Saturday Shoot

Shooting Sweater Shootout

This isn't really a shootout in the "test them side-by-side" sense because the only one I own is the Barbour and it's really more of a "sportman's sweater" if we're getting technical.  Finding a real shooting sweater these days is becoming rather difficult.  Filson seems to be discontinuing the Waterfowl Sweater although I have found a few online retailers who are still selling them.  I guess Filson's too busy making trucker jackets to make the clothes that they're famous for.  Maybe they'll get one going in a China factory like the rest of their line.  (End rant.)

I'm interested in the Brenire from Stafford's.  I only just found out about them through an Archival Clothing post on Twitter but they look good and they're knitted in Scotland.  Purdey is probably great and I love the contrast of the brown patches on green.  The Three Forks is fantastic looking but it's impossible to find except for the occasional ebay auction.  The Cabela's looks functional if not a little generic.  I hear nothing good about Boyt's quality as of late.

Anybody out there have a favorite they want to share? I'm all ears.

Ivy League Clays: Reviving Competitive Collegiate Shooting in the USA

Nice story from the National Shooting Sports Foundation on the effort to bring competitive clay target shooting back to the college level in the northeastern U.S.  Special grants from the CSSI are now helping schools start teams (but it's worth noting that the Yale team traces its roots back to the 19th century and along with West Point they've kept the tradition alive while few others have.)

Alfred Eisenstaedt: Summer On The Cape 1940

I was born in Plymouth, MA and spent the first bit of my life on Cape Cod until my parents decided they didn't want to deal with the tourism and left for greener pastures, so to speak.  (I'm sure there were job considerations for my father as well.)  If summers on Cape Cod then had been more like the way Alfred Eisenstaedt's photos make them appear to have been in 1940, perhaps my folks might have stuck it out (and I could have developed a wicked awesome accent.)  In any case, the photos below speak volumes.

Filson Wingshooting Jacket

Details here.

Filson Wool Tweed Clays Coat

There was a time when we began to lose faith in C.C. Filson of Seattle, WA. Recent collections of imported "casual wear" have had us wondering whether the legendary American tradition of rugged clothing for the out-of-doors might be bound for the archives.  The Wool Tweed Clays Coat has won us back.

This is such a good looking piece of USA-made clothing.  A coat specifically designed with recreational shotgun sports in mind is the kind of outerwear that best embodies the spirit of the GSC. That's 21 oz. 100% Wool Tweed and those shoulder patches are Pig Suede (with padding for the right-handed or left-handed shooter, no less, and pockets to insert extra recoil pads.)  Is it too speculative of us to say that Hemingway would wear this coat, were he alive today?  Shop the entire hunting and shooting collection here.