Time is a mirage. For it seems as if it was yesterday that the James Bond film Casino Royale (2006) was released. A success both artistically and commercially, it saved the Bond franchise from teetering over the edge after the preceding two entries, The World is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002), set the stage to either sink or swim. Now, us guys definitely received our money's worth, what with the Aston-Martin DBS and all the expertly choreographed Krav Maga-influenced fighting, etc. … [Read more...] about La chasse conduit à tout, et tout conduit à la chasse.
Hook & Bullet, Notes & Dispatches
Jesuits and Me
This short dispatch is biographical, despite the fact that I initially intended to write about sporting travel. Yet, a person with whom I'm acquainted recently commented that my mentality is very Jesuit and that it permeates voyageursfieldsport.com. In response, I stated something to the effect of disliking the order's current enthusiasm for theological liberalism, to which my interlocutor admitted he shared the same sentiment. Still, I was flattered. The Jesuits possess élan, suggesting they … [Read more...] about Jesuits and Me
The Lion Sleeps Tonight
The conclusion reached in Most Interesting Men, the previous dispatch, is that dangerous game hunting, by all measures, delivers exactly what I’m looking for in a line of work or, at a minimum, in a serious avocation. It is both action-oriented and risky. Yet, while that would be good for me in the main, it's possible that I'll suffer injury upon entering the fray, even if my goal always would be to emerge unscathed. For if you chase after lions, tigers, leopards, etc., then sooner or later one … [Read more...] about The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Most Interesting Men
It's an endeavor undertaken by men stretching as far back as prehistory, and I surmise the motivation always has been three-part: to protect, to eliminate resource competition, and to prove one's valor. What I speak of is dangerous game hunting. It's a topic I broached in Run Amok, a dispatch written as a consequence of restlessness, a.k.a. ennui, my longstanding companion, churning away such that I desire tactical work but for which I'm too old for consideration. Yet, thanks be to the example … [Read more...] about Most Interesting Men
Run Amok
One morning several weeks ago, I arrived at a public fishing area in the southern Adirondacks only to discover that it was over-run by a large S.W.A.T. team in full tactical gear that had just stormed a residential property up the road. The parking lot was simply its staging ground from whence the assault launched. But as I watched the team put away their AR-15s and other ordnance, I reflexively mused how dull my line of work seemed and what I would give to have a job – one upholding truth, … [Read more...] about Run Amok
The Truth About Studs
When I established Voyageurs Fieldsport in 2023, my intent then as well as now was to stress the anthropology of hunting. In truth, I actually implied as much and a lot more in Voyageurs: The Inside Track, which is the very first page I developed when I began building the website, and once more in Voyageurs Fieldsport and the Roosevelt Ethos. But if you've read recent dispatches such as All's Fair in Love and War, Pre-Christmas Crackers, and A Short Valentine's Day Treatise on Male Strutting, … [Read more...] about The Truth About Studs
Souvenir de…
In Pre-Christmas Crackers (15 December 2025), I stated that I was retiring my Browning BAR Mk1 in favor of a Sig-Sauer Cross Fury and a custom Model 1917 Enfield rifle. Regarding the former, and as a consequence of attending The Stalking Show several weekends ago (See If life is to be played as a card game...), I've decided to put a Schmidt and Bender 3-20x50 PM II Ultra Short telescopic sight on it later this month. And regarding the latter, again as I stated in Pre-Christmas Crackers, it is … [Read more...] about Souvenir de…
If life is to be played as a card game…
Greetings from Staffordshire County Showground, Stafford, England, United Kingdom, which currently is the site of a deerstalking trade convention appropriately named The Stalking Show. After returning to Cambridge, New York last Saturday, April 4th to tidy-up my affairs, I departed from Boston-Logan Thursday evening for this two-day event – Saturday and Sunday, April 11th and 12th. While I'm here to talk business and attend a range of workshops and seminars, my primary objective is to … [Read more...] about If life is to be played as a card game…
Camp David, Fly-Fishing, and Presidents
With it being March, I'm currently in my Spring shoulder-season, offering guided fly-fishing on a number of streams flowing near Camp David, north of Frederick, Maryland – my hometown. Now, Marine One flying overhead from Washington, D.C. to the presidential retreat was a common sight during the Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan administrations; basically throughout my formative years. All four of these men were fond of Camp David. In contrast, it's reported that President Trump is not. That might … [Read more...] about Camp David, Fly-Fishing, and Presidents
A Short Valentine’s Day Treatise on Male Strutting
On the Ropes This past Wednesday, I found myself on the ropes while sparring and took a hard shovel hook to the ribs that brought me to my knees.1 I suspected that I was only bruised. Yet, since the pain was intense, I visited my local urgent care facility to have X-rays. It was just one more way to unintentionally spend money. But the verdict: All's fine. Nothing's fractured except my pride. True Confession The good thing, however, is that fellow parishioners at Holy Redeemer invited … [Read more...] about A Short Valentine’s Day Treatise on Male Strutting
