Shooting Made Simple

Recently, I have heard a few shooters, on the front deck, chattering about different shootings styles and techniques. One conversation struck me as particularly odd. A gentleman mentioned to his friend that recently he had made a big break through with his shooting. His friend inquired as to what the epiphany might have been. The gentleman responded, “I am focusing on the target now when I shoot.” I found the comment puzzling. I have seen this man shoot before and he is a reasonably good shot. What has he been looking at for all these years? The gun.

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Fly Fishing 101 at the Sacramento ISE Show this Weekend

Brothers learning together 055

Two brothers learn the finer points of fly casting at the Orvis Fly Fishing 101
booth at the Denver ISE.

photo by Hutch Hutchinson

Wow, the Denver International Sportsman’s Expo was spectacular. We had more than 165 people come to the Orvis booth and attend our 45-minute Orvis Fly Fishing 101 classes. Men, women and kids of all ages participated. Most already knew how to fish with spinning gear, but they wanted to learn how to use a different type of tool to extend their fishing time and enhance the experience. Everyone walked away with little bag of goodies, information on what and where. . .

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High Gun vs. Low Gun: An Argument for the Ages

Shooting a shotgun is a dynamic feat of visual concentration and movement— movement being essential to match the pace of the gun barrels to the pace of the target. This can be a very awkward to do when the gun is pre-mounted in the cheek and shoulder. I am a firm believer and advocate of starting with the shotgun in the low gun position.

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Montana Snowpack Update

bigholeheadwaters

The snowpack in the mountains above the Big Hole is looking good for next summer.

 photo by Craig Fellin

At Big Hole Lodge we are eagerly awaiting the 2011 fishing season. Winter 2010 was very dry and mild in Montana, which normally means summer drought for our snow-fed rivers and streams. However, we had a wet spring, summer didn’t arrive until mid July, and it was abnormally cool when it did. We had one of the best water years on record, and though the hatches and fish. . .

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Discover Great Wingshooting at Greystone Castle

Greystone Lodge
Greystone Castle

I just returned from a quail hunting trip at Greystone Castle in Mingus, Texas. The ride to the Castle was an easy hour and fifteen minutes to get to the front gate of the facility from DFW in Dallas. I’d never been to Greystone before so this was a new experience for me. The Castle sits atop the highest point on the ranch and overlooks the entire property. It was a spectacular view.

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Living Simply and Saving Sea Turtles

Keller-Mass Exodus

Olive Ridley sea turtles, raised in a nursery at Nicaragua’s Los Cardones Lodge, 
head for the ocean where they can live for as long as 80 years.

photo by Meg & Patrick Keller

My wife, Meg, and I decided to take a break from the Vermont cold and head south for Christmas. The plan was to meet my brother, his girlfriend and our soon-to-be friend Bill off the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua for some fishing and diving. Our good friend Brett mentioned that we should make an effort to spend a few days on the Pacific side, as well, at an eco-surf lodge called. . .

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Fly Fishing 101 at the Denver ISE Show This Weekend!

FF101

Come learn how to cast—or to fine-tune your skills—at the Orvis Fly Fishing 101 booth, which is part of the Denver ISE show this weekend

REMINDER: If you’re in the Denver area this week, swing by the Orvis booth (# R557) at the International Sportsman’s Show at the Denver Convention Center. If you think you can make it, here’s a coupon for two dollars off the admission price.

Come take advantage of our free fly-casting and fishing lessons—a program called Fly Fishing 101, which is a fun, quick class for anyone who would like to learn how to get started in the awesome sport of fly fishing. Those who participate will not only learn the very basics to fly casting, but they will also receive some Orvis swag and a coupon for $25 off a $50 purchase. We’ll also point you in the right direction to those who can help you further your education.  
 
We will have some fun casting games in (or near) the booth to play with and some additional Orvis product coupons you. . .

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Finding a Cure for Canine Heart Disease

Orvis Cover Dog Contest - Rocky & Rico
Veterinary student Eva Oxford usually spends most of her nights and weekends in the lab at Cornell University trying to unravel the mystery of heart disease in boxers.

In 2004, Oxford was studying for a PhD at SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, where she was pursuing a career in human biomedical research. Her career track changed when her adviser’s boxer became ill with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), an inherited disease that causes arrhythmia, heart failure and death. That’s when Oxford met Dr. Sydney Moïse, a veterinary cardiologist at Cornell University who is funded by Morris Animal Foundation.

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Steelhead Odyssey, Episode I

Steelhead odyssey 2

Ted Morris is all smiles as he shows off his first steelhead, taken from Idaho’s Little Salmon.

photo by Eric Strader

[Editor’s Note: This month, three trout guides from Hubbard’s Yellowstone Lodge have embarked on a steelhead trip through Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. They’ll be filing frequent updates on their progress. The anglers—all steelhead novices—are Eric Strader (from Missouri), Robert McCallister (from New Mexico), and Ted Morris (from Pennsylvania).]

Once elk-hunting season is over at Hubbard’s Yellowstone Lodge, it’s time to find the steelhead! Our first stop on the trip is Boise, Idaho, where we met with a few local fishing guides to help us plan our trip to the Olympic Peninsula, as well as a few places to fish along the way. We set up our temporary camp at a friend’s house in Boise. We tied flies and met with a few guys who had fished. . .

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Swinging for Steel

In all they years that I have been going to the New York’s Salmon River, I always spend a day or two swinging big junk waiting for that magical tug. Well, last week I not only got that tug, but I brought the fish to hand—and to make the success ever so sweeter, it was done in the presence of my fishing buddies. Every fly fisherman has had those days: . . .

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