Ruger No. 1 “Joe Clayton Classic”

The Ruger No.1 Joe Clayton Classic is finally a reality after a year in the works. Joe’s new favorite caliber is the 280 Ackley Improved; that was the first hurdle in getting Ruger to chamber a new cartridge for them. Secondly, the 25″ A weight barrel; never done before except on the Chester Hape rifle in 1968. Shown is serial# JDC-041.


The “standard” 1A with the 22″ barrel is one of the special runs for Cabela’s in 30/40 Krag is shown for comparative purposes.

$1700 +$40 for shipping to your FFL. Serial numbers are JDC-001 through JDC-125*. Recently, Ruger was trying to run the No.1 production line in January/February. Jason at Lipsey’s was going to order a few of Previously made models and I ordered 30 more of the 280 Ackleys. They were supposed to be in the regular serial# series(134-54XXX), but they came in as JDC-126 thru 155. Good news is, wood is near spectacular, so I will be shipping these before the last 12 of the rifles which were under #125.

The Box label
Serial# JDC-041(SOLD)
The Caliber Rollmark
Serial number marking
Comparison with a 22″ barrel 1A and the 25″ barrel 1A 280 Ackley IMproved
25″ vs. 22″
My personal rifle JDC-010 (Not For Sale)
JDC-010
JDC-010

Ruger M77 50th Anniversary “High Grade” Available Now

Ruger M77 50th Anniversary
Ruger M77 50th Anniversary

The first M77 rifles were shipped in the Summer/Fall of 1968. First calibers offered were the 22-250, 243 Win., 6mm Rem. And 308 Win.

Terry Wolosek, the M77 man, has collaborated with the Factory to have a special High Grade Commemorative M77 produced. There will only be 77 made and they will be serial numbered 7750-00001 thru 7750-00077. They are only available as a Classic Sporting Arms Exclusive. Contact Terry to reserve yours at 715-572-1030.

 

2008 Mexico Hunt with Ruger No. 1AH .25-06

In field judging game, Jack O’Connor is often quoted: “The big ones always look big!” That quote is found at least in one place on page 326 in Hunting Big Game in North America. The December 1973 Petersen’s Hunting magazine contained an article titled “The Big Ones Look Big”.

I will remind myself of that many times on future hunts!

It was Friday, our last day to hunt. At 3:30 PM, I decided that the “Flaco Nueve” would be shot on sight. At 4:40, he stepped out of the brush, at about 125 yards, right where I had taken his picture some 5 hours earlier. I only put the binoculars on him long enough to ascertain that he had not broken off any points in the last 5 hours. Then I got my rifle into position with the steadiest rest I could in that old tripod.

This hunt all got started last July when I visited with Judge Joe Clayton in Tyler, Texas. I had gone to pick a supply of his new printing of the Ruger No.1 book. While admiring several of his whitetail mounts taken in South Texas and Mexico, the discussion naturally turned to deer hunting. Joe mentioned he had scheduled a Mexico hunt the first 5 days of January, 2008 and there might still be an opening.. I knew of the rains that nearly all of Texas received in the first 7 months of the year; I knew that rainfall is highly correlated to the number of B&C quality bucks taken in that year. It had to be a super year for taking big bucks in South Texas and Mexico. In anticipation, I had entered the Los Cazadores Big Buck Contest in Pearsall in December. I was returning from a trip to the Chaparral WMA. I also signed up for the Los Cuernos de Tejas Contest at Carrizo Springs.

Continue reading “2008 Mexico Hunt with Ruger No. 1AH .25-06”

The Ruger No.1A in .275 Rigby-A Lipsey’s 2016 Exclusive

Jack O’Connor wrote in the October, 1966 issue of Outdoor Life about the introduction and his testing of the new Ruger No.1 single shot rifle. He concluded the article with these words:  “I am going to try to sneak enough dough out of the budget for a Ruger No.1. It is to be a light, handy rifle for a lazy old man to hunt sheep with. I think it will be a 7×57, a 270, or a 280 with a 4x scope and a 24 or 26-in. barrel to weigh about 8 pounds complete. I wouldn’t want anything better!”(1)

