Shooting sand grouse in Masailand while standing in the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro is a scene that takes your breath away, and one which will not be forgotten. (photo courtesy of Mike Cheffings, Bateleur Safaris)

I’m excited about the new season of shows that will be appearing next fall on Benelli On Assignment (BOA). We kicked it off this fall with a bird-shooting safari in Kenya, where we hosted four prominent outdoor writers. This included Mike Schoby, Editor of Petersen’s Hunting Magazine, Lane Simpson, Senior Field Editor for Intermedia Outdoors, Jeff Johnston, Managing Editor for NRA’s American Hunter and Robert Williams, freelance writer for Sporting Classics, Gray’s Sporting Journal, Shooting Sportsman and Sports Afield. We were field testing some brand new guns, so stay tuned to BOA for an exciting look at how these guns performed on an old-style African bird shooting safari, complete with tented camp and Masai gunbearers.

In the meantime, keep a sharp eye out for some great action safari stories coming up in your favorite outdoor magazines beginning in January. This, by the way, was a reunion of sorts for me, as we visited the same country that I hunted while still in my teens back in the 1960s when my family lived in Kenya. We even stopped for a look at the Tsavo River bridge, built back in the late 1890s. At that time work was halted for several months when a pair of man-eating lions took to preying on terrorized laborers. The story is told in Colonel J.H. Patterson’s famous book, The Man-Eaters of Tsavo.

2011 Telly Award for BOA promo.

Among a multitude of outdoor shows airing on several channels, Benelli On Assignment (BOA) is one that has always stood out as a quality show. For me, BOA has provided an incredible experience, for which I’m proud to be a part of, both on and off camera. It’s hard to believe that this year we’re celebrating our fifth season on air.

I’m pleased to tell you that BOA’s 2011 “sizzle reel” has won a Telly Award. A “sizzle reel” is a short promo video, which presents quick action-packed clips from the new 2011 shows that are airing during the 3^rd and 4^th quarters. You can see the latest “sizzle reel” on YouTube at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5SKNPIw-NM

This year nearly 11,000 entries came in from all 50 states and numerous countries. Some of the winners included, Turner Studios, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., FOX SPORTS NET, Nickelodeon, Bass Pros Shops Film & Video Productions, Lockheed Martin, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, Outdoor Channel and Time. So you see, BOA is in good company.

For those not familiar with Benelli On Assignment, the show teams myself with editors, writers and photographers from national publications to field test Benelli USA products at top hunting spots around the world. BOA is an original program from Benelli TV, airing on Outdoor Channel, which has featured shows from Argentina’s spectacular dove-filled skies, to North America’s deer woods and waterfowl-packed marshes and wetlands, all the way to the African plains.

 BOA’s aim has always been to provide compelling story lines that are interesting and entertaining to watch. Our main objective is show quality footage of exciting locations and to focus attention on our fine products and those of our partner sponsors through the experience of the guests and myself. We also want to introduce viewers to the world of wonderful outdoor opportunities open to them and how our products will enhance their experience in some very fascinating places.

As fall approaches we’re about to begin a new season of filming. We’re kicking it off with a bird-shooting safari in Kenya to introduce some new shotgun models. This trip includes four top-notch shotgun writers and will reunite me with some very good Kenya friends. I will also give me a chance to visit some of the same country I hunted as a teenager back in the 1960s and 70s. As you can imagine, I’m really looking forward to this trip down memory lane.

We’ve got some other great hunts and locations coming up that I will talk about in later blogs. In the meantime, if anyone has any good ideas or suggestions for upcoming shows, I’m always interested to hear them.

Safe hunting always.

Brooks Tinsley shooting an M2 accepts a dove from his lab, Coal in a Mississippi dove field.

If asked the purpose of dove hunting, a non-hunter might reply that it is to kill doves. Actually, it’s not. If the object was just birds for the table, logically the cheapest, easiest, most practical method of achieving this end would be to buy a commercially raised, professionally cleaned, pan-ready chicken for about $6. This saves the bother of keeping and training bird dogs, buying hunting licenses and bird stamps, risking snakebite, laying out for guns and shells, breaking teeth from biting into pellets and paying for the hundred fringe items that probably add up to costing the dove hunter in the range of $50 per ounce for dove meat.

And if the object was purely dead doves why do dove hunters choose to spend the money, watch and wait for hours all for possibly taking a limit of birds on the wing, while refusing to murder a dove on the ground or sitting in a tree?  

