Show Details

Biography

Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures with Wm. Hovey Smith

Wm. Hovey Smith is a native Georgian whose early love of hunting took him into the woods and swamps of his home state at a young age. Almost as soon, his interest in writing developed in high school and at the University of Georgia. Later, as an Engineer officer in the U.S. Army, he started selling outdoor stories.

Hovey’s work as a Professional Geologist took him to all parts of the country, an opportunity that allowed him to hunt and write about his experiences. These writings found their way into the NRA magazines and later into the Gun Digest where Hovey is now a Corresponding Editor covering black-powder guns and hunting. He has published thousands of newspaper and magazine articles on a variety of topics as well as 14 books.

The unusual has always interested Hovey, and he became interested in black-powder hunting, bowfishing and crossbow hunting. He has also participated in hunts using more traditional methods, still occasionally going out with a knife or spear.

His books include Practical Bowfishing, Backyard Deer Hunting, and CrossBow Hunting, all of which can be ordered by clicking the book covers on the previous page.

Hovey is also a playwright, blogger, producer and filmmaker.

Archived Shows

• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Hunt Destination Helen, Nacoochee Village, Georgia

  Although turkey hunting and a state outdoor writers’ convention were the initial reasons for visiting Unicoi State Park, unexpected events caused an expansion of interests to include trout raising, birding, local wines and a hike through gold-mining country.

   

  North Georgia and nearby areas of the Carolinas were the site of North America’s first gold rush. The Spanish explorer, DeSoto, did not find any gold in his trek through what was to become the Southeastern U.S.; but there was gold there. North American Indians used and valued native copper, but if they found gold, they paid no attention to it.

   

  Nonetheless, gold was discovered and this caused the relocation of Native Indian tribes from the region during a four-year period generally called the “Trail of Tears.” Federal Mints were established in the towns of Dahlonega, Georgia, and Charlotte, North Carolina. Gold was periodically mined from underground, placer and surface workings through the early 1800s and subsequently when there was a significant rise in the price of the precious metal.

   

  Now the area is more valued for its scenic qualities, recreational opportunities and watershed protection than gold production.  John Kollock, a local artist, returned from a military tour in Germany with the vision of establishing a Bavarian tourist destination in the North Georgia mountains. Some local merchants shared his vision, and today the town with its Bavarian theme storefronts features European crafts, foods and culture in a North Georgia setting.

   

  The area’s natural environment inspired the creation of the Unicoi State Park as a convenient get-away from the Atlanta metro area. This part has a state-operated lodge, restaurant and meeting accommodations as well as a lake and 12 miles of hiking trails adjacent to the Chattahoochee National Forest. One of these was the Smith Creek Trail which I walked with Jimmy Jacobs and Polly Dean who are working on a new guide to Georgia’s 500 miles of hiking trails. Concurrent with the meeting of the Georgia Outdoor Writers Association (GOWA), the Georgia Mountain Bird fest was being held, and from 70 to 130 enthusiasts participated in events concentrated on the Spring migration.

   

  My interest in birds was focused on a scheduled turkey hunt, but my and another hunter’s efforts with our flintlock guns were foiled by a drizzling rain which later turned into a downpour. Fellow GOWA member Ben Baker related his recent hunt with a percussion Civil War era Colt revolver which failed on a large boar hog, and P.J. Perea gave one of the best renditions of turkey calls on my homemade wing-bone call that I have heard. With no further turkey hunting opportunities, I visited the Lake Burton Fish Hatchery where trout are raised to stock in Georgia streams.

   

  Joining the birding group, I interviewed event organizer Ellen Graham, who is a Resource Manager at the park, and participant Jamie Hawk, who is the head of the Atlanta Audubon society. Exhibitors at the event included Joe La Fleur who has a series of DVDs including  live footage of North American birds with sound recordings collected from all U.S. states and Canadian Provinces. This is a remarkable body of work and is made more accessible to the average birder because he also has DVDs featuring the most common 150 bird species from each state.

   

  For those interested in Helen as a tourist destination, I also visited the Convention Center and Visitors Bureau where an enthusiastic young receptionist in Bavarian costume filled me in on local history, tourists activities and events. This is followed by a trip to Habersham Winery in nearby Nacoochee where I sampled wines and later discussed them with Steve Gibson. Although they grow and make wines from European varietal grapes, they also feature their “Southern Harvest White Muscadine” as among Habersham’s best-selling products. This wine has an excellent acid-sugar balance, and it is not nearly so sweet as many muscadine wines.

   

  Ads on this show included Misty Mange, the hair-care product that you and your pet can share and SIN, Inc.’s (Synthetic Industrial Non-Nutritives, Inc.) bottled water from wells located at Trash Mountain on edge of the Los Angeles Basin. This water is sold at expensive prices in recycled bottles. It is now available with added sugar, heavy metal flavor accents and salvaged citrus peelings

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – NRA Show Vendors, Lincoln Derringer vs. Zombie Pizza

  Derringer pistols figure prominently in this conclusion of the National Rifle Association’s 141st Annual Convention in St. Louis. Not only was Heizer’s new Double Tap .45 ACP-9mm double-barrel Derringer introduced, but a D. Pedersoli near-replica of the 1860s Lincoln Derringer is test fired.

  Highlighted exhibitors from the show include Olympic Arms with their reintroduced Whitney pistol, E. Author Brown’s new 6.5mm single-shot rifle, a discussion of drillings from the German Gun Collectors Assoc., H&M’s metal finishing, Cor-Bon/Glaser’s safety slug, Schuetzen (Swiss) black powder and Liberty gun safes. The NRA Eddie Eagle (gun safety for kids) and Firearms for Freedom (what to do with your guns after you die) programs are also described.

  Not directly gun related, but also at the show, was Safari Jewelry who makes elephant hair bracelets from gold and silver as well as from natural hairs gathered from the tails of park elephants. These hair jewelry items were historically made in Africa and owner Jeff James transferred this design into precious metals.

  To see the products and written contact information go to the “Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures Radio Show Blog.”

  Davide Pedersoli makes a near replica of the Henry Deringer pistol that John Wilkes Booth used to assinate President Abraham Lincoln. I arranged to obtain one of the guns from Hunter Kirkland at Dixie Gun Works for field testing. This gun was test fired against a Zombie Pizza Delivery Man target, made by Birchwood Casey. Accuracy and chronograph testing provided some useful information about historic and modern uses of this class of self-defense guns. A 15-min. video, “Derringer vs. Pizza Zombie,” is available on YouTube at the wmhoveysmith Channel.

  Ads on the show include the One-Stop Zombie Shop for all of your zombie needs and the Four Sugar Bread made with four varieties of sugars, four individual grains of wheat, barley, oats and rye in each loaf and sold with flavor packets of Black Strap Molasses or Cane Syrup to supply a minimum of two tablespoons of sugar per slice.

  “Hovey’s Outdoor Adventure Radio Show Blog” http://www.hoveysoutdooradventures.wordpress.com.

  “Derringer vs. Pizza Zombie” http://youtu.be/YiIeURpyi34

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Guns and Presidents at 141st. NRA Annual Convention

  Guns and Presidents at 141st. NRA Annual Convention

  The great majority of U.S. presidents have been gun owners, hunters and shooters, starting with George Washington. Jefferson, for example, was reported as saying that some of his most relaxing moments was when he was walking in the woods with his gun. Washington reportedly sickened and died as a result of a duck hunt on the Potomac river near his Mt. Vernon home. Jackson was a duelist who is variously said to have participated in 13 to 100 duels. During one he received a bullet in his chest near his heart, and that slug remained in his body until he died. Even after being shot, he remained standing and killed his opponent. Jackson owned and used many guns during his life, and he is considered to be the founder of the Democratic Party.

  Lincoln was noted to have done target practice with the new Spencer repeating rifle in a field between the White House and the Washington Monument. The result was that this gun was adopted by the Union Army who used them in large numbers during the Civil War. He was later killed by a .44-caliber ball shot from a small Derringer single-shot percussion pistol fired by John Wilkes Booth.