Over 10 years later, J O’C wrote in Petersen’s Hunting magazine an article titled Sheep Rifles: Fast, Flat and Accurate-With a Punch.(2) He wrote:  “A rifle that I have had my eye on and would like to take on a sheep hunt is a Ruger No.1 single shot in .270, .280 or 7×57. Because it does not have the long receiver, a No.1 with a 24-inch barrel is about 4-inches shorter than a bolt-action rifle with a 22-inch barrel”

Continue reading “The Ruger No.1A in .275 Rigby-A Lipsey’s 2016 Exclusive”

2011 Arizona Mountain Lion Hunt

At the 2009 NRA Convention in Phoenix, my cousin(Dr. Bob Collard) and I  visited with Kelly Glenn-Kimbro at the Ruger exhibit. Kelly’s father, Warner, was also at Phoenix and I met him. Bob is from Silver City, NM and had hunted lion with Warner and Kelly several years previous.
I have said several times that I could spend the rest of my hunting time on whitetails and be perfectly satisfied. However when pushed about some other hunt, a good lion is first on my list. Also, I just happen to have the perfect place for one in my library!
At Phoenix, Bob and I decided to ask Kelly if we could get on her cancellation list. A year and a half goes by and no chances. In November of last year, I began to think that maybe we should just book a hunt. The first week of December, we hosted Mike Fifer, President and CEO of Ruger, for a whitetail hunt. I mentioned the cancellation list and said after a year and a half, I thought I might just as well and go ahead and book the hunt with Kelly and Warner. Mike let me know that they were booked 5 years out! Well, 5 years from now, I think I might just be too old to set a mule.
What a surprise when Kelly called just after Christmas; we were on for a hunt.
So, how do I get in some kind of shape for this effort in 6 weeks? February 6, 2011 is the start date of the hunt.

In Jack O’Connor’s The Big Game Animals of North America, the Chapter onThe Mountain Lion contains several quotable sentences: “Even in country where the mountain lion is common, it is very rare that one is seen unless it’s put up a tree or otherwise bayed by dogs.”

“Of all the large American mammals, the mountain lion is the shyest, most furtive, and most difficult to encounter.”

“Catching a glimpse of him is made all the more difficult because he is almost entirely nocturnal. Generally, he does not begin to hunt until dusk, and shortly after dawn he lies up in some secluded spot.”

“Few types of hunting excel lion hunting in anticipation. The hunter who knows his dogs can, by their actions, tell pretty well how old the scent is and what the lion was doing, and he’ll have a pretty fair notion about where the lion is heading. From the distant sounds he can tell when it is treed, if it makes a stand against a cliff and is fighting the dogs off. He can tell the voice of one dog from another, and he has fairly accurate ideas about the noses and intelligence of his various dogs.”

“And lion hunting is by no means easy. In the rugged mountains of the Southwest, even the  dude hunter who is paying for the show usually has to do some desperate horseback riding over country so rough it is incredible.”
“When the Lee brothers took paying guests out lion hunting, one of the older Lee’s used to stay with the dude and try to keep him within sound of the pack, but the youngest Lee, Dale, stayed right with the dogs, running up hill and down, through some of the roughest country on the continent.”

“The great sport of lion hunting is following the wonderful dogs through wild and beautiful country. The actual shooting is generally very easy.”

“I have done in only one lion with my own fair hands, and that was in the early twenties.” O’Connor used a ’92 Winchester carbine in .25/20; the location is not specifically noted, but surely was in southern Arizona.

Craig Boddington’s book Campfires and Game Trails has a chapter on The Great Cats. Craig hunted with Marvin(Kelly’s Grandfather) and Warner Glenn prior to the books publication in 1985, There are 4 photos in the chapter of this hunt; Craig with his lion, the cat loaded on the mule, Craig with the dogs, and a tom lion scratch. Craig caught his lion in the Chiricahuas  north of Douglas, Arizona.

It’s tough hunting and the Glenn’s make no guarantee. It’s also extremely rewarding hunting, and those Arizona mountains are  my favorite hunting country. My Arizona cougar came surprisingly easy; some trappers gave us a tip about a javelina freshly killed by a cougar. We trailered the mules as far as we could, rode in to the designated place and Jaws, their big black-and-tan strike dog, found the scent. The lion was laid up nearby. The pack jumped him, and after a couple of miles of pell-mell chase, he treed in a big pine.”