To sum it up, the fun includes the whole experience of wingshooting from beginning to end, and when you’re done the payoff is you get to enjoy one of the most delectable meats you can imagine. In my honest opinion (“IMHO” in forum-speak), dove breasts, which are dark, moist and succulent, provide one of the tastiest wild game table fares you’ll ever put in your mouth.

Doves are quite small relative to other game birds and most hunters just “pop” the breast out of the bird. It’s simple and easy—begin by cutting off the wings at the body and then “lift” the complete breast-on-bone off the carcass by placing your thumb under the bottom of the breast bone and pushing through the skin. This allows you to separate the breast from the carcass. A portion of skin and feathers usually remains attached to the breast meat, which can be easily pulled off leaving the meat clean and feather-free. Once you’ve cleaned all your dove breasts of skin and feathers, soak them in a bowl of salty water overnight in the fridge. This will draw out the blood and dissolve blood clots.

Dove breasts do not have any similarity in taste or moistness to supermarket chicken breasts, but I think this is a positive attribute of the meat. Doves are mostly seedeaters and that combined with frequent flight means there is little or no fat on the meat. This gives dove breasts a unique taste that is in no way gamey. If anything, doves offer a very pleasing taste that many consider better than most other game birds.

Many consider dove breast the best eating gamebird there is.

The most popular cooking method includes wrapping them in bacon and grilling them shish kebab-style or lightly coating them with flour and pan-frying them in olive oil or bacon grease. If you like it spicy, you can add a slice of jalapeno pepper placed between the bacon and the breast. Four on-bone dove breasts are just right for each delicious serving.

Savor and enjoy!

Pithy Quotes from the Old-timers:

“If a game bird is judged by the relative speed of getaway, and erratic line of flight, then the dove, with his brilliant speed and his dipping, rolling flight, takes the highest honors here.”

Byron Dalrymple,  Doves and Dove Shooting, 1949

“What strange reasoning has placed this wondrous feathered projectile below his inferior rivals surpasseth all understanding, unless it may be due to plain ignorance.”

Jules Ashlock, Sports Afield, prior to 1945

“These graceful gray fellows tower over the timid ground dwellers just as clearly as the trout out-glamours the catfish, or the tarpon the shark.”

Jules Ashlock, Sports Afield, prior to 1945

“I can bring home about twice as many ducks for each box of shells as I can doves.”

Jack O’Connor, Hunting in the Southwest

“You must hold right, otherwise you go home light in both shells and birds. However, one is likely to go home light in both respects, no matter how cute the hold.”

Major Charles Askin, Sports Afield, prior to 1945

Dropping off shooters throughout the dove field.

Creating memories of the first outing in a dove afield.

Merely contemplating the approach of fall’s first outing with gun, good companions and good dogs can lift the spirits of any hunter who’s ever swung a gun at a four-ounce “gray speedster” that might be more aptly be called, the “artful dodger.”

Well, for all those who opened the dove season on September 1, I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable day or two afield. For those whose opener is still ahead, or for those who will be returning to a favorite or productive field, here a few things to bear in mind for safety and etiquette’s sake.

Selecting the right shotgun is a matter of using the one with which you’re most familiar and in which, you have the most confidence.  Choosing between a 12-, 16- or 20-gauge gun is really a personal choice—they’ve all accounted for many doves. As for smaller gauges like 28 and .410, these are wonderful guns, with which you will have either earned your birds, or endured a humbling experience.

Generally speaking, for any gauge Improved Cylinder (IC) is considered to be the best all around choke for doves. Opening day doves, not yet wary and wild, usually offer closer shots, but that grace period doesn’t last long.  After the opener you can expect longer shots when tighter chokes in the Modified (M) range will be more appropriate.

Ammo choices can have a big impact on the number of birds you bag. For maximum effectiveness, a uniform and consistent shot-pattern will gain you more birds–the aim of most good target loads. Knowledgeable dove hunters choose high-quality target loads made for trap or skeet competition and stoked with No. 8 or No. 7 1/2 shot over more economically-priced field load offerings.

Before you commit to a location in the field watch the doves, because they will best determine where you should position yourself.  Go to where the doves are flying in order to be in the best place to intercept them—places where they enter or leave a field, or circle looking for a staging spot, usually on a bare branch overlooking the field. And always bear in mind dove field safety and etiquette, which requires you keep a safe distance between yourself, other shooters or objects like farm houses, roads, cattle, or farm equipment.