  Teddy Roosevelt owned and hunted with many guns as a young man. After he left office he went on hunts in Africa and South America with his son Kermit. Many of his guns survive and are avidly sought by collectors. Smith and Wesson presented several guns to him, continuing their practice of giving guns to the presidents, starting with Grant and continuing through President Ronald Regan. He received two of the company’s .44 Magnum revolvers. Regan and many of his Hollywood friends were avid shooters, hunters and gun collectors.

  Although the National Rifle Association has a number of guns that belonged to presidents in its Museum at Fairfax, Virginia (well worth a visit), none were on exhibit in St. Louis. During the show I discuss similar guns that were displayed and talked to collectors associations, an auctioneer and Roy Jinks, the Historian for Smith and Wesson.

  Photographs of these guns are available as part of a YouTube video, ” Mitt Romney on Guns at the NRA Convention, 2012″ and on my Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures Radio Show Blog.

  During election years it is not uncommon for presidential candidates to speak at the National Rifle Association’s Annual meetings. In 2012, three Republican Party candidates attended the event. All said that they would support the Second Amendment right to keep and bare arms. The apparent front-runner, Mitt Romney, was given first billing, and his remarks on guns and hunting may be heard on this show. They were delivered as part of what Romney described as a assault by the Obama Administration on the Constitutional guarantees of freedom of religion and personal liberty.

  The cooking segment of this show features a visit to the Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee, with a humorous commentary presented by guide Jessie James as he explains how Black, Green and Red Label Jack Daniels whiskey is made as well as their newer products Gentleman Jack and Tennessee Honey.

  Oklahoma pencil artist Clifford Casey describes his life-long passion of making drawings of outdoor subjects using the simple medium of pencil on paper. He produces artworks on order. He can re-arrange or produce composite scenes from photographs to produce art that will outlast any photograph by several centuries at far less costs than making a similar oil painting. Casey also makes custom-painted fishing plugs for those who are not content with the store-bought products.

  Ads on this show include SIN, Inc’s (Synthetic Industrial Non-Nutritives, Inc.) new Zombie pizza that needs no refrigeration, Honest Abe Political Consulting and Real Pigments, Inc., who sells you the same toxic pigments that Michelangelo used so you can paint like the Old Masters.

  Mitt Romney on Guns at the NRA Convention, 2012 http://youtu.be/dk5K8KJtzT0

  Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures Radio Show Blog http://www.hoveysoutdooradventures.wordpress.com

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Spring Hunting for Wild Hogs and Turkeys

  Spring Hunting for Wild Hogs and Turkeys

  Once more into the breach Dear Friends as Hovey chainsaws his way into Williamson Swamp Creek for day and nighttime hunts for wild hogs and turkeys with a muzzleloading rifle, pistol and crossbow.

  Hovey’s new Great Nephew-in-Law, Great Niece and Great-Great Nieces are introduced to southern wild hog hunting during a front-porch Q-A conversation that also captures the rapt attention of the family dogs. Hog baiting, night navigation, hunt strategies and a past hunt where a 200-pound hog was taken with a crossbow by the light of a blue moon are discussed.

  As Georgia’s turkey season opened a few days later, the hunt changes focus when turkeys are spotted flying up to roost further down the creek. These are set up on the next morning and a sequence of calls-responses from two hens and three tom turkeys are recorded. Although one tom passes out of sight nearby, no shots are offered. New plans are made and the concept of hunting as a series of successive, progressive approximations is introduced.

  The author’s muzzleloading rifle, shotgun and pistol are shown with his repaired Tree Lounge “Ground Lounge” at his set up overlooking a hog wallow at the “Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures Radio Show Blog” along with photos of the wallow taken on successive days. Hunting tools shown are the CVA Optima .50-caliber pistol, CVA Electra rifle (legal for wild hogs and turkeys in Georgia), Davide Pedersoli Mortimer 12-Gage flintlock fowler and Marble’s soufanger (hog stabber) extendable knife. A photo is also provided of a Ten Point crossbow and hog taken on a previous hunt.

  Options for extracting wild hogs from a swamp are explained. These include setting up a portable tripod to allow the animals to be safely butchered on site. This reduces the amount of weight that has to be hauled over a bluff and along a freshly cut trail through an area of pushed-over trees, slash and tangled vines remaining after a timber harvest.

  Ads on the show are from “Honest Abe’s Political Consulting” from Springfield, Illinois, and SIN’s (Synthetic Industrial Non-Nutritives, Inc.’s) whole roasted wild hog available in traditional pink or a variety of colors.

  In honor of the anniversary of his late wife’s, Thresa Babb Smith’s, death, Hovey leaves the listener with a 10-minute recording of restful outdoor music produced by some 20-odd skilled, but unschooled, musicians in an impromptu production.

  Link to

  “Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures Radio Show Blog” http://hoveysoutdooradventures.wordpress.com.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Phase Changes in Hunting

  The time between the close of deer and waterfowl seasons and the opening of turkey season is when sportsmen need to repair and store the gear they used during the Winter and get ready for turkey hunting and bowfishing. Hovey takes you through the process of cleaning and repairing some of his muzzleloading guns and provides details in a YouTube Video, “Cleaning a Kentucky Rifle”.

  Unexpectedly, when he had rather be out hog hunting or attending a rattlesnake roundup in Claxton, Georgia, he is required to install stair and step railings on his 150-year-old house which resulted in two more videos, “Building a Pipe Stair Rail” and “Installing Vinyl Porch Railings.” To somewhat compensate for not attending the event, he describes the snake and non-snake related activities in this community with is most noted for its fruitcake.

  Notwithstanding these distractions, he discusses the repair of two 4-hp. outboards needed for Spring bowfishing with Brian Burns of Burns Outboard Service in Rincon, Georgia. They focus on how to keep these small engines running in fresh and salt water along with cautions about ethanol-gasoline.

  Using this free time to wind up some hanging projects, he also discusses the Kickstarter Launch of a new outdoor-friendly Christmas play, “A Visit from Auntie Thresa Claus” which listeners can support. The cooking section is focused on taking advantage of the presence of fresh rutabagas to use both the roots and also the tops as greens which are a little milder tasting than turnip greens.

  For photos and more information go to the author’s show blog.

  Ads on this show include Buy Cheap, Make Cheap, Sell Cheap’s new Insurance Consulting Division who seeks to help insurance companies maximize their profits by encouraging their older customers to drop their long-term home insurance policies by a combination of home inspections and rate increases. SIN, Synthetic Industrial Non-Nutritives, Inc., publicized their St. Patric’s offerings of an all green table filled with molded items made from their base product, Glop, with a special Irish green coloration.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – The Naked Truth About Snipe Hunting

  Since the 1700s there have been two aspects of snipe hunting. The most common is a made-up sport where youngsters hunt snipe in the woods at night with a burlap bag, flashlight and club. Guest Dottie Head and host Hovey Smith explore different aspects of a sport which leaves them both snipe-less and Hovey standing naked beneath an overpass on I-95.

  After taking swan, the nation’s largest waterfowl, on a previous episode, it only seemed natural that I should follow up with a hunt for snipe, the smallest legal bird hunted under national waterfowl regulations. The snipe are shore birds, as contrasted with ducks, and are the one of the few members of this large family of wetland fowl that may be hunted.

  U.S. waterfowlers see far more snipe than they shoot, because they are usually encountered while duck hunting, and the expensive shells containing 4s and larger shot used on ducks throw patterns that are too thin to blast away at these small birds. Because I shoot muzzleloading guns, I can load using steel 7 1/2-shot and go ofter them.

  In areas where snipe commonly gather, there are a few hunters who go out in wet meadows, marshy areas and swamps after these birds. Usually small-gauge guns are used with loads of no. 7 1/2 or 8 shot. I have most often found the birds in small flocks of 4-to-12 birds or as singles sitting down in the marsh. Most often they are very near open water.

