Vol. 3 Num. 1 – December/January 2015
From the Publisher: “As I travel back across the country from Seattle to Alabama, I can’t stop thinking about the past month’s adventures. What a great pleasure it was for me to spend several days walking the hillsides and watching and listening to a wise teacher. At times, I actually had to remind myself I was in the great outdoors to hunt wild birds. You see, this was like opening a history book on life, dogs, birds, and fly fishing—just to name a few subjects. Ben O. Williams is a legend in the outdoor world and it was an honor to walk alongside of him in the Montana fields he has hunted for more than 60 years. This is one trip I will never forget. Ben, don’t ever stop teaching life lessons to your students. When I mount my gun, I promise I will try and keep my head down and get my left hand far out on the gun’s fore end!

I truly love the sporting lifestyle and all it has to offer. It has been a wonderful fall, with the leaves changing and cooler temperatures settling in. As we prepare for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, let’s stop, slow down, and give thanks for the many blessings we all enjoy. As you relax and relish the holiday feasts and time with family, I hope you will enjoy the start of year three for Covey Rise.” 

Vol. 3 Num. 2 – February/March 2015

Elvis is the king . . . of the quail fields at Sinkola Plantation in Thomasville, Georgia, that is. Covey Rise introduces readers to an cocker spaniel with loads of personality—Elvis. When he’s not the family dog of the Kirkhams at Sinkola, sleeping at the foot of the bed, he’s riding poised in a quail wagon ready to flush or retrieve bobwhites. Read more in “Finding Elvis.” (By the way, that’s Elvis on the issue’s cover!)

We journey next to northcentral Idaho and Flying B Ranch in Kamiah. Recipient of the Orvis Wingshooting Lodge of Year (twice, actually), visit and stay there and you’ll know why! Recreational choices abound—hunting for chukar, pheasant, partridge, and in the “offseason” a chance to fish for Clearwater River steelhead. And don’t overlook taking advantage of the facilities to train your canine companion through the spring and summer months.

International travel is on tap, too, in this issue. Guayascate is a lodge in Argentina at which you can indulge your shooting passions and soothe your soul, as writer Roger Catchpole informs us. And in this issue check out La Porteñita, a nearby lodge, as well!

Rust never sleeps and neither should you when it comes to cleaning your prized investment of sporting shotguns. Gregg Elliott takes you through a master class on gun cleaning, with the techniques and tools to do a thorough job. 

And for some spiritual uplift, read about fine artist Gordon Allen and spent some time appreciating his incredible artwork. 

Similarly, enjoy the culinary uplift of Christopher Kostow in “Portrait of An Artist.” Kostow is the inspired chef at The Restaurant at Meadowood in California’s Napa Valley. His recipes, and his book A New Napa Cuisine, will introduce new culinary horizons.

Vol. 3 Num. 2 - April/May 2015

True artists make life more pleasing and pleasurable, often simply by making us feel happier and better about ourselves through their art. Whether we gaze at framed art hanging on the wall, wear it on our backs, store it in a gun case, serve it for dinner, or appreciate it surrounding us while at a lodge—Covey Rise offers up stories on each in our April-May 2015 issue.

First is a visit to Hageman Reserve in Texas, a new private-club frontier offering top-quality accommodations in an opulent, 65,000 square foot lodge that resembles a French chateau. The Hageman family’s guiding principle is leave it better than you found it—and they’ve endeavored to create a sporting club that has guests feeling immersed in an artistic environment—with top-flight wingshooting of course.

Bespoke clothes made at the expert hands of a Savile Row trained tailor such as Leonard Logsdail transform your wardrobe into functional art. “The process begins with a meeting in Leonard’s comfortable fitting room in New York to discuss needs, wants, and style, and to browse among 12,000 fabrics,” writes Silvio Calabi, author of our feature. “A two-piece suit starts at $6,500 and can be double that, depending on fabrics and features.” But what an investment! As Silvio writes, “It’s also true that you’ll never be satisfied with something less.”

Wearing such clothes makes you want to hold and shoot a shotgun of value, of course. Learn how to start a collection of fine double guns in Greggory Elliott’s “Become a Collector” in this issue. 

In “Travels with Easel” we journey into the world of en plein air painter Chris (C. D.) Clarke. “I paint the things that are important to me and that I truly enjoy. I don’t have a career so much as I have a lifestyle,” says C. D.

All this appreciating art really does build up an appetite—and Chef Charlie Palmer comes through with fantastic recipes to please any palate. Marinated Spatchcocked Quail, anyone? There’s art in that entreé, for sure!

Buy the Issue and read more!

Vol. 3 Num. 4 – June/July 2015

As summer’s heat sets in, we begin to focus on the dog-training schedule. Running and working our dogs becomes an early morning endeavor or happens just before dark when the heat has subsided here in the South.  The focus is solely on training the dogs and watching these remarkable companions adapt to our requests and commands.

Robert G. Wehle spent his life raising and training exceptional dogs. He bred Elhew English pointers for more than 60 years and his bloodline of dogs became known in the reverse of his last name—Elhew.   In our feature “The Elhew Legacy,” we share with you the exciting next steps in this working-dog-breeding history.