Both O’Connor and Boddington make the points that lions are generally shot at close range, are not hard to kill and that cartridges like the .22 Magnum, .22 Hornet, .25/20, etc have killed many a lion. Boddington notes that “It is important to place the shot carefully. A wounded cougar isn’t to be taken lightly even if he poses no great threat to you–and that isn’t a certainty. He can do a lot of damage to a prized pack of hounds, and do it very quickly.”

I have selected a Ruger No.1A in .357 Magnum and a Blackhawk .357 to take on this hunt. (Click on any of the photos and they will enlarge!)

 

Ruger No.1 .357 Magnum; .357 Flattop

The No.1 is one of the unmarked over runs from the California Highway Patrol edition of 1982. Generally it is thought by Collectors that less than 200 were made. The .357 Flattop is a 4XXX range 1st variation. It has some very old and thick after market stags fitted. Both were sighted with the Hornady 125 grain XTP. The No.1 will shoot one hole groups at 25 yards. I figured I was good with the Flattop to about 7-8 yards.

Bob and I were to be at the Glenn’s Malpai Ranch by 5:00PM on Saturday, the 5th of February. I left home at 1:30AM that morning. Met Cousin Collard at Lordsburg, NM about 1:00PM and we had lunch. Turned off I10 at Road Forks, NM and took US 80 all the way to Douglas. We stopped to look at a marker along the way noting Geronimo’s surrender at Skeleton Canyon in September, 1886. We would see Skeleton Canyon again on the 4th day of hunting, having come in the long and rough way!

Made it to Douglas and then out Geronimo Trail to  Warner and Wendy Glenn’s Malpai Ranch. Here is the sign at the turn off!

Bob and I met Warner and Scotty at the stables, met Wendy(Mrs. Glenn) at the house; we  unloaded our gear, had dinner and turned in early. We were to get up at 4:00AM the next morning, with breakfast at 4:30. Kelly had an obligation in town and did not arrive at the Ranch until after we had turned in.

The morning routine after breakfast was to get the mules saddled and loaded, let the dogs out and have their run(to “empty out” as Warner said), load the dogs and our gear and we were off. It was an hour to an hour and a half to the east on Geronimo Trail to the Peloncillos. It would usually be light enough to see, but well before sunrise. The 1st day we turned up Estes Canyon. The hunting party was Warner and Kelly, my cousin(Dr. F. R. Collard) from Silver City, New Mexico, and Scotty Dieringer of Safford, Arizona. Scotty is a 17 year old cowboy and experienced lion hunter. He had brought his two dogs, Berdie and Spook. And then, as O’Connor notes, the “dude”; me!

Scotty loading the Pack Mule

This was at a windmill and stock tank. We had just unloaded and Scotty was loading the pack mule. Mostly water for the dogs was in the packsaddles. We would water the dogs about 3-4 times a day on those trips were we found no surface water.

Kelly Tying My Rifle on Mariah

Long Way Across the Canyon

Warner and Scotty Listening For Dogs

Kelly On The Trail

The “Dude” and Mariah;1st Get Off Rest Stop

View From the Back of a Mule

More Really Rugged Mountains

A Long Way Down and Over There

On the way up Estes Canyon, early in the hunt, the dogs got on a scent and took off to the left side of the Canyon. We all pulled out to keep up, but the track played out pretty quick, Was exciting for a few moments though. We rode all the way up Estes and topped out; then down into a very grassy basin. The dogs picked up another track here but it was too old to do anything with. We started to make a big circle to head back out and jumped a good Coues buck. This was the only day we actually stopped to eat our lunches. Guess Bob and I needed the “Rest Stop”! On the way out, we ran in to several mama cows with new calves; like 3 or 4 days old. One seemed to be missing it’s baby, so your 1st thought is that a cat caught it. Warner, Kelly and Scotty spent several minutes looking for it; Bob and I rested. Time to head back and we went into some really rough and rocky country. I had to get off and lead Mariah for several hundred yards; just about wore me out. There was just one big descent left to get back to the trucks and trailers. Kelly said it was really rough and steep; we would have to lead our mount for a ways. Kelly and Scotty went off; Warner led Bob and I a longer, slightly easier way around. We were back at the Ranch after dark.

