From Turnbull Restorations: Metal restoration included light polishing, engraving was not re-cut (see photos); color case hardening of receiver, top lever and forend iron; charcoal bluing of trigger guard, safety, screws and pins.
Wood restoration included new buttstock from customer wood, new forend from customer wood, latch housing, ebony tip, and hand checkering per original.
Gov. Justice and WV DNR announce five-year project to restore Bobwhite Quail to West Virginia >
Everyone knows quail populations are falling across the U.S.
Texas is trying to reverse this trend. In this video you can learn a bit about what they’re doing to help these little gamebirds.
Check it out. There’s lot of great footage of all types of quail plus prairie chickens and other game.
I encourage you to check out this piece about attempts to restore quail populations in Virginia.
Upland game bird populations are in trouble in many parts of the country. Programs like these are one way we can help.
I added this video just for the fun. This award-winning quail caller can make some amazing sounds just by whistling. Uncanny. Hold on until the end to hear to get a covey of quail to attack you.
Here’s a good read from Garden & Gun about restoring wild quail populations in South Carolina. It’s good to read that people are doing this.
Tall Timbers: In Search of the Wild Flush
“David Douglas is an unbeliever, and an unapologetic heretic, at that. A builder, a bird hunter, a man in love with the South Carolina Lowcountry, he simply rejects the gospel widely held across the South that the age of wild bobwhite quail is past. That it is no longer feasible to have wild quail on private lands in numbers worth chasing with a bird dog and a scattergun. That farming changes, urbanization, increases in predator numbers, fire ants, pine plantations, and any of a litany of other modern quandaries have so diminished the prospects of Gentleman Bob that quail coveys and quail hunting and the sunrise whistles of a bobwhite brood are destined for relict status—available for occasional enjoyment, but nothing to fashion a farm, or a lifestyle, around” Read the rest of the article here.
Also, check out these photos from the story.
If you’ve spent any time checking out this blog, you know how much I love woodcock. Fortunately, a lot of folks feel this way about these little birds. Some of those folks have come together to reform Woodcock Limited, an organization of “Hunters and other conservationists dedicated to the welfare of the American woodcock.” I encourage you to find out more about Woodcock Limited. From their website: “We work with local, state and national organizations and agencies to promote woodcock habitat creation, restoration and maintenance; woodcock and habitat research; and woodcock harvest management across the range of the American woodcock.”
If you can, please donate your time and money to their efforts. The future of our sport depends on conservation. Woodcock numbers are falling throughout North America. I want to make sure that I do all I can to make sure that trend swings in the other direction.
Here are some words of wisdom for anyone who collects gun. This is from Leroy Merz’s website. Merz is one of the most successful antique firearms dealers in the country, so it’s safe to say he knows what he’s talking about.
Should a gun be refinished or cleaned? Definitely not. You may have seen old cars or other antiques that have been restored and sell for a lot of money. The opposite is true for restored guns. There is no way to duplicate the original finish on a gun, especially after the metal has worn away or pitted. Once the metal is gone, there is no way to replace the lost metal. Some people do collect restored guns. That is a personal choice. But most people will pay a lot more for a gun showing honest wear and age, rather than one that has been cleaned, refinished or restored.
Habitat loss and declining bird numbers — it’s a sad story that’s being played out across North America. It’s also a story that involves woodcock. Eahc year, as forests mature and housing developments expands, these birds loose more of their home turf. The Woodcock Task Force is fighting to stop this.
Read more about their efforts here and find out what you can do to help. When you’re done, check out the video below for some great footage of woodcock and woodcock hunting in South Carolina.
The sad, sad story of the demise of the bobwhite quail continues. Here’s a link to a recent piece in the New York TImes about the quail’s disappearance and about attempts to make them appear again.
Restoring Tradition of Quail Hunting
By JAMES CARD
Published: May 18, 2011
Bobwhite quail are one of the most studied wildlife species in the United States, yet conservationists have yet to halt the declining populations…