Conceal yourself as much as possible. Camouflage clothing helps, but you still need cover to break up your outline.  Crouching among groundcover, sitting behind a bush, or standing next to a tree are effective ways to break up your outline.  If no natural cover is available nearby, you may want to bring in some cover to make a small blind.

A stool/cooler combination provides a comfortable seat to sit on and be very still while you wait for a bird. It also keeps drinking water and cold drinks cool and handy. If the weather is very hot choose a shady spot to wait for birds and be sure to bring extra water, especially if you have a dog with you.

Be patient and wait until doves are in range before you move or stand to shoot.  Doves naturally flare at movement, so once you commit to shoot, shoulder your gun smoothly and aim quickly to take your shot. Remember to always keep your cheek on the stock and keep the gun swinging. Dove hunting is an enjoyable experience, which can be shared with friends and dogs in natural surroundings and in reasonably comfortable weather–be safe, have fun and good shooting.

Fun Facts:

• Like waterfowl, doves can be hunted by pass shooting, jump shooting, with decoys or when they come to feed or water
• Doves are more readily available to more hunters than any other game bird in the world.
• The national average for shells expended per dove taken is somewhere between five and seven shots per bird–which relates to 3 to 5 birds per box of shells.
• After a day in a dove field you have earned, and will enjoy, one of the most delectable meals a game bird can provide.

Doves are sociable birds that often travel in flocks.

A semiauto like the Vinci gives you 3 shots and makes an excellent dove gun.

When blistering hot temperatures become tolerably hot the countdown begins for September dove openers.

Well folks, September 1, is finally here, and so is the dove opener! Dove hunting provides one of the simplest and most accessbile forms of recreation available to wingshooters. It’s a fun, safe and convenient form of shooting that’s a great way to knock the dust off your equipment and focus your aim. It’s also a great way to introduce a youngster or new shooter to the pleasures of wingshooting.

Key to dove success is pre-season scouting, which is familiarizing yourself with dove movements in the area. If you’re looking for a place to hunt, state game and fish departments manage dove fields in many areas that are open to the public, usually charging a nominal fee. Access to recently harvested cropland is sometimes available, just for the asking.

Preparation should also include practice. Any of the clay target games are good, especially sporting clays and skeet, which present many of the shot angles you can expect in a dove field. Even hand-throwing clay targets with a buddy will sharpen your eye and quicken your response.

Fortunately doves are plentiful enough that lots of shots are offered. When you do miss, try to keep in mind the shotgunning basics; mount the gun correctly, keep your cheek on the stock and keep the gun swinging as you shoot.

Dogs, like people, tend to get out of shape during the off season and can suffer with the sudden exertion and excitement of chasing after birds on the first day. Physical exercise and honing up on retrieval skills beforehand will benefit both you and your dog.

Fun Facts:

• The mourning dove is the only game bird in the U.S. that nests in all the lower 48 states, nesting as many as six times a year.
• A listing of all the state’s and territories fish and wildlife management offices is available on the internet at http://offices.fws.gov/statelinks.html
• Dove hunting’s real bonus is the pleasant circumstances in which they’re hunted–on dry ground and during reasonably comfortable weather.

Next blog—Part 3 In the Field 

A dove embodies the best attributes of all the other upland game birds rolled into one

Dove seasons are offered in 40 of the lower 48 states that rightfully regard the mourning dove as a game bird. With an annual hunter harvest estimated at nearly 50 million birds, the mourning dove is arguably the country’s number one game bird, and certainly one of the finest to ever grace a dinner table.

Dove hunting is traditionally a social gathering of like-minded hunters who enjoy good company and good sport. Dove field venues close to home provide a chance to renew old friendships and make new ones. They also provide an excellent opportunity to introduce a youngster or new shooter to the fun of hunting in familiar surroundings

Dove hunts are a great way to introduce new shooters to the fun of hunting and the challenge of shooting.

Anticipation means preparation and that means rounding up gear as well as purchasing licenses, stamps, shotgun shells bug repellant, sunscreen and whatever hot, new item that’s hit the market. Dove gear includes camo clothing of the lighter, cooler variety, hats, boots, shooting glasses, ear plugs, shell carriers, game bags and stools and coolers or a combination of both.