Bob has been nursing a hip problem and he opted out on the 2nd day. We went back to Estes Canyon and rode straight up to where we had turned around the 1st day. We then made a big circle back to our left. Was a much easier ride this day, but the dogs hit no lion scent, Just a short time fooling with what Warner thought to be a bobcat. This was the longest day in the saddle; we must have ridden over 15 miles!

Scenery from 2nd Day; Impressive Rock

Scotty and Warner Looking off into a Really Deep Canyon

The “Dude” on Blanca; a Good Mule!

Down a Rough, Steep Trail

The Trail Boss and the “Dude” at a Rest Stop

Bob was back in the saddle with us on the 3rd day. We were going up Hog Canyon.

Coronado National Forest Trail Sign

The wind was really blowing hard today when we got out of the lower canyon. When we were heading into the wind, the mules could barely make any forward progress! Hog Canyon was where Warner and Kelly found the jaguar in 1996. Also, note this is the hard way to Skeleton Canyon. This brings up visions of Geronimo and Cochise! Kelly and Scotty split off to the right with 2 dogs and Warner, Bob and I went up the Canyon Trail. Wasn’t long until Kelly radioed that the dogs were on a track. We pulled off the trail and went to them. After we got on the top, the dogs really lit up and headed off into a deep hole. Scotty took of his jacket, chaps and spurs and bailed off the mountain after them. I am thinking-now how am I going to get down there if I need to??  To make a shorter story out of a long day, we didn’t catch the cat; couple of dogs got lost and Warner and Scotty spent a couple of hours gathering up the dogs. We went back out down Hog Canyon; wind still blowing hard!

The Dogs Checked Out Every Rock!

Bob and I; the Wind Blew Really Hard All Day.

This was the only day of the hunt that we had this kind of wind.

The 4th day, we rode the trail all the way up Hog Canyon and topped out. We were on top of the Peloncillos and could see a very long way; all the way to the mouth of Skeleton Canyon. To return, it was a long ride circling back to our left on the western rim of the Peloncillos.

Heading In; Riding Began to Get Better On the 4th Day

We could see the Chiricahuas and the Basin where the Malpai Ranch was . We went by Chester Wells and Chester Bluffs, which would be a big part of the 9th day hunt. A very recognizable landmark from this high is College Peak; formerly known as Nellie’s Nipple. Easy to see why!

College Peak; Formerly Known as Nellie’s Nipple

After 4 days in the Peloncillos, we were going to head west and go north on the 5th day to the Pedregosa Range. This meant we would be getting up at 3:00AM and trailering the mules for over 2 hours. Bob stayed at the Ranch today, as he would also on the 7th and 9th day. Scotty’s horse bumped a back leg loading in the trailer this morning and he ended up riding the pack mule this day. We were in cattle country and water tanks were available for the dogs. A beautiful and interesting ride this day. By about 10:00 we were on a track. I will mention here that anytime the dogs hit a scent, Warner and Kelly are both off their mules looking for a track to get an indication of what the dogs have scented, whether it is a bobcat, coati mundi, a female lion or tom, and which way it is going! The dogs take off again today; Kelly could never find a track, so we were just not totally sure what it was. There was one heck of a chase going on. Warner and Scotty stayed with the dogs; Kelly was in radio contact. We were in Pryon Canyon and the dogs were hot on something. Warner radioed that all were headed back our way. Kelly told me to get my rifle out and take a shot when it came by. We never saw anything and Warner sheepishly decided the dogs were on a coyote!

The 6th day we were up at 3:00AM again and headed to the Chiricahuas and Rucker Canyon. This was a long day. Kelly had told me in our 1st e-mail that I would be sore from the riding and after the 3rd day it would began to get better. Well, it does! I could barely tell it was better on the 4th day, but by the 5th and 6th days, I was doing pretty good. My knees would get numb and sore after 3-4 hours in the saddle and it would take a few steps after dismounting the mule to get my legs limbered up.

