the fire to forge some barrels for the next installment of our series on London Best shotguns, page 54. Crossing the pond, we’ll take a closer look at the story behind Kevin’s, one of North America’s premier upland retailers and purveyor of fine shotguns, beginning on page 62.

After all the travel, you’ll no doubt be hungry, so we’ll dive deep into the heart of New Orleans for some local fare and neighborhood feel. Find Big Taste in the Big Easy on page 72. We might even finish dinner off with a nice rum, an all but forgotten upland spirit, and a reminder that, where cigars are concerned, size matters.

As we gather around the fire pit to swap stories and tell lies, we’ll look at conservation through the eyes of kids on their first pheasant hunt, and then we’ll take an adult look at the first decade of successful conservation efforts of Quail Coalition. Find those on pages 80 and 88, respectively. We’ll hunt over Munsterlanders, explore artistic expression through carved feathers, and even get a dog’s take on puppy love. Find it on page 46.

So stoke the fire, freshen the beverage, and send the dog for the slippers. Tell the world to step aside for a moment. There will be plenty of time for mortgages and power bills tomorrow. Today, right now, is Covey Rise time. Welcome. We’re glad you’re here. 

APRIL - MAY 2017 ISSUE

Covey Rise is, in many ways, a testament to dogs. Hunting and bird dogs, certainly, but the larger population of dogs that accessorize our dens, co-pilot our trucks, offer quiet counsel on early-morning walks, and wait patiently beside the highchair while the baby finishes eating. Dogs are an important part of our lives, and we celebrate them in this issue from beginning to end. From an On Point snapshot of some of the upland breeds to a feature on pudelpointers to Doc’s recounting of his beloved Charbaby, you might say we’ve gone to the dogs. And in case you find yourself thinking about a puppy, our canine correspondent Frank reminds us that puppy picking is a two-way street.

Fear not, though, because we continue our quest to bring you the best the upland world has to offer, including the next installment of our series on bespoke shotguns and a visit to Wickett & Craig, one of the last remaining vegetable-based leather tanneries in the U.S. To enjoy the finer things in context, we travel to Gilchrist Club, in the heart of Old Florida, for some traditional bobwhite hunting and visit Fixe, an Austin, Texas eatery known for both their biscuits and their honey badgers, beverages that mix bourbon and honey in determined fashion. Following the story on that cocktail napkin, we propose a road trip in pursuit of American distilleries and visit with the family behind the iconic Pappy Van Winkle line of bourbons while enjoying a few days afield at Duval Plantation in South Carolina.

Along the way we bring you insights on the fundraising efforts behind conservation, an educated look at the maduro cigar wrapper, and an upland retrospective that brings past and future together in ways that compel us to embrace the present. All the while, we make every effort to envelop you in the upland traditions we celebrate. Thanks for joining us.

Cover image by Bill Buckley

JUNE - JULY 2017 ISSUE

What joy you’ll find in the pages of this issue, where we renew your acquaintance with traditional South Georgia quail hunting at Rio Piedra before exploring an upland playground surrounding a championship golf course and Hal Sutton’s Golf Academy that makes having a big time really easy. And since golf and many upland traditions began in the United Kingdom, we return to London for the next installment of our best gun series, a closer look at the process of barrel blacking. Just the thought of that is likely to generate a thirst, so we saddle up to the bar at Dukes, the famous London watering hole where Ian Fleming conjured Bond. James Bond.

Returning to America, though, will involve a quick stop in France to understand the history of the braque d’Auvergne, a versatile hunting breed with European roots making a small splash in pursuit of upland birds. We visit Beretta’s shooting grounds in New Zealand and the Mediterranean ties that bind upland hunters to Italian guns halfway around the globe. As you try to picture that, imagine trying to capture the nuances of sporting art through watercolors. Arthur Shilstone, now in his mid-nineties, has been at the drawing board doing exactly that for decades.