Fun Facts:

• According to a 1996 survey by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service more than 3.5 million people annually hunt migratory birds such as doves and waterfowl.
• National Sport Shooting Foundation’s (NSSF) website, which accesses every state wildlife agency’s home page along with concise hunting season summaries, is found at www.huntinginfo.org.
• Dove openers traditionally fall on September 1, an annual occasion that’s enjoyed by millions of hunters across the nation.

Next blog—Part 2 Getting Ready

This diagram shows how to set up and run the "Two-minute Torture" drill properly.

The key to becoming a better shooter is practice, practice, and more practice. But make the practice count—“no pain, no gain,” as they say. As shooters we often take the path of least resistance. Driving to the range, schleping our gear onto the shooting bench and firing several hundred rounds of “practice” before reversing the process. This does not teach us what it takes to make a shot with an elevated heart rate, from a difficult position or what a “good enough” sight picture looks like. Iain Harrison, season one winner of the Top Shot TV challenge on the History Channel suggests a two-minute drill that will make you a better shooter—it’s called the “Two-Minute Torture.”

The Setup

It’s a simple drill conducted at 50 yards. First, set up two flat-board barricades, each with an 8-inch diameter hole centered 18 inches from the bottom, 50 feet apart, with a marker midway between them. Downrange at 50 yards are three IPSC targets, one per shooting position. You can run this drill with a buddy and a stopwatch, or if you have a shot-timer, set the time to give you 120 seconds.

Bear in mind that you’re going to be moving with a loaded firearm, so muzzle control is crucially important, particularly when making the dash back to the end of the line. Be aware of your muzzle at all times, and if your sights aren’t on the target, don’t have your finger on the trigger.

The Drill

Start at the low ready position behind the barricade of your choice with a pistol, rifle or shotgun loaded with a round in the chamber. At the signal, engage the target in front of your shooting position with one round. Move to the center shooting position and engage that target with one round from the kneeling position. Continue to the last barricade and engage the target with one round then move back to your start position and repeat the process until you run out of time. It sounds more complicated than it actually is—move like a typewriter carriage—three shots, then all the way back to the beginning. Don’t engage any target with more than one round from any position.

When the timer runs out, count your hits on the targets. As the IPSC targets are huge and only 50 yards away, it should be impossible to miss, right? After the buzzer goes off, the first thing you’ll notice is that the barricade ports are located in such a way that they’re too high for a good prone shot and too low to comfortably use while kneeling. This will force you to adapt your style to your environment, rather than the other way around. Around the one-minute mark, you’ll realize that you’re taking longer to acquire the target and sights than when you started and that all this jumping up and down as you swap positions is hard work. At around 90 seconds, assuming you’re pushing yourself rather than just meandering along the line, you’ll probably be thinking about adding some serious cardio work to your daily routine and realize just why this drill acquired the name it did.

A good score is around 17 hits, and if you can achieve this, you’re well on the way to mastering close-range positional shooting.

The ladies do very well in 3-gun competition.

The action starts when the buzzer goes off!

I’m back from attending the Shooting Industry Masters last weekend. The event was sponsored by FMG Publications, at the spectacular Rockcastle Shooting Center, located near Park City, KY. Rockcastle is part of the Park Mammoth property, which is a 2000-acre shooting resort and golf course owned and managed by Nick and Nate Noble. It was fascinating to see a golf course incorporated into a sporting clays course and 3-gun range.

Three Benelli teams took part in the Masters, which was organized by Russ Thurman, SI Editor and match chairman, Randy Molde. The Benelli 3-gun Pro Staffers that competed for Benelli included Ben Fortin, Jeremy Parker, Patrick E. Kelly, Mike Patterson and Sandra Orvig. I was particularly pleased to compete on one of the Benelli teams along with Steve McKelvain, Jens Krogh, Steve Kramer, Alex Joseph, Ken Johnson and Greg Rader. The Benelli teams did very well, thank you, with Jens Krogh taking top best overall shooter in the Industry Class. A big thanks goes to FMG and the Rockcastle crews who provided an excellent event for the firearms industry, hosting more than 300 participants.

Benelli was honored at Friday’s award’s banquet when the new Super Vinci was named “Shotgun of the Year.” It was the second year in a row the Academy selected a Benelli gun for their top shotgun honor, which is a special honor for all of us here at Benelli.