  Butler Island is located near the mouth of the Altamaha River and is crossed by I-95. It is administered as part of the State Altamaha Wildlife Management Area. The island was ideal for growing rice, and the old paddocks are brush cut and mowed before waterfowl season and flooded with fresh water derived from the daily high tides. Once duck season closes in January, the paddocks are drained and the area opened for snipe hunting. There are always a few snipe, but I have never seen them in large numbers.

  Usually the area is hunted in waders or hip boots. Boats are employed to cross the deep canals between the road and the paddocks, and the hunters walk the muddy old fields flushing an occasional snipe as the go. Sometimes, a flight of snipe might come over offering a passing shot.

  This is an area a hunter needs to know well, because it is easy to get turned around and loose ones landmarks in the flat fields. I did. I had found a spot where a canal section was so choked with vegetation that it was possible to walk from the roadway into the paddocks. Attempting to find my way back my feet broke through the floating vegetation mat, and I found myself making rather like a frog to cross the canal and get back to the road. This was accomplished, but my gun was completely wetted and that ended my hunt.

  Fortunately, the early February weather was uncharacteristically mild with temperatures in the 70s. When I got back to the truck, I stripped off my clothes and quickly dried off in the sun unseen by anyone in the cars roaring overhead on the I-95 overpass.

  Dried off and with a new change of clothes, I attended a First Saturday event held in the riverside town of Darien, which was a historic timber-export port and now a shrimping center. The town has a monthly market with stalls, music and exhibits on Ft. King George Drive overlooking the river. I met graduate Chef Eric Lynch, the owner of the Darien River House, who I later interviewed for the cooking section of the show about cooking shrimp and other seafood products.

  Ads on this show include Man Scent, “the fragrances that lets a man smell like a man” and SIN, Inc., Synthetic Industrial Non-Nutritives Inc., who offers their base product, “glop,” molded into any shape including that of 6-inch shrimp.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – De'j`a Vu Vegas. Shot Show 2012. Part II Ext.

  De’j`a Vu Vegas. Shot Show 2012. Part II Ext.

  In this extended 90 minute episode, Hovey interviews Shot Show exhibitors of knives, crossbows, guns, hunting accessories and outdoor personalities and concludes with a live-recorded cooking segment on making homemade salsa from easily available ingredients.

  Starting off with knives, Wenger introduces a new folding Swiss Army knife intended for hunters and HallMark Cutlery’s Jessica Hall talks about knives suitable for presenting to ladies on Valentine’s Day or other occasions. Crossbows come next with interviews with Bill Troubridge of Excalibur Crossbows, Randy Wood of TenPoint Crossbows and Scott Belvedere of Barnett Crossbows. Videos of these interviews was shot for a YouTube video which may be seen at: http://youtu.be/0Ne0ehXfpCI.

  Guns come up next and include a Crossman air rifle with the power of a .38-Special that can take animals, like coyotes, at close range and even has been used to kill smallish wild hogs. Bob Baker, of Freedom Arms, talks about his guns, and in particular, about his single-shot pistol that shoots what are usually considered to be rifle cartridges. This is followed by Dan Coonan who tells about some interesting derivations he has made to his .357 Remington Magnum 1911 semi-automatic pistol including a 6-inch barreled version with a compensator. Mossberg, a company long noted for its interchangeable-barrel shotguns, has a new Flex Model 500 12-gauge shotgun that allows an variety of potential stock and accessory options to fit the gun for anything from tactical use to turkey and waterfowl hunting. Ruger offers a new gun, The American Rifle, that weighs about 5.5 pounds, has a very smooth bolt action, synthetic stock, built-in bedding points with numerous stock options to fit it to every shooter. This gun is available for some of the .308 and .30-’06 families of cartridges at present with more to follow.

  Hunting gear included a new OptiFade camo fabric that I discuss with Gore Tex’s Tim Dennis that is particularly suited for duck hunters. What distinguishes this fabric from the usual marsh-grass patterns is its use of a broken honey comb pattern and more gray and blacks interspersed with the usual yellow-browns more often seen in waterfowler’s outer garments. This fabric is now available in hunting clothes made by Beretta and Sitka Gear.

  Red Wing still makes its leather and produces its boots in the U.S. They have some new boots including a rubber boot with a fold-down neoprene top and some variations on their insulated leather and GoreTex boots for 2012. Jeffery Polke, the owner of San Angelo brands has a swivel hunting seat for duck hunters with “non-sink” wider feet and a fabric layer attached to the legs for added support and stability. (I could have really used this seat a few weeks ago when I was hunting on Bodie Island in North Carolina).

  Boeff Schultz of Pure Products International discussed his washing machine add-on that eliminates the need for detergent, bleach and anti-scent compounds to keep hunting clothes scent free. This device attaches to the cold-water line of the washer and uses charged water, ozone and peroxide to clean and de-scent clothes. This is an environmentally friendly way to wash clothes as it does not release phosphates or other chemicals into the environment.

  The firm of Reflective Arts, commissions artworks and produces not only framed prints, but also clocks, mugs, puzzles, night lights, hangers and other items with wildlife themes. These may be found in mass-market outdoor outlets as well as in smaller stores. Concluding the show is an interview with the TV personalities Mac and Prowler who have a show, “Coyote Hunting with Mac and Prowler.” On the show I make an effort to convince them to come to Georgia and do a combined radio-TV show with me and help “kill some of these multitudinous coyotes.”

  A live-recorded cooking event, inspired by a visit to the now closed “Casa Hispanica Calente Maximissemo” kitchen in Las Vegas, covers the preparation of a cooked salsa that the average person can eat, or spice up as hot as he/she can stand.

  Ads on the show include one from Buy Cheap. Make Cheap. Sell Cheap who uses paper- making methods to produce an ultra-thin cloth that will take printed patterns, but yield garments that will only last for three wearings so they must be replaced more often.

  For photos of the products mention go to my website www.hoveysmith.com and at the bottom of the page you will find Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures Radio Show Blog. Click on that and you will go to the description of this show which will also have contact information and links to the companies’ websites.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – De'j`a Vu Vegas. Shot Show 2012, Part I

  De’j`a Vu Vegas. Shot Show 2012, Part I

  Once more North America’s largest outdoor show in Las Vegas proved to yield some surprises as I made the rounds through Range Day and tromped for four days looking at thousands of exhibitor’s booths at the 2012 Shot Show. Part I covers Range Day exhibitors and muzzleloading.

  Things got off with a rip with a long blast from a replica 1877 Gatling Gun in .45-70 that you may purchase from Colt for about $39,000. Some more practical treasures included a true left-handed Model 1911 Colt .45 auto from Cabot Arms, a new line of Razorback Bullets from Winchester Ammunition designed for increasing the hog killing potential of AR-platform rifles and a return by Eddie Bower to clothing designed for hunters, shooters and fishermen.

  Muzzleloading and early cartridge arms included interviews and visits with BPI (CVA), Traditions, Davide Pedersoli, Knight Rifles, Chiappa, Uberti, Taylor’s & Co., Cimarron Arms, Dixie Gun Works and Thompson/Center Arms. Thompson/Center announced a new interchangeable barrel bolt-action cartridge rifle that will be affordable and offer extreme versatility in calibers and stock shapes. CVA introduced a drop-barreled muzzleloading pistol based on the Optima action to compete with Traditions’ Vortex pistol which is now offered with a scope package.

  Muzzle loading suppliers include Hodgdon Powder, Cutting Edge Bullets and Harvester Bullets who offer components for both the muzzleloading and cartridge gun markets.

  Common themes in this year;s show included turned solid-brass bullets from several makers as well as manufacturers making their guns more versatile by adding interchangeable/replaceable components and modules to fit their guns to a variety of uses.