In this issue, a new writer for Covey Rise, Miles DeMott, discusses prescribed burning— the danger and beauty of it, and the rewards of renewing habitat.

Writer Roger Catchpole takes Covey Rise on a spectacular UK grouse shoot with Atkin Grant and Lang Sporting at Coverhead Moor in North West England.

We also hope you enjoyed our first “Handmade” feature in the last issue. The value of how bespoke products are made is in the intricate details and the care, time, and effort that go into producing something. Just like making a fine shotgun, walking sticks made for the UK moorland terrain have a story behind the finished product. We’re sure you share our thoughts that learning about the process is as intriguing as the finished product is. We are excited to uncover these stories in the issues to come through our “Handmade” features. 

Writer Tom Keer enjoys a memorable shooting experience with Burt Spiller’s Parker while the Covey Rise team discusses Purdey’s traditional British walking sticks and their artistic flair to create products of artisanal value that showcase excellence and quality.  And we can’t forget about the quality of culinary expertise from Chef Scott Ostrander, who conjures quality at the Red Stage Grill in Asheville, North Carolina who spices up the kitchen with quail and waffles.

We have another unique piece to Covey Rise in this issue. Silvio Calabi travels to a Northeast hunt inside a Ferrari. Check out the case he makes to convince his spouse to own one—maybe it will work for you? Covey Rise celebrates the entire sporting lifestyle, and sometimes how you get to the sport is as enjoyable as the hunt itself.

Vol. 3 Num. 5 – August/September 2015

The Covey Rise team continues to travel to all corners of the world in the August-September issue 2015 of Covey Rise.  We start our travels with author, Tom Keer who discusses the experiences of Wild Wing Lodge and Kennel in Upland Kentucky and the lodges’ thriving bird populations in a healthy habitat as well as providing exceptional dog kennels.  We also traveled along the Kentucky River to the Buffalo Trace Distillery, which continues to make bourbon that sets a standard of excellence in taste and the community motto, “Honor Tradition, Embrace Change” is strongly shown through the passion and elegance of its bourbon.

Up next, author Everett Potter takes us to a mountain paradise at the Yellowstone Club, a sportsman’s year-round playground set on about 14,000 acres of land.  Featured in this story is professional golfer Tom Weiskopf, who has turned his considerable talents to golf course design into a stunning mountain golf course experience at Yellowstone Club.

Next, the Covey Rise staff travelled to Hawick, Scotland to stop at the home of tweed and reveal how this historic fabric is made today, just as it was two hundred years ago.  Dating back to 1882, Lovat Mill is the sole producer of tweed in Hawick, weaving and operating at the mill 24-hours, to keep their business vibrant.  Computerized looms from Germany at Lovat Mill operate at speeds that will be dizzying to previous generations of tweed makers.  

In Spain, Covey Rise, along with Spanish gun makers Aguirre and Aranzabal, celebrate one hundred years of making fine shotguns and the preservation of the Basque firearms industry.

In a South Carolina church in the early 1900s, a stray dog became the foundation of the Boykin spaniel breed.  Over time, the Boykins’ reputation has reached into the upland side of hunting.  Tolerant of hot weather, the dogs are especially popular in dove and quail fields.  Is this the right dog for you?

Additionally in South Carolina, Chef Sean Brock brings panache to his four Southern restaurants and into your kitchen through his new book Heritage that speak to Southern culinary pride and Brock’s beginnings in rural Virginia.

Ultimately, traveling helps Covey Rise celebrate the entire sporting lifestyle experience.  Where will we travel to next?  Be sure to check out the October/November issue to see where Covey Rise will take you next!

Vol. 3 Num. 6 – October/November 2015

Access to nearly 6,000 acres along the South Carolina coast, with fishing and wingshooting and use of all amenities, plus residential ownership of an acre of land, the October-November 2015 of Covey Rise welcomes our readers to the shared plantation concept of Brays Island.  Located outside of Savannah, Georgia, Brays Island Plantation is a private home for families who love the outdoors: fresh – or saltwater fishing, wingshooting, target shooting, equestrian sports, golf, tennis, and much more.

Further south, Romona Brumby of Atlanta’s The London Trading Company handpicks clothes and accessories from around the world. We explore the unique concepts and “personal shopper” approach to her store.

As we take a look at our favorite sporting dogs, author Nancy Anisfield takes an in-depth look into the Weimaraners breed that are known for their tracking ability speed, courage, and durability – and their drive to find gamebirds.

Drawing from a lifetime of outdoor experience, Chef Chris Hastings prepares locally sourced food that’s synced with the seasons, honoring the place and traditions of the past.  We sit down with Hastings as he tells us stories of his childhood summers in South Carolina and his inspirations to begin his field to table concept. 

We take a look at the handmade works of art over which Italian gunmakers Remigio and Elio Bertuzzi worked together to create a unique shotgun and an exclusive opportunity.  In contrast, crafting from a different texture, Montana sculptor Liz Lewis produces bronze sculpture with sporting and wildlife themes.

Writer Sydney Lea gives an ode to the Main woods in autumn and celebrates the history of the state’s sporting camps.  Will this become your new hunting grounds for the Fall?

Wherever the art and passion of your hunting experiences may take you, we hope that Covey Rise continues to enrich and fulfill you with knowledge and new occurrences.