To pair our columns with the perfect wine has long been on our list, and with this issue we launch “Vintage Upland,” a wine perspective offered by Karen MacNeil, author of The Wine Bible and other books. We hope you find her words a ready complement to our look at the history of cigars and the reemergence of American blends to the whiskey world. And Frank, with his characteristic wit and charm, reminds us that it’s summertime, and the livin’ is, in fact, easy. We hope you’ll find the reading to be easy as well, as you join us on another great upland adventure.

Cover image by John Hafner

AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2017 ISSUE

Wingshooting season is upon us and it is important for sportsmen to be fully equipped when they hit the field. So, we did the research for you and inside this issue we examine cutting-edge companions for upland hunters: knives and other sharp, essential tools. We also take a journey to Montana to visit Stock Farm Club, a sporting playground set amid stunning views of the Bitterroot Valley, where we try our hand at fly-fishing and get acquainted with their Five Stand Shooting Center. We visit another sporting playground, Glendorn, in northwestern Pennsylvania and spend time exploring their 1,500 acres of prime upland habitat.

With appetites whetted, we head down South to Roberts Shooting Preserve in Georgia, where Gianni Gallucci prepares Italian dishes full of upland game for friends and family. And speaking of Italy, in this issue we learn about the Spinone Italiano, a truly versatile hunting breed built for tough terrain, and explore the life of Athos Menaboni, an Italian immigrant artist who rose to fame by painting his favorite muse—birds. Returning to London for the next installment of our best gun series, we take a closer look at the fine art of chequering. Along the way Frank, our no-nonsense correspondent, shares with us how you really get to know someone, and we consider ways to safeguard water, our most precious resource.

After the long journey, it’s time for a drink of something other than water. May we suggest a glass of mead? Or how about a nice refreshing beer? In this issue we explore mead, one of the world’s oldest alcoholic beverages and find out if cigars and beer really do complement each other. We also investigate the mystery behind wine—terroir—and its effect on why wine tastes as it does. So, pull up a chair and pour a drink because it’s Covey Rise time. We hope you enjoy.

Cover image by Lee Thomas Kjos

OCTOBER - NOVEMBER 2017 ISSUE

Upland hunting in the rugged West offers special challenges and rewards. In this issue we get three perspectives on hunting; chukar in sagebrush country, Hungarian partridge in Wyoming, and Valley quail in California. In these tales of hard slogging and hearty humor, we’re reminded that camaraderie is often the real prize of a hunt. For more on these fast-paced adventures check out “California Road Birds,” Ben Williams’ column “A View From the Top,” and Reid Bryant’s “Of Men and Dogs.” Shane Mahoney also reminds us that conservation practices, no matter how small, are key to preserving our wildlife and upland habitat—so that we can enjoy those adventures for many years to come.

Covey Rise often celebrates classics that improve with age—for example, a well-seasoned cast iron pan. In this issue’s food feature, a couple of experts sing the praises of this versatile cookware and provide recipes that will have you reaching for yours. Spirits guru Fred Minnick finds sublime flavors—and surprising value—in long-aged Scotch, while wine columnist Karen McNeil plumbs the appeal of age-worthy Syrahs and finds robust versions from arid eastern Washington and Oregon, perfect for pairing with game. Writer Chuck Holland examines another ideal match, cigars and dominoes.

Some classics can hardly be improved—witness the traditional leather-and-oak gun case crafted in this issue’s installment of our best gun series, a case developed long ago to transport guns destined to hunt in every corner of the British Empire. But as our story on Krieghoff shows, even a century-old gunmaker can smartly use high-tech tools to enhance traditional methods. 

We spend time with the largest and one of the oldest of spaniels, the Irish water spaniel, known for its curly coat and lively temperament. Doc Blythe writes fondly of another dog with personality, a cockeyed canine who went into overdrive at the sound of a shotgun. Of course, no dog is more of a character than our own Frank, who addresses his owner’s flaws and delusions with total, er, frankness. After all, if your best friend won’t tell you, who will?

Cover image by Travis Gillet, Courtesy of Filson