  Once more ads will be heard from Fix It, Inc., who can help insure that “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” and on the next show SIN, Inc. (Synthetic Industrial Non-Nutritives, Inc.) will link up with Casa Hispanica Calente Maximissemo and relate how to make really good salsa.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – All About North Carolina Swan Hunting: Part 2

  Continuing the exploration of the swan hunting potential of North Carolina, Hovey visits Nags Head on the Outer Banks to duck hunt at Bodie Island on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. There he also finds swan, but having already taken his allotted bird he duck hunts from one of the public blinds.

  Drawing on a hunt that was taken two years ago when cold weather had frozen nearly all the fresh-water ponds, Hovey relates how he took a swan that year with an original British musket that was made in the mid-1800s with a modern charge of non-toxic shot. This hunt was quite different from conditions in 2011-12 when mosquito populations were still high on the last day of December.

  In sharp contrast to rural and sparsely inhabited Hyde County near Lake Mattamuskeet where he had killed a swan the day before and the mainland parts of Dare County, the Outer Banks from Nags Head north have abundant accommodations, tourist attractions, public entertainment and beaches that are largely unpeopled during mid-Winter.

  These features attract nature lovers, duck hunters, surf fishermen and others who want a quiet place with modern conveniences to get away from the 24/7 drain put on them by modern society. This is a location not only to hunt and fish, but also to work on the book that you always wanted to write, finish your screenplay or obtain artistic inspiration from thousands of acres of wild lands on the National Seashore while you commune with the abundant wildlife and enjoy first class rooms and food as the mood strikes you.

  By December the Hurricane Season is long over, the tourist season is but a memory and lodging that was very expensive may be had at deeply discounted prices or perhaps even free, if you know someone who wants a person they can trust to house-sit their condo.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – All About Swan Hunting: Part 1.

  All About Swan Hunting: Part 1.

  Taking a bird the size of a swan with a single-shot muzzleloading shotgun is always a challenge, but Hovey found that these huge fowl also presented problems for cartridge-gun uses during a field shoot for swan near Lake Mattamuskeet, North Carolina.

  Hundreds of thousands of swan winter along the coasts of North Carolina and Virginia. Each year a limited number of permits are issued to hunters to keep these huge fowl from driving other birds away from limited food sources on their wintering grounds. By chance, this hunt provided the opportunity to sample both public blind hunting at the Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge as well as an outstanding private land hunt on a harvested field some 15 miles from the lake.

  Although prepared to hunt alone, including dragging my boat and an almost unbelievable amount of junk 500 miles from Georgia, my first day’s hunt was with Billy Best and his son Andrew when a blind unexpectedly became available at Lake Mattamuskeet. This blind, number 6 on an impoundment, was ideal for the windy, warm weather we were experiencing. It offered me two shot opportunities at swan. The first failed when the cap fell from the gun’s nipple as I raised the gun, and I very likely shot between the next pair of swan. Many more swan flew near, but all were out of range.

  The result was that we all shot ducks and I took a coot for my annual New Year’s coot soup, which is described in the cooking section of the show along with an interview with the new owners of Harris’ Restaurant in Fairfield, which is now the Lone Goose. I and the new owner, Rebecca Gibbs, discuss the problems of running a restaurant in a small town (300) that receives significant business from visiting hunters, fishermen and bird watchers in an era of rising prices and a down economy.

  The next days hunt provided dozens of shot opportunities, but some of the cartridge- gun hunters struggled to get their birds, particularly the youngest hunter of the four. His shotgun did not fit him and although he fired a number of times at flying birds, he was only able to kill one when it landed in the decoys. Two others made relatively poor hits and had to chase down their birds. I dropped my swan with a single shot early in the hunt, and never reloaded my gun.

  This hunt illustrated that although shooting a bird the size of a swan may look easy, hunters need to know where their gun shoots, as heavy waterfowl loads may shoot feet below the point of aim. With steel shot, the only quick-killing opportunity is to shoot for the bird’s nearly yard-long head and neck, rather than at the body of the bird.

  Calling and full-size decoys made by Don Bald of Lebanon, Illinois, attracted the birds along with additional help provided by plywood silhouette decoys brought by my host, Carl Hiatt. Each year Hiatt brings a group of young hunters from Wilmington, North Carolina, to hunt swan. Best told me about Hiatt, and suggested that I contact him. He graciously allowed me to join his group for an outstanding hunt which I recorded for this broadcast.

  Bald makes a variety of custom turkey calls and insists that they work. He even took a solid ivory call and used it to kill a turkey. You can see Bald’s calls at his website www.baldscalls.com. You may also E-mail him at baldscalls@baldscalls.com. With coaxing he might make more of his swan calls, but only makes his decoys for himself.

  Photos of the hunt and Bald’s decoys may be seen on my Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures Radio Show Blog. A live link to this blog is found at my website www.hoveysmith.com at the bottom of the page where you will also find my books and videos. Or you can go directly to the WebTalkRadio.net show page by clicking on the following link:
  http://webtalkradio.net.shows/hoveys-outdoor-adventures/.

  Ads on this show include one from Delta Dawn Wake Up Drops and SIN (Synthetic Industrial Non-Nutritives) Inc.’s swan which comes in either a silver or gold foil wrap or you may cover it with the hide and feathers from your own swan. There is a caution that if you use the pelt from your swan you may have some hundreds of uninvited guests at your dinner table.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Sponsors Salute: Velcro Wall, Misty Mange, SIN, Inc. & Others

  Re-aired on this show are a selection of ads from last year’s sponsors, including Velcro Wall, The leader in child suspension systems; Misty Mange, The hair care product that you and your pet can share; and SIN, Inc., The leader in synthetic foods.

  Each of these companies offer almost believable products to help the average person manage his life, live interestingly and have some new experiences that can range from a hunt in the nude in the wilds of West Texas to a romantic get away at Gator Island where your privacy is assured by more than 500 alligators who live in the surrounding waters.

  Child care is considered by the divisions of Velcro Wall who have developed a variety of ways to suspend children so that Mom and get her housework done while hair thinning aids are provided by Misty Mange Hair Care Products. Simplified food preparation is explored by the various divisions of SIN, Inc. through their Gas Division, R&D Department and Diet Products. These explore the use of coal, petroleum and agricultural waste products to make eatable materials that have no known nutritional value but provide the salt, butter and sugar tastes that you crave in an innovative range of shapes and colors.

  Concluding the program Brother Smith with explain the salvage of a road killed deer that provided the banquet for the Backyard Business Conclave at the Road Kill Cafe in Podunkville, U.S.A.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Backyard Hunting for Deer, Squirrels and Geese