Bob and His Good Mule Redkit

Water Time for the Dogs!

Bob Found a Good Place to Rest His Hip

Most of the Time, It Was Not This Flat!

It got Rougher and Steeper Coming In

We circled up Devil’s Canyon, down Kid Canyon and then down Bruno. At the day’s end, we found a big tom track in Rucker Canyon. The dogs could not do much with it, but we would be back here at daylight the next morning.  Kid Canyon was apparently so named because the Apache Kid hid out here. Search and you will find an interesting Apache-Arizona history story from the 1880′s.

The 7th day we were back in Rucker Canyon, trying to guess where this tom lion had gone last night. The dogs got on a trail early; Warner and Scotty jumped the lion off this bluff.

The Lion Came off This; Warner and Scotty Came Down On the Left

An interesting bit of Arizona-Apache history is here as Camp Rucker was active camp in the 1879-1880 Apache Campaigns. Lt Anthony Rucker was Commander of C Company of the Apache Scouts. He drowned in 1879 in this flooded creek trying to save his friend and fellow Apache Scout Commander, Lt. Henley. Both drowned. Do an Internet search and you will find the whole story. Will also note that Kelly’s 2011 Poster(from SHOT) was taken at the Camp Rucker ruins.

Down in the Creek, Kelly decided the cat was a small female; we lost it. There were big trees all along the creek, so we all rode through looking up, just to be sure the lion was not high up in a tree. Kelly looked everywhere for tracks.

Just Where Did This Lion Go??

There’s the Smile; We Quit the Track!

The 8th Day, we were back in the Chiiricahuas; another 3:00AM wake-up call. This was a pretty easy day. We made a ride up the Turtle Mountain Trail and down the John Long Canyon. Dogs made a couple of short runs, but we couldn’t get on a track to do any good. This was a most scenic ride down John Long. Here was the biggest Ponderosa pines that I saw on the trip.

The Dogs Really Enjoyed the Water When We Found It

This is the “Dude” on Minnie, Another Good Mule

The Mules Liked the Water Too, When We Found It

It Was Not Flat and Smooth All Day

The 9th Day; Valentines Day! We went back to the Peloncillos, so there was an extra hour of sleep. Warner and Scotty got out and took 6 dogs and went up Wood Canyon, where Warner, Bob and I had come out the 1st afternoon. Kelly and I went on a couple of miles more on Geronimo Trail, parked the truck and trailer and went up Estes Canyon. We had 2 dogs, Raisin and Gringo. It was just about sunrise. Pretty soon up the trail, Kelly noted a tom lion scratch, actually two, one going up and one coming down. They had been made since we were here on the 1st and 2nd days of the hunt. After going up the trail a little farther, we pulled out on the left and started cutting the smaller canyons. Raisin and Gringo got on a track, but it was so rocky that Kelly was not sure what we had or if we were backtrailing. After 10-15 minutes of following the dogs, the dogs were back at Geronimo Trail. They bailed off a bluff that we could not ride the mules off of. We hurriedly took a shortcut back to the Road and found Raisin; we could not find Gringo, nor could we hear him. In the soft dirt of the Road, Kelly found a good tom lion track; it was made last night and we were going in the right direction.

Where the Lion Came Off the Bluff to the Road

Kelly radioed Warner; he and Scotty had not hit anything, so they came as fast as they could with their 6 dogs. Still no Gringo! The tom crossed the Road and looked to be headed up Hog Canyon. Warner and Scotty took the 7 dogs and tried to find the trail. The lion came off the Bluff just to the right of the big rock. The track( a perfect one; I could even see it!) was in the Road at the big rock. The dogs took off up and out of the left side(West) of the Canyon.

Coming Out of Hog Canyon on the Track

More Hog Canyon!

More Hog Canyon!

We all followed, out over the top and down into another deep and steep canyon. We could see the Chester Bluffs.

This is What the Dogs Came Down

Looking Near Straight Down From Chester Bluffs

Chester Bluffs

This was off to our right when we lost Raisin and Berdie.

