Garden & Gun October/November 2022

EDITOR’S LETTER If you read this page regularly, follow me on Instagram, or know me, it will come as no surprise that I’m an outdoorsman and a staunch defender of the wild South. I detest game hogs (those who need to fill every limit for proof of success). I hate single-use plastic water bottles with a fury that some folks hold for SEC rivals. If you spend as much time as I do on our coastal waterways, there’s no denying we’re choking the ocean with plastic. (Quick pitch: Buy a reusable water bottle—Yeti or Healthy Human or whatever—and use it. It’s easy, I promise.) Though I haven’t completely ditched the lawn (yet), you won’t find me fertilizing my grass, but rather adding rich compost to my garden box or pollinator…

If you’ve lived around Southerners for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard this one: You find yourself in a situation where you need a blade to, say, cut a rope or slice a smoked sausage on the tailgate, so you ask, “Anyone here have a knife?” And inevitably a weathered guy or gal says with a chuckle, “I have my pants on, don’t I?” I’m forever on the hunt for the perfect pocketknife, and I was thrilled when I recently picked up Benchmade’s Mini Osborne. A scaled-down version of the twenty-year-old classic, the Mini delivers the brawn when needed but, at under four inches closed, tucks unobtrusively in my pocket. The fit and finish are impeccable, and the reverse tanto blade is hairsplitting sharp, just the thing for when…

Frederick Stivers ILLUSTRATOR An avid hunter and fisherman, Frederick Stivers has spent time in the American West, the bayous around New Orleans, and the waters of South Florida, drawing inspiration from the flora, fauna, and outdoorspeople he’s encountered. In his artwork, tarpon, bobwhites, and gundogs seemingly come alive in graphite, gouache, and watercolor. For “The Ducks of Home” (p. 140), the Missouri-based artist sketched early-morning scenes from a blind on shotshell boxes. “When I’m working with these old boxes, I realize the wear and tear on them,” he says. “Like the folks I hunt with, their imperfections are endearing.” “Like the folks I hunt with, their imperfections are endearing”—Frederick Stivers on the shotshell boxes he used as canvases for “The Ducks of Home” (p. 140) Kevin Wilson WRITER “The longer…

ALL IN THE FAMILY I loved David DiBenedetto’s story on his Dutch oven recovery (Editor’s Letter, August/September 2022) and wanted to share a technique my grandmother used in South Louisiana to bring her cast iron back to life: She would make a hot fire and put the pots and skillets in it until all of the “junk” was removed, and then clean them up and oil them again. I still use the process today. Stefan Speligene Franklin, Tennessee I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed T. Edward Nickens’s story about the resurgence of side-by-side shotguns (Sporting Scene, June/July 2022). In 1927, my grandfather traded a bird dog for a new Ithaca side-by-side 16-gauge with a quail engraved on one side and a woodcock on the other. He shot it…

Tell a dog story in five words. On Facebook, on Twitter, and in our Talk of the South newsletter, readers told their sweetest, silliest, and shortest dog tales. He’s my daily under-desk companion. Cassie W. She was the best girl. Greg M. Great Pyrenees is a lapdog. Joel H. Bulldog flatulence forced soiree evacuation. Tom S. Dogs met, played. We married. Ann B. Not on my new boots! Steve S. Fed stray fajitas. Buddy stayed. Jason F. Dogs don’t live long enough. Toni B. His one blue eye mesmerizes. Lee H. Roomba went through dog poop. Tracey R. Three-legged pit bull ain’t scary. Kim G. We thought she was fixed. Michelle P. We are family, us two. Suzanne W.…

.01 RECIPES Thanksgiving Menu Planner You may be loyal to Aunt Lucy’s mashed potatoes, but G&G has plenty of other ideas for filling your holiday table. You’ll find recipes for no-fail turkey, smoky duck and andouille gumbo, and more festive mains, sides, appetizers, cocktails, and desserts in our Thanksgiving Favorites collection. Including: TANDY WILSON’S SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE WITH SORGHUM WHITNEY OTAWKA’S SPAGHETTI SQUASH WITH KALE AND PECORINO ROMANO CREAM HILARY WHITE’S BOURBON PECAN PIE AND MORE GARDENANDGUN.COM/thanksgiving .02 2022 GOOD DOG PHOTO CONTEST Calling All Dog Lovers IT’S TIME TO LET YOUR PUP’S STAR SHINE: OUR ANNUAL GOOD DOG PHOTO CONTEST IS UNDERWAY. UPLOAD A PHOTO OF YOUR FAITHFUL COMPANION TO BE ENTERED FOR A CHANCE TO RECEIVE A PRIZE FROM EUKANUBA, OUR PARTNER THIS YEAR, AND GET…