  Backyard Hunting for Deer, Squirrels and Geese

  Concluding his hunts with percussion revolvers, Hovey takes an 8-point buck with a Ruger Old Army .44 and progresses to a one-day squirrel, deer and goose hunt with a muzzleloading pistol, rifle and shotgun.
  Although not a shot was fired during the multi-gun hunt, this event provided the opportunity to introduce two new guns, the Knight Rolling Block in-line rifle and Thompson/Center Arms’ Mountain Magnum 12-gauge musket-cap-fired shotgun. These two guns will be used for the remainder of the hunting season until they take significant game. Both the rifle and shotgun were dropped from production, but are owned by many shooters and available on the used gun market.
  Conclusions regarding the percussion revolver as a deer-hog hunting gun are that loads of Hodgdon’s Triple Seven powder with either round balls or newly designed elongate bullets can be used in strongly built guns with adjustable sights to make reliable, and effective, hunting instruments. They are best used where 1. Follow up shots are needed on wounded game, 2. multiple targets are expected or 3. to kill something with evil intent that is approaching the hunter.
  There are shortcomings. The pistols are noisy to manipulate. These guns are shiny. They are an S.O.B. to clean, although this process does get less bothersome the more you use the guns. Even if only one shot is fired, for best service the remainder of the cylinder needs to be shot off and the entire gun field stripped and cleaned. A shooter can get away with not cleaning the interior parts for a period of perhaps a few days (longer in very dry climates) and only clean the barrel, fired chambers and any fouling that can be reached on the gun’s frame. This is expedient, but as soon as possible the entire gun needs to be disassembled and cleaned, even if made of stainless steel.
  The Kaido Ojamaa 240-grain bullets tended to creep forward in the chambers and tie up the cylinder after two shots. These could be pushed back into the chambers and shooting resumed. A new 255-grain bullet has a longer bearing surface and may alleviate this problem.
  One load of 1 1/4-ounce (volume) of no. 4 HeviShot was used for waterfowl and squirrels with a charge of 90 grains of Hodgdon’s TripleSeven powder. This abrasive shot was contained in a red Winchester shot cup for 1 1/4-ounce of shot. A 12-gauge over-powder wad was used over the powder, 40-grains of Cream of Wheat and then the wad was loaded, the shot added and capped with two thin over-shot cards. This is a potent load and a slip-on recoil pad was added to the gun and a pound of lead shot and melted bees wax poured into the hollow butt-stock to reduce felt recoil.
  Ads for this show include pickled calf’s and hog’s eye-balls for an attention-getting holiday soup from Old Home Products and a new self-cooking turkey from SIN, Inc. (Industrial Non-Nutritives Incorporated.) Gift suggestions from Hovey, include his outdoor books (Backyard Deer Hunting, Crossbow Hunting, Practical Bowfishing and X-Treme Muzzle loading), Backyard Deer Hunting T-Shirts and donations to finance his delivering a paper or poster at the 9th INTECOL Wetlands Conference sponsored by the University of Florida to be held in early June where he will present a long-term plan for the preservation of the Mississippi River Delta.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Hunt Destination: Moncks Corner, South Carolina

  Moncks Corner, the county seat of Berkeley County, South Carolina, is the gateway to unlimited fishing opportunities on lakes Marion and Moultrie and hunting opportunities in the Santee-Cooper Region. Located 30-miles from Charleston with abundant power, water and transportation resources, the county offers industry, individuals and retirees a variety of business, outdoor and cultural opportunities.
  An enthusiastic welcome is given by Elaine Morgan of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce followed by an interview with Kevin Davis from Black’s Camp located at the north end of Lake Moultrie near the end of the Diversion Canal connecting Moultrie with Lake Marion. Davis discusses fishing opportunities for record-sized crappie, shell crackers (red-eared sunfish), catfish, stripers, taking gators that may weigh over 1,000 pounds and hunting opportunities at the nearby Black Brier Hunting Preserve.
  Largely unappreciated by Davis, but dear to me, these lakes also hold large populations of gar fish which I cook in a YouTube video “Fish Stir Frys with Gar and Shark” which may be viewed at: http://youtu.be/wUszq07jfiw. Although fierce to look at and somewhat difficult to clean, these fish yield large amounts of white, mild-tasting, boneless meat that may be used in a variety of interesting ways as illustrated in my book “Practical Bowfishing.” This book is least expensively purchased from my website www.hoveysmith.com.
  Although the deer did not cooperated with me or anyone else in three days of hunting, I did kill a small doe when I returned home with a Cabela’s Buffalo stainless steel percussion revolver as part of my “Modern Percussion Revolver” video series. “Parts 1-6″ are already posted and begin with “Modern Percussion Revolvers: Part 1. The Pistols” at: http://youtu.be/PB0SYhonsqM. You can also see the gun and get load information from my “Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures Radio Show Blog” that may be accessed from my website: www.hoveysmith.com where a connecting link will be found at the bottom of the page under “Blogs.”
  Besides gar cooking, I also cook a “Perlow” which is a free-form rice-wild game dish containing hot peppers, sausage, and as usually cooked in South Carolina nowadays, chicken. Mine contained duck, sausage, smoked wild hog meat and deer backstraps. Some of this was “mystery meat” (wild game meat of undetermined origin) which I recovered when I defrosted my freezer. As it turned out, I used two tiny red peppers too many; but otherwise the Perlow did quite well.
  Ads include those from Carolina Swamp County, to fill all of your swampland needs, and SIN’s Synthetic Berry Division who created a blueberry substitute using algae grown in the copper-rich waters of the Berkeley Pit located in Beautiful Butte America, Montana, to produce azure-blue blueberries with the sugar, salt and butter tastes that you crave.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Deer Killin' with Wounded Warrior and Son

  Former Sargent Billy Deen and his 13-year-old son Hunter “Dead Eye” Deen participated on a Wounded Warrior deer hunt where Hunter harvested his first deer with a CVA Electra muzzleloading rifle. More veterans’ programs are discussed with Chris Chaffin of the Paralyzed Veterans of America.

  Hovey was pleased to host returning veteran Sgt. Billy Deen and is son Hunter on a weekend deer hunt n Central Georgia. The Deens reside near Columbus and arrived in time to be checked out with the rifles and put on stand for an evening’s hunt. Just before dark a 5-point buck stepped into the field some 200-yards away and made it way towards the blind.

  After some confusing moments with the unfamiliar rifle waiting for it recharge while the deer was walking away and becoming increasingly obscured by some branches, Sgt. Deen coached his son to be patient and shoot when the deer was in a clear spot. Then Hunter pulled the trigger and nothing happened – safety on. After that was corrected he again lined up the crosshairs on the shoulder and nailed the buck with a center-shoulder shot delivered at 40 yards.

  He watched as his deer ran, and then collapsed at the edge of the field. The father and son walk up to the deer was recorded on as Hunter was still trying to calm down from the exciting happenings a few minutes before.

  This show includes not only the details of the hunt, but also the processing of the deer and making custom-crafted sausage. Hovey continues his attempts to take a deer with a Cabela’s Buffalo percussion revolver after using it to shoot five squirrels for a mess of squirrel dumplings.

  Chris Chaffin of the Paralyzed Veterans of America, joins the program to tell about other hunting opportunities available to injured veterans who may be severely paralyzed and relates an example of a recent hunt.

  Ads include Wonder Dog, and how you can potentially make a wonder dog from any species of dog who might otherwise be a worthless pot-licker.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Guns, Game and Quail Balls

  The first EPIC Outdoor Game Fair was held by Safari Club International and Quail Unlimited at the Foxhall Resort near Atlanta. This event featured fine guns, sporting clothes, wines, outdoor activities and Alabama Black Belt quail balls.

  Sprawled over more than 1,000 acres, the first EPIC Game Fair sought to bring a European game fair experience to the U.S. by offering a sampling of outdoor-related activities ranging from fox hunting with hounds to 5-stand shotgun shooting. Not only were hunting-related activities such as shooting and archery presented to the public, but boating, archery, dog training and ATV activities were also available.

  First off, Hovey caught up with old friend Margret Hice and she outlined the evolution of the Tree Lounge Tree Stand company and her, and husband Bobs’, sometimes hilarious experiences filming videos to advertise their products. These evolved into two movies, “The Red Neck Hunting Club” and “Hunting Moonshine Island,” which are classics of outdoor advertising. Unfortunately, Tree Lounge closed its operations this past Spring.

  Being an unabashed Gun Nut, Hovey was much taken with the more than $5,000,000 worth of fine shotguns that were available for sale. These included Holland & Hollands, the best makers in Europe as well as the finest examples of America’s gun-making arts. Many of these guns were priced at over $10,000 and several were in the $100,000 range. Fine shotguns dominated the displays, but there were also big-game rifles and historic pieces.

  A reformulated John Rigby & Co., who relocated to the U.S. a decade ago, announced their intention to reintroduce the classic Rigby bolt-action rifle in .416 and .275 Rigby for African and deer-sized game. These guns are to be made in the U.K. Availability and pricing will be announced in January, 2012.

  Other interviews include a discussion with Jack Jansma of Wingshooting Adventures about the proper characteristics of a shootable double gun and the uses of the 24 gauge, which is a gauge that is almost unheard of in North America. There is also a follow-up with Bill Hadfield of Robin Hollow Outfitters on how one shotgun can be worth over $100,000 as a piece of art and why people purchase such guns.