Raisin and Berdie Went Out Over This

We are all riding along trying to figure out where to go next; we realize Raisin and Berdie are not with us. They both just disappeared without a sound. Now we have lost 3 dogs, as we haven’t come up on Gringo yet. We all head off up this “little” hill and top out, looking and listening for Raisin and Berdie. I don’t even know which way Warner went, but Scotty went left and Kelly and I went right when we topped out. We ride a long way and are getting back to Hog Canyon.

I Think This Is the Top of the Rock From Where We First Saw the Lion

Kelly walks out to the rim to listen; I am with our 2 mules and the pack mule. I hear Kelly say over her radio “I hear the dogs bayed.” It was Raisin and Berdie. I gather all 3 mules and start leading them to her, as I figure we are in for more riding. About the time I get to Kelly, we hear Warner on the radio “I see the lion.” He tells us where the lion is; I get my rifle and we head to the edge of this bluff. Kelly looks over and snaps these 2 photos:

The Lion is on the Left; One Dog Upper right

Kelly Took This Photo, But This Lion Was Looking Up Just Like This When I Got To the Edge of the Bluff

Kelly told me to step right up to the edge of the bluff and I could see the tom; she said Warner was off to the right of the dogs down on their level. I slipped up to the edge; “Kelly, I don’t see the lion.” She said “Go closer to the edge!” I moved another step closer and there he was, just as you see in the above photo. He was on a rock about 25-30 yards below us; the dogs and Warner were another 20 yards below the lion. Looking near straight down, the photos offer no depth perception. I could see Warner on his mule far enough off to the right that I could shoot at the lion without any danger to him. Another problem! The sun was directly above, reflecting in my ocular lens; I could see nothing through the Leupold 2×7, set on 4X. I told Kelly to lay her hat along side my head and scope to shade the lens. I have no recollection whether I had a rest of any kind or how close I was to the edge! When I shot, the lion flopped off the rock to the left and fell another 20 yards to where the dogs and Warner was. He was DRT. I looked at my watch; it was 2:40 PM. We had been on his trail over 7 hours!  It took us 40 minutes to get off the top of the bluff and down to the level where Warner, the dogs and the lion were. Then, as we just started down the steep slope, we look back and there is Scotty’s horse, dragging his reins, and his dog Spook, coming down the trail behind us. That was a bit scary, until Warner told us that Scotty was with him. Scotty could hear the radio traffic, but was not at the scene when the shot came. Hearing the shot, he dropped his spurs and chaps and bailed off the mountain to get to the lion and the dogs. His horse and other dog decided to follow Kelly and I. We could not lead Troubador down, so Kelly tied his reins up, put him in front of me and I drove him off the mountain to where the lion was.

Troubador Coming Off the Mountain

The Lion is Caught and Raisin is Resting!

I Shot From On Top of the Rock Behind Us

I shot from the large “V” on the left; the lion was down on the lower ledge, and he ended up down at this level. It was not flat up on top of that rock!

Look At the Size of That Tom’s Foot!

We Had to Get Warner In A Picture

Warner, Kelly & Scotty with Raisin & Berdie-the 2 Lost Dogs That Bayed the Lion!

Scotty and Berdie;Young Cowboy, Good Dog

Kelly, Warner and I all used our cameras to take the photos; we took a lot! Right in the middle of my camera being used, I was introduced to a new aspect of technology- my card was full! After picture taking, Warner gutted the lion; we were interested to know what his last kill was. It was a javelina. Now was time to load this tom on the pack mule and head out down Hog Canyon. Kelly covered up the mules eyes with her hat and the rest of us loaded him in the pack saddle and tied him in good!

Lion Loaded and Headed Out

Heading Down Hog Canyon

It took a couple of hours to get back to the Road and the sun was going down.

Moon Over What Could be Outlaw Peak?

Rough Rocks on East Side of Hog Canyon

We did find Gringo, right where we had last seen him 10 hours earlier.

This was absolutely the hardest,  most exciting , and adventurous hunt I ever expect to have in my lifetime!

Douglas, Arizona Vicinity Map

Hog Canyon is the orange mark, just above Estes Canyon, on the lower right of the map.