Winners in this and other categories are determined by a vote of the 500-member Academy, drawn from the ranks of firearms industry executives, manufacturers, distributors and dealers. This marks the 20th anniversary that industry leaders, who, together, form the Shooting Industry Academy of Excellence, have formally recognized outstanding achievements.

On another note, don’t forget to tune into the Outdoor Channel this Saturday at 11:30 am to watch Benelli On Assignment (BOA). We’ll be in Texas on a combo hunt for whitetail and quail with Sporting Classics Managing Editor, Matt Coffey. On Monday at 8 am and 1:30 pm BOA returns to my old stomping grounds in Botswana’s Okavango Delta and Kalahari Desert to hunt the ubiquitous impala with American Rifleman Editor, Mark Keefe and gemsbok with Petersen’s Hunting Magazine writer, Bob Williams.

On July 8, 2011 Space Shuttle Atlantis lifted off from Cape Canaveral for the last time.

In 1961 when Shepard was mastering space, I was mastering the FBI stance with Mattel's .38 "snubbie."

It was May 5, 1961 when Alan Shepard piloted NASA’s Freedom 7 mission to become the first American to travel into space. A Redstone rocket thrust Shepard into a 15-minute suborbital flight to carry him 116 miles above the earth and bring him to a splashdown location out in the Atlantic Ocean 302 miles from Cape Canaveral. The launch was watched live on TV by millions.

Last week I journeyed back to my old hometown—Cocoa Beach, Florida—for a visit. Not by accident, it happened to coincide with the final launch of Space Shuttle Atlantis—the last launch in the Space Shuttle program. It was scheduled for Friday morning, July 8, 2011.

For those of us who grew up within sight and sound of Cape Canaveral and recall the deep-rumbling sounds and windows rattling from frequent rocket launches in the 1960s and 70s, it was an emotional experience to witness the writing of the last chapter in NASA’s 50-year-old manned-space program.

Friday morning’s successful launch was exhilarating to watch, and yet strangely sad in a way that brought a tear to the eye and left a lump in your throat. That evening I had dinner with a group of my high school classmates and friends, some of whom still live in Cocoa Beach and several, like myself, that traveled there to see the event. All of us could well-remember watching the first manned launch and recall the names of the original astronauts when there were only seven. The names of the space capsules in which they rode were also memorable (Cocoa Beach’s Elementary School is named after Shepard’s capsule, Freedom 7).

The same year that Shepard rocketed into space I was practicing my quick-draw with a .38 “snubbie” from a shoulder holster. My “piece” was Mattel’s official “Dick Tracy” snub-nose .38 caliber cap gun that nestled comfortably under my arm in a shoulder rig. You remember the little jingle–”You can tell it’s Mattel—It’s Swell!”–maybe not!

Unlike the space program that’s ending after more than 50 years, today I’m still plucking guns from holsters and gun racks to aim them at targets that need shooting. Next week a group of us from Benelli are traveling to Rockcastle Shooting Center located near Park City, KY to compete in the Shooting Industry Masters. Maybe I’ll see you there!

July Fourth, like the Super Vinci, is cause for big celebration!

On behalf of everyone at Benelli USA enjoy a fun and safe holiday weekend and have a

happy Fourth of July!

Time is flying by, and as we race through the summer months, it’ll be fall before you know it. Benelli USA is gearing up for some great new adventures ahead. This coming hunting season promises to be a good one, and it’ll provide some wonderful opportunities for introducing new products. Down the road I look forward to telling you more about it.

In the meantime, don’t miss Benelli On Assignment (BOA) on the Outdoor Channel. On BOA this week I’ll be  in… Montana hunting trophy mule deer with Montana outdoorwriter and consummate fly fisherman, Greg Thomas, (check out his website: Anglers Tonic).  And be sure to tune in next week when I return to my old stomping grounds in Botswana to hunt big game in the Okavango Delta and Kalahari Desert with outdoor writer, Robert Williams, American Rifleman’s Editor, Mark Keefe and Benelli’s own Stephen McKelvain.

BOA airs each Monday at 8 am (EST) and 1:30 pm (EST) and Saturdays at 11:30 am (EST) on Outdoor Channel.

Check this out: In celebration of this great country’s birthday Benelli USA is offering 15 % off your entire purchase at the online Benelli USA Gear Store

Before checkout just enter this coupon* code: FIREWORKS

*Coupon valid from June 27th thru July 4th, 2011*

Again, Happy 4th of July and God Bless America!