  Other aspects of the arts are not neglected and Hovey also interviews Albany, Georgia, artist David Lanier who does ultra-realistic paintings of sporting scenes, dogs and landscapes.

  Changing focus for the cooking section, Hovey introduces Pear Slap, a fermented pear product that is about 14 percent alcohol and has it tasted by Lance Ferguson of B.B.G. Wines who imports German wines. Alabama Black Belt Adventures who presented fired quail balls (quail salad in more polite company) to passers by. These are made from cooked shredded quail that is mixed with pimento cheese and deep fried and served with a cut salad.

  Ads on this week’s show include Misty Mange, The hair care product that you and your pet can share, and SIN, Inc., who produces eatables made from the best of coal tars, petroleum and agricultural waste by-products that may be used to make anything from lamb steaks to spinach.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – A'Fixing to Go Deer Hunting: Holistic Health

  As more aging, rather than younger, hunters are taking to the woods this year, the accumulated pains of life can sometimes be reduced or eliminated by a single visit to a chiropractor, as occurred with me.

  An automobile accident a decade ago left me with the inability to turn my head to the left to look over my shoulder along with pain and stiffness in my neck muscles. A single adjustment by Dr. Kelly Morganroth provided more movement and less pain that I had experienced in years. My visit to Morganroth was prompted by an E-mail interchange with Dr. Tom (Thomas) Potisk, who practices in Wisconsin. He had sent me his book, “Whole Health Healing.” Although initially a skeptic, I booked him for a show because of our common interests in a more natural, or holistic, lifestyle.

  This kind of lifestyle features natural foods (wild game in my case plus local fruits and nuts), regular exercise, being creative and generally taking personal charge of all aspects of life which might even include starting ones own business. We were in complete agreement on these points, but the only way that I could accept that spinal alignment had anything to do with holistic living, outside of pain relief, was something that I had to experience, hence my visit to Dr. Morganroth.

  She made a believer out of me, and I signed up for a program to not only take care of my neck, but to also readjust my spine-hip alignment which had never been right since I broke my hip at a very early age. I could walk fairly well, but could never run without pain. which kept me from participating in team sports. This was not fun when you hurt every day and ran with a limp.

  My interview with Dr. Potisk, supplemented with in-office adjustments made by Dr. Morganroth, will take the listener through the reasonings behind chiropractic medicine, how it can be applied to everyone from infants to seniors, better diet, better posture and embracing a more self-directed holistic lifestyle – including the surprizing finding that even the family pet might benefit.

  Dr. Potisk’s book may be purchased at his website www.thedowntoearthdoctor.com, and as a bonus you will receive a cookbook and a study guide. Whole Health Healing is also available at Amazon.com and other book outlets.

  Ads on this show include those from SIN, Inc., Synthetic Industrial Non-Nutritives, Inc.) Diet Division who has diet pills priced from $0.40 to $40,000 each and Rent A Reptile, which supplies reptiles for an all-natural pest control system – Not available in the United Kingdom.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – 200-Year Plan for Gulf Coast Restoration

  President Obama’s Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force got what they asked for when I presented a plan for the 200-year restoration of the Mississippi Delta following the effects of the BP oil spill, Katrina and Rita.

  In a mash-up between traditional journalism, citizen advocacy and professional testimony, I broke the rules of traditional journalism by not only making a one-hour radio show from the event, but actually seeking to directly influence a National debate in what might be termed “reality radio.” Editors absolutely condemn this kind of activity on the part of reporters. “You report the news, not make it,” might be a typical City Editor’s remark to a young reporter.

  Yet, do I deprive the nation of what I believe is a workable plan for the long-term restoration of the Mississippi River Delta based on a lifetime of experience as a Professional Geologist because I also have my own radio show and can report the event?

  Evoking “reality broadcasting,” I extended this TV concept to radio by recording my presentation and using it in this radio show. Hearings like those held by the Task Force are often deadly dull. I broke another convention by presenting my remarks “in persona,” as the Backyard Sportsman, rather than using the more formal language of a Professional Geologist. My actual presentation, stumbles and all, are included in this broadcast.
  I leave it to the listeners to judge whether this approach was successful or not.

  I also sampled parts of the formal morning presentation and the break-out Listening Session that I attended. For the cooking section I recorded comments from an EPA delegate of Vietnamese extraction about fish sauce, one of the real secrets of Vietnamese cooking which has its roots in Western culture back to the days of the Roman Empire.

  Ads on this show include those by Biloxi Bosoms and SIN, Inc., Synthetic Industrial Non-Nutritives, Inc., who highlights local culture by advocating Louisiana Nutra Burgers, made from the exotic nutria whose grazing habits damage the marsh grasses to the extent that the Louisiana has a bounty on them.

  A 15-minute YouTube video of this event which includes my presentation is available at http://youtu.be/9k4yE6JTAd4.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Gator Getting

  September is alligator season in many Southeastern states, providing one of the most Adrenalin-charged hunting experiences available to the North American hunter. These large predatory reptiles have primitive nervous systems that are impervious to pain, bone-crushing jaws, rib-cracking tails and gut-ripping claws. They are battled to the death at close range with the final blow delivered by a hand-held knife.
  Alligators are a remarkable success story. They were brought back from near-extinction to the point where they may be hunted throughout the Gulf Coast states as well as in South Carolina and Georgia on the Atlantic Seaboard and even in Arkansas and Oklahoma. These are carefully controlled season, and the take of alligators is closely monitored throughout their range.
  Featured on the show are a daylight hunt with a muzzle-loading rifle in Florida and the more typical night hunts for alligators with crossbows in Georgia and Florida. These hunts tell the listener exactly what to expect when they go after trophy alligators which range from 9 to nearly 14 feet long and may have body weights approaching 1,000 pounds.
  The cooking section details recipes for the preparation and cooking of “gator tail,” alligator paw soup and alligator ribs with fruit sauces. This section is sponsored by SIN, Synthetic Industrial Non-Nutritives, Inc. Their School Mascot Division is pleased to announce their new eatable mascot models such the University of Florida’s Gator and the University of Georgia’s bulldog “Uga” for consumption at tailgate parties and similar events. These are now available, and other team mascot models are under development for next year.
  A show-specific sponsor for this episode is MegaGator Park of Orlando, Florida, who offers gator meat, alligator hides, alligator clothing, day and night gator tours as well as stays on “Gator Island.” On the island your privacy is assured by being surrounded by 500 alligators who live in a 300 acre pond. The “Romantic Gator Get-a-Way Package” includes a 5-night stay in your own dog-trot cabin with assurances that every effort will be made to extract their guests at the end of their stay, or whatever they can recover of them.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – A'Fixing to Get Ready to Go Deer Hunting - Trade Shows