One night as we finished dinner, Warner remarked that he had been asked how many more years that he would be hunting lions in these mountains? He replied:“I guess until Kelly gets too old to go hunting with me anymore”.

A last photo that you may have seen on TV.

Sign at Entrance to Coronado National Forest

We saw no Smugglers or Illegals in 9 days in the mountains. We did see some trash and debris left on the trails. What we did see was a tremendous presence by our Border Patrol. Know that these men and women are working hard for you. Gabrielle Giffords gets great credit making this increased Border Patrol activity happen. Please pray for her continued recovery and rehabilitation.



I would suppose that anyone visiting this Website with any interest in Rugers would know that Kelly has been representing Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. with advertisements and at Trade Shows since at least 1988. The advertisement with the Mini-30 in 1988 is the first I am aware off. That was the poster given out at the 1988 NRA Convention in Orlando, Florida. I was there and got an autographed one!!

The most recent poster, from the 2011 SHOT Show. Kelly is holding the new LC9 and the Gunsite Scout  model in .308.

Kelly Glenn-Kimbro 2011 SHOT Poster

For all of you men(and women) and boys and girls who have only met Kelly at SHOT or the NRA Convention, where this always smiling, gracious lady listens to all your Ruger stories, answers all your questions, signs your posters(usually several, for all your friends back home), let me tell you, Kelly Glenn-Kimbro is the “Real Deal”!! She rides a mule and hunts mountain lion in really, really rough country right up there with her father, Warner. And, Warner Glenn is a legend! For those of you who have not seen this, you cannot imagine it; for those who have been there, you know what I mean.

Kelly's 2011 NRA Poster

Kelly’s 2011 NRA Postyer

Kelly’s 2011 NRA Poster, Back Side

Couple of years ago, Kelly put together a book.

The Front Cover of Kelly’s Book

Kelly caught(and shot) this lion on the cover!

Some may recall Warner Glenn’s book, EYES of FIRE, Encounter with a Borderlands Jaguar, from 1996. This is a fascinating read!

EYES of FIRE, Cover

The best part of the story is on page 8 when Warner realizes that the dogs are not on the trail of a big tom lion, but a jaguar! Page 9; “Jaguars are notorious for killing dogs”, and Warner’s great efforts to get the dogs off and away from the jaguar!

Real Life – Larry Weishuhn

“You’re so lucky!  All you do is travel throughout the world and hunt.  Must be a great life! I wish I could do that!”  He hesitated then added, “Don’t you feel a little guilty about having it so good, compared to the rest of us who like to hunt?”

I smiled, having just finished an hour long talk capped off by an additional thirty minutes of questions and answers at Dallas Safari Club’s annual convention..  From their actions it appeared the audience had had fun!  I knew I did!  I immediately replied to to his question, “You’re right I am indeed extremely lucky and blessed to get to do what I do.  I dearly love it!  And, you’re right it is indeed a great life I get to live! Wish everyone who loves the outdoors, hunting and guns could do what I do.”  With that I thanked him for coming to my presentation, watching my shows, and reading my “stuff” then turned to the others waiting to visit with me, have a photo taken with me, get an autograph or to tell me their hunting stories.  An hour later finally got back to the Ruger booth. I was helping work, there I continued visiting with hunters. Those who wished to have their photo taken with me, I grabbed a Ruger rifle, usually a Number 1 (because I dearly love Number 1s) handed it to the person who wanted a picture of him or her and me, got them to hold it in his hands for the photo a friend of was taking . With a Ruger Number 1s in their hands I could talk to them about that particular gun. Then I could tell them what was great about Number 1s and other Ruger guns and why they should own such guns.  Quite often before they left the booth, they are ready to buy a Ruger!  This sort of thing continued until the show closed for the day.  Then it was off to the evening events and auction.  Long day and night! day after day after day after…. Tomorrow would be much the same.