Le Chasseur Sportif et le 2 Février
Being that February 2nd is the 40th block on the calendar, inclusive, after the nativity of our Lord (December 25th), Western Christendom celebrates the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, otherwise known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, on this day. Yet, the celebration's most commonly used appellation is that of Candlemas in reference to the fact that, since the 4th Century, the Church consecrates its liturgical candles on February 2nd in recognition of … [Read more...] about Le Chasseur Sportif et le 2 Février
20 + C + M + B + 26
Being January 6th, today is the Feast of the Epiphany and thus the start of Epiphanytide. If you are Catholic and observe the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Right, then the season for you lasts an octave. Yet, if you're High Church Anglican, it closes at 23:59 hours on February 2nd. A good 28-days, it is, which is better. But don't read too much into that with respect to Yours Truly. I'm all for Mere Christianity, which means I'm Catholophilic (perhaps coining a new term along the way) and … [Read more...] about 20 + C + M + B + 26
A Christmastide Epigraph
On Creation's Day, the beginning of time,The Word became flesh and thence dwelt for nineA'cloistered within the Virgin Mary,Though Joseph and Eliz'beth were privy.Yet, as human and divine was he thenAs he was Christmas morn and always isEv'ry Childermas and Day of the Wren,The latter for hunting fox and pheasant –Stephen's festival in the Two and Ten. A 'Merry Christmas' to the Community of the Sisters of Saint Mary, East – the stained glass in your chapel being the inspiration for the … [Read more...] about A Christmastide Epigraph
Pre-Christmas Crackers
From Whitetail Bucks to Wild Boar "It doesn't matter whether I get a deer. It's enough just to be in the woods." Why should we believe the fella at deer camp who says something that silly upon finishing the season empty-handed? I certainly don't – at least no more than I'd believe it if he said, "I don't mind that she rejected me. It was enough just to ask her out." Well, I failed to grass a buck in New York during regular firearms deer season for the second year in a row. Yes, I took … [Read more...] about Pre-Christmas Crackers
Advent 2025: The Hunter’s Return
Here we are once more in the Season of Advent. It's a penitential segment of the church year, one that is cosmic in scope. Now, I truly intended to compose a full-on Advent meditation when I began writing this dispatch because, with Advent 2024: Les Chaussers dans la Neige reprinted in the Frederick News Post as an advertorial, I wanted to follow with a proper sequel. The problem, though, is that the words aren't coming. I think it's because I wrote the heart of Advent 2024: Les Chaussers … [Read more...] about Advent 2025: The Hunter’s Return
An Honest Bush Truck
That's what I need. Or is it a want? I mean it's debatable. For since September 2019, when I sent my 2002 Ford Ranger to the salvage yard after it failed inspection due to rust beyond measure, I've been transporting shot deer in the back of a 2014 Subaru Forester – first a white one, which met its end this past May, and now the current unit as of this morning. I literally grassed the doe you see in the photo just after the bell finished ringing for morning prayer at St. Mary's Convent … [Read more...] about An Honest Bush Truck
All’s Fair in Love and War
The feast day of Saint Hubert, patron of hunters, being the 3rd of November and therefore part of the Octave of All Saints, is a tremendous aid to a guy like me. You see, one must step away from his routine, if only by degrees, for any observance if he is to adopt a frame of mind conducive to reflection on the subject matter. Well, on November 3rd nearly every year for quite some time, I've made it a point to do just that – something out of the ordinary. And this go around, it was to once again … [Read more...] about All’s Fair in Love and War
Souviens-toi
I arrived this morning at Leeds-Bradford International Airport in Yorkshire, the United Kingdom, for a 6-day sporting holiday coincident with the Octave of All Saints. Now, I reckon that I observe this liturgical celebration more intently and vigorously than just about anyone, including priests. I mean I hit it hard, supererogating at nearly every turn. Much of what commands my attention throughout the interval is private. Yet, I also bring some things into the open, such as I did when I marked … [Read more...] about Souviens-toi
Fifteen Minutes of Fame
I sometimes wonder if the content of voyageursfieldsport.com is being read and then subsequently if it resonates. What I'm driving at is that I've given Voyageurs Fieldsport an expansive persona with respect to hunting instead of making it strictly about shooting deer and landing trout. As such, I'm taking a gamble. You see, the value of the standard-issue, blast-and-cast approach is that it's easy to understand, guaranteeing that I'll successfully convey to the public what Voyageurs Fieldsport … [Read more...] about Fifteen Minutes of Fame
Orvis Afield
I hold the distinction of being an Orvis Pro. As such, I think it's fitting this Labor Day to share a portion of a travelogue that I composed in September 2021, while I was on sporting holiday in the UK – over there actually on double-duty to also promote Orvis Trips and Adventures. This, in truth, is the trans-Atlantic foray referenced in the 17 February, 2025 post, Joe Brooks: Extraordinary Fly-Angler and a Great Man. I'll grant the travelogue is now a little dated inasmuch as it firstly … [Read more...] about Orvis Afield