  Even though in the midst of sweltering mid-Summer heat, deer hunters are a’fixing to get ready to go deer hunting by attending local trade shows such as the Georgia Wildlife Federation’s Buckarama where there is something for every member of the family.
  Dad can see that the announced recovery of Knight Rifles, the company that popularized in-line rifles, is factual. Knight, now under new ownership and relocated to Tennessee, has new striker fired and bolt action muzzleloaders to sell and offers warranty service for their existing products in Centerville, Iowa, and Athens, Tennessee.
  He can also find a new adjustable climbing stand from Millennium Tree Stands that allows him to climb trees without being bent like a taco when he starts out, time-proven plastic box blinds from Hughes Products Co. that have now demonstrated that they can last for a decade and even very nice custom knives from Larry Pridgen of Pridgen Custom Knives of Fitzgerald, Georgia. .
  Momma has not been left out. Kitchen Craft Cookware continues to offer their expanded line of Waterless cooking products with 7-ply construction that allows you to cook at less heat, use less water and save money every time you use them. This complete line of cookware now also includes baking, roasting, frying and electric cookers as well as their traditional sauce pans and boilers as demonstrated by Chef Bob Lowe.
  For the kids, Fun Guns, has a line of things that shoot safe projectiles such as a marsh mellow gun, 12-shot repeating rubber-band gun and bow and arrow that are all made in the U.S. by the people who sell them. The repeating rubber band gun is cut from wood and has a variety of configurations from pistols, AR platforms to Thompson Sub-machine Gun profiles for low-cost indoor shooting. (These can also take out carpenter bees that might be boring holes in your house or a wasp that gets inside.)
  The family pet is also taken care of with an interview with representatives of Resaca Sun feeds who offers high protein blended dog foods with supplemental nutrients including Omega 3 and Omega 6 meat-derived fatty acids for optimum health and performance.
  Clothing, guns, outdoor gear, cookware, outdoor food preparations, knives, boats, carts, camouflage and just about everything else may be found at these local and regional trade shows that are held in every state. Often, the shows are sponsored by non-profit sportsmen’ organizations that support outdoor causes such as hunter safety, conservation, wildlife restoration and hunter information.
  Many organization, Such as the Georgia Trappers Association, also attend these events to publicize their activities with exhibits and seminars.
  On the cooking segment of the show, Hovey explains the revealed truth about grits, that nearly tasteless, but beloved, Southern dish and tells how to properly cook and serve a variety of grits-based dishes.
  The outdoor business aspect of this show looks at some of the successful outdoor businesses that very often started with one guy at his kitchen table and makes the case that every one needs some fall-back plan to have their own business in this uncertain economy. Twenty free videos are now available on YouTube at the wmhoveysmith channel, blog post are also up at hoveysmith.wordpress.com and a free TeleSeminar on starting your own business will be given on August 18. To receive the call-in number on this Seminar send your E-mail address to hoveysmith@yahoo.com. An outline of this Seminar along with a video may be seen now at hoveysmith,wordpress.com.
  Misty Mange, the hair care product that you and your pet can share, advocates using its all natural hair-removal method to remove excess hair to reduce sweating and scent during hot early-season hunting. SIN, Synthetic Industrial Non-Nutritives, Inc. takes up the challenge of using their base product, “Glop,” to make a grits-like preparation.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Muzzleloading Marvels

  Modern muzzleloading guns and new components have enabled the best of percussion revolvers to be considered as deer-hunting handguns for the first time, and BPI’s Dudley McGarity discusses the CVA Electra muzzleloading rifle which employed a novel electric ignition system.
  As much a discussion on marketing new products as about guns and components, Dudley McGarity the CEO of Black Powder Incorporated, the parent company of CVA, and Kaido Ojamaa, the developer of a more effective bullet for muzzleloading revolvers, talk about the problems of product design and launch from the viewpoints of an established company and a private entrepreneur.
  On this show the listener shares Hovey’s experiences with these new products as he goes through initial tests which demonstrate that the stainless steel versions of Ruger’s Old Army and Cabala’s Buffalo revolver (made by Pietta in Italy), can develop 500 ft.lbs. of muzzle energy with hunting-weight bullets by using loads of Hodgdon’s Triple Seven FFFg powder.
  This testing is documented on blog posts as well as in a series of six YouTube videos, “Modern Percussion Revolvers Parts 1-6.” In this series a number of revolvers were shot and the results included spectacular double and triple fires when maximum factory- recommended loads were tried in one gun. This Traditions revolver was a retro-design of the 1873 Colt Peacemaker cartridge gun to the percussion system. Low-pressure loads worked satisfactorily, but top-end loads caused repeated multiple fires.
  Initial shooting of the Electra revealed that the ignition system caused no problems, but that the front sight was too low to allow the gun to be sighted in for ranges closer than several hundred yards. As an expedient, the rear sight was removed and satisfactory results was obtained by using the attached scope base as the rear sight and the front sight as a “bead,” as in a typical single-barreled shotgun. This expedient solution would allow killing shots to be made on deer out to about 40 yards – the typical effective range of smoothore muzzleloading muskets. Scope sights will allow much better work to be done with this gun in future episodes.
  The Electra can be used with Pyrodex and Triple Seven pellets, provided that the pellets are “crunched” on the top of the breech plug. Further shootings will be done with loose powders to prevent any possible failures while hunting.
  Two of the guns, the Ruger Old Army and the Electra, while mechanically successful, have been discontinued. In both cases the guns were superior to any competitive products, but limited demand reduced sales to the point where they were withdrawn in favor of more popular products.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – 071811

  Called “Mr. Whitetail” because of his encyclopedic knowledge of whitetailed deer management and hunting, Larry Weishuhn is also a life-long handgun hunter. Grab a cool one and listen as he and Hovey trace the evolution of cartridge and black-powder handgun hunting from the 1950s to the present.

  Besides being an extremely knowledgeable and widely experienced hunter, Weishuhn is one of the most pleasantly personable people in the outdoor industry. He grew up in southeastern Texas, received his college education and very early became involved with whitetailed deer management. Before long he was under contract with large private ranches with the job of improving the quality of their deer along with developing food sources and habitat.

  This work increases deer numbers to the point that large numbers of does needed to be harvested to bring the population into balance. This provided ample opportunities for Weishuhn to engage in handgun hunting with a variety of guns. Simultaneously, he wrote about whitetail management for a variety of outdoor magazines and increasingly about guns. These activities became more a part of his life when be became associated with Thompson/Center Arms. He used and promoted both their handguns and rifles by taking them on hunts all over the world. He took, for example, the first big game shot with a then-unnamed T/C pistol which gave rise to the Encore line of pistols and single-shot rifles.

  He also was a guest and soon a host on TV productions. He is now in Africa on behalf of Ruger Arms where he will hunt kudu, elan and lion. He will use a Ruger rifle chambered for the proprietary .375 Ruger cartridge. This cartridge has improved capabilities over the nearly century old .375 Holland & Holland which has been the standard “medium caliber” for Africa since before W.W. II.

  It was a pleasure visiting with an old friend. We might have gotten a little bit too deep into “shop talk” about old cartridges, guns and pistol pioneers; but like old wine, I think that most will find that this topic ages very well when told by one of the nicest straight-shooting guys that I know.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Buck Knives Factory and Blade Show Part II

  C.J. Buck explains why the company relocated from southern California to Idaho as he conducts a tour of the new factory, and, in Part II, Hovey continues his interviews with knife makers at the 2011 Atlanta Blade Show and Cutlery Fair.

  After a precipitous fall in sales as an indirect result of the terrorist attacks on 9-11, Buck Knives faced the choice of becoming a marketing company selling foreign-made knives or relocating and redesigning its manufacturing methods in order to continue to make knives, according to C.J. Buck, the fourth-generation manager of the company. Rethinking the business and manufacturing model resulted in a smaller factory, located in an area that was more business friendly that was also able to implement Japanese techniques for Lean Manufacture and Just In Time delivery.

  Although the factory has a smaller footprint, Buck was able to continue its large number of catalogued knives, reduce delivery time, profitably make smaller batches and respond more rapidly to consumer demand. Additional advantages were that Idaho offered more opportunities for field testing products, as when a moose was skinned and processed inside the factory.

  Continuing his walk-around the Atlanta Blade Show, Hovey talks to an importer of knives made by several makers in Sheffield, England; Puma Knives about a falconer’s knife, boar spear and other knives; Case Knives’ representatives about their new products, Canal Street Cutlery who has a new chestnut-handled lock-back folding knife, Cutco about their kitchen and hunting knives; and concludes with companies that provide materials for knife handles and make Dan’s Arkansas Whetstones.

  The cooking section returns in this show with a discussion of goose-fat “butter” and a recipe for making a stew from shank meat supplied by Chris Lalik of Puma Knives. Ads include strap-on Bear Jaws so you can fish like a bear and Synthetic Industrial Non-Nutritives, Inc. (SIN, Inc.) who gives you the butter, salt and sugar tastes that you crave in a non-nutritive product that may be dyed to any color, molded to any shape, does not need refrigeration and has a long shelf life.

