UplandFeathers

Uncle Sam really likes his Berettas. The US Army recently signed a deal with Beretta to provide US military customers with up to 450,000 Model 92FS pistols. The first delivery of 20,000 pistols is destined for the Iraqi military. Value of the contract is $220 million. It was back in 1985 when the US military decided to retire the Colt 1911. Not long after that, I was introduced to the Beretta. It felt like I was grasping a can of soda, the grip was fat to say the least. And it fired with a regular monotony. Being more familar with seven-round magazine guns (e.g. 1911) the 92’s larger capacity kept cycling and cycling. Over the years I have had the opportunity to shoot various models—I remember the more compact Elite as nice piece—and one 92 with a slick trigger job by well known gunsmith. That double action pull was butter. I still miss old slab side, though, with its thin grip and big bullet. If you want to get reacquainted with the Beretta 92FS go to www.beretta92.com.

Posted by SwampYankee at 05:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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There’s a tag line that reads, "the gift that keeps giving" and I think it is appropriate for this 1,700-Acre gift given by a KS gentleman to PF and QF. The gentleman, we’ll call him the Colonel, donated his land because he wanted to see his acreage stay in one piece as well as see it managed for wildlife habitat. That’s exactly what PF and QF do best. And it is in fact, the single largest donation ever in the two organizations' 26-year history. The colonel began donating the property, which he affectionately calls the “Dubuque Land & Cattle," back in December 2008. All the property will be donated upon the Colonel’s death, which further proves you can’t take it with you. The dollar value of the land is over $1MM, but the real value will be in what PF and QF do with the land. The goal is to implement conservation practices beneficial to wildlife, while maintaining the property's agricultural and ranching operations. Currently the property is home to a tremendous population of pheasants with great potential for quail habitat improvements. Prairie chickens, whitetail, and mule deer also call the property home. In future, PF envisions hosting conservation and habitat field days to illustrate "best management practices" on the property. For now the “Dubuque Land & Cattle" will remain private, with hunting by written permission only. Upon the Colonel's passing, PF intends to open to public hunting.

Posted by SwampYankee at 05:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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Bragging rights will be determined between more than 40 of the country's best young turkey callers in Nashville later next month. The NWTF is sponsoring the event Feb. 19 through 22. Contestants have one minute to mimic various sounds of a wild turkey with the winner determined by a panel of judges. The event also offers a lot more than imitation clucks and purrs.

Posted by SwampYankee at 01:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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