Let’s back up to that morning’s events.  It had started at 3 am, up early to get an article written that had been assigned a couple of days earlier and was now due to the editor.  Back up now even farther to the day before, it had been much like this day, late night and up early that morning to write a column that was due.  Two to three hours of sleep per night for days on end.DSC’s Hunter’s Convention (in my opinion DSC is the finest and best hunting show in the world, but not only their “show” certainly also their organization.  With it completed I was again on a hunt, a whitetail hunt we were trying to finish on a ranch southeast of Dallas.  I had hunted the ranch for 5 days earlier in the fall, saw some nice buck and got some decent footage.  But I had not pulled the trigger on a deer.  The reasons were many…because there was not enough light, or the buck had been too far away, or the buck charged in while I rattled horns and the cameraman was either looking the other way or had not yet turned the camera on.  So I simply watched the deer as it left unscathed.  Whereas had I simply been hunting hunting the 150 class mature buck I had rattled up would have been headed home with me.

Nothing to this tv show hunting, get to the place, go out to hunt, shoot the animal, grip and grin, on the way home in less than 30 minutes.  Right? After all most TV shows do an entire hunt in less than 30 minutes.  How difficult can such things be?  Right?

Actually…WRONG!  There’s hunting and then there’s hunting for TV, and frankly, the two have very little to do with one another. other than you’re in the woods.  When hunting for the TV you get into the woods; you set up the cameraman where he’ll have the best angle for the best possible footage. The hunter, he has to set up where it’s difficult to get on any deer that might come in to the area. Camera take precedence over real hunting. When a buck does appear, from the cameraman it’s “Don’t shoot, I’m not on him..” Don’t shoot we don’t have enough light!” and a thousand other reasons for the hunter not to shoot.  Not a complaint, simply a statement! But all part of doing a TV show.

One of the things I hear a fair amount of, “Ah you TV guys, when you go some where you hunt in only the best spots.  The guide probably have a deer “tied up” for you.!”  My reply to that is “I wish!”.  When I go on a hunt, I let everyone else in camp choose where they want to hunt, then I take the area no one wants.

I wish I got to hunt sure things!  I try to do so as much as possible.  But that’s not very often.  Some facts….good cameramen/field producers demand a salary of at least $650 per day plus expenses.  I have t pay for them and their travel expenses, plus my own expenses (travel, licenses, permits, lodging, meals, rental cars and gas and the cost of the hunt itself, tips to guides and others). Frankly, I pay something on every hunt I do…  Yes, I try to get the best possible price because of the promotional value the outfitter/guide will get from the tv show, articles, blogs, word of mouth, etc that I do on their behalf. But again I pay for a lot of hunts, same as any other hunter.  And TV show expenses don’t end there.  It costs a lot to have each show produced usually between $5,000 to $10,000 per show.  Then you have to buy airtime from a network to air your show.   By the time the year is over and you think you might have made some money on the show, then it’s time to start hunting hunting and filming again, and there goes the profit, because you have to invest it into “next year’s crop of shows”.  In a lot of ways doing a TV show is not a whole lot different than being a farmer!

Great traveling around the country and beyond?  It is!  I dearly love people and in doing so, I get to meet a tremendous number of good people.

Between hunting trips, personal appearances at stores, events, outdoor/hunting shows, doing promotional work for sponsors I travel about 300 days a year, sometimes more, and rarely less.  Again not a complaint, merely a statement!  Throughout the year I do between 15 and 20 major hunts a year, so we end up with top-notch shows.  I’m in and out of airports, sometimes in an out of foreign lands.  Some of that is an adventure, some of it is downright aggravating and some of it is even dangerous!  And all of it is downright tiring!  Most of my days start no later than 4am and seldom end before 11pm. Again just a statement of fact.

A few years ago I had a friend of mine who thought he really wanted to do what I did, and this guy was a go-getter, I invited him to “run” a couple of weeks with me part of the time hunting, other parts traveling and doing an in-store promotion.  At the end of day 7 of a 14 day trip, my friend came to me and told me, “You’re crazy!  What you do is no fun, day after day of hardly any sleep, yet still you’ve got a smile on your face.  I wanna go home!  I don’t want to do what you do…I just thought I did.  All sounded and looked so exciting and fun.  I had no idea!  I’m going home.  You can have it!  I’m taking my Ruger Number 1 and going hunting on my own.  I’m outa here! ”

I smiled.  I dearly love what I do.