Read the full story - Lars Jacob Wingshooting

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Destinations
Doug Painter
I
Covey & Nye and the Dutch River Club
don’t know why they
can take care of your every shotgunning need flagship store on the other.
call them deviled
Walk in Covey & Nye
and want – from your feet to the field.
eggs. In truth, they’re
and you’ll be greeted by a
a heavenly accompaniment to
faint aroma of fine leather, and your
England setting, framed by white
a glass of good bourbon, poured
eyes will feast on an array of classic
clapboard buildings, the simple
neat with just a splash. Well, here’s
shooting clothes and accessories, all
yet elegant style of our Yankee
another duo you’re certain to
the right stuff for driven birds from
forefathers. In this case, the locale
enjoy: Covey & Nye and the Dutch
Scotland to Spain. But unless you’re
is Manchester, Vermont, with the
River Club. With fabulous guns
specifically in the market for boots
famed Equinox Inn on one side of
and gear, superb instruction and
or wool, you’ll drift quickly toward
the street and what used to be an
extraordinary shooting grounds,
the gun room in the back right
annex of the inn, the Covey & Nye
these two entities can fulfill
corner of the store. There, you’ll
the wish list of even the most
find an extraordinary array of great
t Dutch River, gunning driven birds
discriminating bird hunter.
game guns, the créme de la créme
calls for attire that’s reflects the long
tradition of bird-shooting in Europe.
It starts with a classic New
of break-open smoothbores.
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L ars Jacob of Covey & Nye specializes
Covey & Nye is the official
U.S. showroom for Luciano Bosis,
unquestionably one of the greatest
of all the Italian custom gunmakers.
Among the L. Bosis selection was
a matched pair of its Michelangelo
game guns in 28 gauge with 30-inch
barrels and stunning game scenes
by Pedretti. You would have to
search high and low to find a nicer
pair of light bird guns in America
than these two. If you hooked up
with Warren Buffett early, these
gorgeous side-by-sides may just be
your ticket.
Covey & Nye is also a dealer
for Purdey, Zoli, Beretta, AYA and
Cosmi firearms, and you’ll always
find a nice selection of pre-owned
S
Davies from Holland and Holland.
With an emphasis on wingshooting
instruction, especially for driven
birds, Lars is a strong proponent
of the instinctive technique – the
classic British “butt, belly, beak,
bang” approach when swinging on a
bird. Essentially, it’s a combination
of good form and technique
combined with a laser-like focus on
the bird – particularly on the bird’s
head. The wonderful computer that
is our brain does the rest, especially
if we don’t try to override our
natural reflexes.
Good shooting begins with a
shotgun that fits the individual
gunner. On this subject, Lars
emphasizes that it’s important to
get the “big numbers” right, notably
length of pull and pitch –
especially for beginning shooters.
As a shooter develops, further
refinements can be made, such
as the degree of cast-off or -on.
Spending a few minutes with an
expert gunfitter such as Lars Jacob
may do more to improve your
shooting than hours at the clay
target range.
A smooth and fluid gun
mount is also critical to successful
wingshooting, and Lars reminds his
students that it takes time and lots
of practice to develop the muscle
memory that produces a rhythmic
and consistent mount without
thinking about the mechanics.
Not surprisingly, that’s exactly
what golf pros tell their students.
Whether newcomer or veteran,
Lars encourages all wingshooters
to take lessons to help ingrain their
technique and allow them, should
things go awry in the field, to selfdiagnose the problem. Shooting at a
clays stand also will help build that
muscle memory.
In addition to clays, there are
other lessons you can learn from
competitive shooters, who pay close
attention to their stance, posture
and alignment before calling for a
target. Hunters don’t get to call for
their target, but they often have
in the nuances of shooting driven birds.
shotguns from many of the world’s
top gunmakers. But you’ll find more
than guns and tweed at Covey &
Nye – you can find world-class
shooting instruction.
A
while back I had the chance
to visit with Lars Jacob, Covey
& Nye’s fine-gun expert and
director of its shooting school. Lars
grew up in the hunting and gun
business and has had the opportunity
to study with some of the top
shooting instructors in the world,
including Alan Rose at the West
London Shooting School and Ken
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the opportunity to set
up properly for the bird’s
expected flight path.
This is especially true
on driven bird shoots
where the typical shot
is high and overhead.
Here, Lars points out, the
key to success is to keep
your shoulders in line, or
parallel, with the shotgun.
To do so, he suggests a
narrow stance that enables
the shooter to flex his or
her knees, allowing the
gun shoulder to drop and
your opposite shoulder
to rise and thus maintain
a straight shoulder line
as the gun rises. It’s a bit
awkward at first, but if
you plan to shoot driven birds, it’s a
move you should master.
The essence of the instinctive
method of shooting is that the
eyes never disconnect from the
target during the mount and
he day’s bag at Dutch River Club,
Tnicely
arranged in a colorful salute to a
shot. To help develop a sharp
focus, Lars recommends shooting
lots of sporting clays, especially
from stations that offer “poison
bird” presentations, typically a
combination of orange-and-black
successful shoot.
targets thrown simultaneously
and where only one color is the
shootable target. For hunters, Lars
believes it’s important to shoot with
a low gun position and to practice
with the safety switch “on” until the
gun moves to your cheek.
A
bout half an hour away from
the Covey & Nye store in
Manchester, Vermont, and
just across the state line in Hebron,
New York, is Covey & Nye’s sister
operation, Dutch River Club,
which is home to the Covey & Nye
shooting school, though it’s much,
much more.
Under the direction of legendary
hunt preserve manager Gary Hall,
the club’s 1,200 acres have been
transformed into an extraordinary
hunting venue that features true
driven-bird shoots and a flighted
mallard shoot as challenging and
picturesque as I’ve seen anywhere
in the country.
The property’s rolling hills set up
perfectly for driven-bird events and
butt locations that make the most
of this demanding style of shooting.
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There are only a handful of clubs
in America that offer driven shoots,
and it’s great to see Dutch River
Club in this premiere league.
The club also offers upland hunts,
and thanks to an extensive habitatmanagement program, excellent wild
bird hunts. There is early season
hunting for wood ducks and teal
followed by mid- and late-season
gunning for mallards, black ducks,
gadwall and Canada geese. Classic
New England grouse and woodcock
hunting is available in the fall along
with options for white-tailed deer.
Then in the spring, it’s time to go
turkey hunting. If you hunt in the
Northeast, that’s a full menu.
When it’s time to put the guns
away, the club has its own bass
ponds and private trout fishing
on three rivers, including the
famed Battenkill. The clubhouse
is an appropriately restored, early
19th-century farmhouse, and plans
are underway to restore a nearby
period home to expand overnight
accommodations. The club is about
four hours away from both New
York City and Boston.
Whether it’s selecting a fine
shotgun and getting fitted by Lars
Jacob, practicing your overhead
shots at the club’s high-tower
station or enjoying a challenging
shoot with family or friends, few
venues bring everything together
as well and as conveniently as do
Covey & Nye and the Dutch River
Club. And at the end of the day, as
you raise a glass to celebrate our
grand sporting traditions, don’t
forget the deviled eggs.
Note: For more information about
Covey & Nye and it’s shooting
school, contact Lars Jacob at
[email protected]. The
store’s address is 3566 Main St.,
Manchester, VT 05254, phone:
(802) 289-2002.
For membership information
about Dutch River Club, email Gary
Hall at [email protected],
phone: (518) 854-9584.
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