  Supplemental information, including photos and contact information, may be found on the blog, “Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures Radio Show Blog” and on a YouTube video, “A Visit to Buck Knives New Factory at Post Falls, Idaho.”

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – 2011 Blade Show: Part I. Individual Exhibitors

  Knives are a diverse set of objects, and the 900 exhibitors at the 30th. International Blade Show and Cutlery Exposition at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta certainly brought an assortment. On exhibit were knife collections from the distant and recent past, products from custom knife makers and new knives from from companies like Case, Buck, Puma and many others.

  This hour-long radio show seeks to give the flavor of the event with interviews with Joe Kirtzman and Jim Schlinder of Blade Magazine, the event’s organizers, as well as a baker’s dozen of knife makers and exhibitors. These interviews also trace the general evolution of a knife maker from student to Master Bladesmith as members of the American Bladesmith Association pass their skill tests to rise from one level to the next.

  Featured on the show are Jan Giles and her collection of Girl Scout knives, Gene Jameson (wood knife kits), Rich McDonald (frontier knives), David Loukides (hunting and chef knives), Andy Roy (hunting and utility knives), Vince and Grace Evans (historic swords and knives), Shawn McIntyre (hunting and presentation knives), Kevin Casey (feather Damascus hunting and utility knives), Jared West (modern folders and fixed blades), Mardi Meshejian (art knives), David Ruana (pistol-knife, hunting and utility knives), Tim Lawler (fantasy knives), historic blade trader Richard Nable, scrimshaw artist Katherine Plumber and Pete Cohan of the National Knife Museum.

  Coverage of the show will continue July 4 with Part II which will include a factory tour of Buck Knives’ new factory in Post Falls, Idaho, conducted by C.J. Buck and interviews with knife companies and suppliers at the Blade Show.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Hunt Destination: Grand Isle and Jean Lafitte, Louisiana

  Journey to “The Jump” at land’s end in Southern Louisiana with Hovey and a group of journalists as they tour Jefferson and Plaquemines Parishes, sample seafood, visit nature preserves, fish and examine beaches for traces of last year’s oil spill. Each of the journalists applied their own perspectives to a historic area that has undergone five major disasters in as many years and had “The Flood of the Century” racing down the Mississippi River at them.
  Natural disasters are not new for these people who live only feet above sea level, and they take them in stride. There has been a nearly complete recovery from the devastation of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As Tim Kerner, the Mayor of the town of Jean Lafitte said, “The hurricanes and floods we can manage, it is when our own government prevented us from doing what obviously needed to be done that was so bad. In some cases we had the equipment and we had the people, but were prevented from acting for three days because we did not have enough life preservers for our workers.”
  Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser said that he was nearly stopped from attending a vital meeting with President Obama, but ultimately convinced officials to let him present his case that booms were desperately needed to help protect the coastal wetlands from advancing oil. The booms were ultimately employed, but only after some vital beaches and wetlands had been damaged.
  Now, a year after the spill, the beaches at Grand Isle are sugar white again, fishing, shrimping and oystering have resumed and sportsmen and their families are once more returning to southern Louisiana to enjoy the beaches, natural environment and local culture, including some fine-tasting meals from what is likely the most highly-inspected seafood in the world.
  Charter boat, private boat, shore and pier fishing are all available as are natural and cultural tours. The usual schedule of fishing tournaments has resumed, and fishing guides are putting people on redfish, flounder and speckled trout. Offshore boats are also going out for tuna, tarpin and bill fish. Although hunting season is still months away, everyone is eagerly anticipating next year’s duck season.
  New Orleans remains dry, despite the pressure put on the rebuild levies from a 100-year flood event. The area below the city in Jefferson and Plaquemines Parishes remains very dry. Actually, some diversion of the floodwaters into parts of these parishes using structures that already exist would help to restore the wetlands and drive back the oil. Another way to help the wetlands is to construct artificial barriers using sand already being dredged from the river channel.
  A strong case can be made that rebuilding the Louisiana coastal wetlands should be delegated to the U.S. Geological Survey. This organization is accustomed to dealing with long-lived, large geological systems and have the trained hydrologist, geomorphologist, geochemists and biologists to make reasonable decisions, evaluate the consequences using geological data from present and past systems and the mindset to deal with a problem that may take centuries to solve.
  The Louisiana Delta area is too important to the nation from the energy, ecological, transportation, economic and social perspectives to allow it to continue to degrade. The costs of doing nothing will raise food, transportation, energy and rebuilding costs because each new storm event will have an increasingly severe impact because of the loss of these vital wetlands that protect the Louisiana coast.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Backyard Business Conclave at the Road Kill Cafe

  Sit in on the Backyard Business Conclave at the Road Kill Cafe as Professore Luigi “Bubba” Pasquale of the University of Padua returns home to Podunkville, U.S.A., and explains to the locals why and how they should start their own businesses in these tough economic times while they dine on fresh road-killed deer drug off I-20 and donated by Brother Smith.

  Professore Pasquale goes into detail on how a person should choose between potential opportunities to start his/her own business, which are more likely to be successful, how to finance it, find partners, advertise it, evaluate its progress, and even ultimately decide who should run the business after the founder dies.

  Brother Smith explains the details of recovering a deer, cleaning it and preparing it for family use. In the cooking section sponsored by SIN, Synthetic Industrial Non-Nutritives, Inc., a series of recipes are given for backstrap steaks, butterfly steaks, roasted deer and making sausage from previously cooked deer meat.

  The show incorporates a sampling of and ends with the complete version of Steven Fosters’ hit song, “Hard Times.”

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – A walk through my home town

  A historic and cultural tour of a rural Southern town is given during a walk around the Sandersville, Georgia, town square as Hovey Smith traces the town’s evolution from the 1790s to 2011 with comments on the events, people and things that shaped the community, including how to cook Southern fried chicken.

  Huge yellow pines, live oaks and cypress trees greeted those fortunate enough to be among those who received land grants in the 1790s resulting from service or to compensate for the loss of spouses or property during the Revolutionary War. This was first county in the nation to be named for George Washington and was later divided into 13 others.

  Oxen, black slaves and much labor by all resulted in nearly all land being put to the plow by the Civil War aided by the arrival of the Central of Georgia and other railroads that enabled cotton to be transported out of the interior of the state and manufactured goods to come in from other parts of the U.S. and Europe.

  Sandersville grew from a single store at the intersection of two Indian trails to be the County seat and a thriving community until the winter of 1864-65 when Gen. William T. Sherman’s army arrived at the town, burned the Courthouse, most commercial buildings and many plantations.

  Citizens resisted. One did a solo defense of Oconee, while children at the state’s military academies fought because Georgia units were away in Virginia and other states with few men remaining to defend their homes. Only General Joe Wheeler’s cavalry offered dogged resistance to Sherman’s 60,000 men as they proceeded towards Savannah.

  Post-war many changes occurred with new immigrants joining the already multi-ethnic population that existed prior to the Civil War. The town continued to grow and prosper through two World Wars, integration and even now sees new immigrants from Asia and Hispanic America.

  “This is a nice place to be from. It is a nice place to be now – Sandersville, Georgia, my home town.”

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Hunt Destination Bryan County, Georgia

  Opportunities abound for sportsmen in Bryan County, Georgia, located only 20 miles from Savannah. The featured town of Richmond Hill is between Ft. Steward, which offers some public hunting, and a State WMA. Off shore, Ossabaw Island has quota hunts for deer and wild hogs. Fresh or salt water fishing opportunities are available almost anywhere.

  Following the Civil War which ruined many of the plantations on the Georgia coast, a number of Bryan County properties were bought by Henry Ford who often spent several Winter months in Georgia. He converted some of the former rice paddies into produce farms, started saw mills, public health projects and built a number of structures to provide educational and work prospects for local residents. When Bryan County was incorporated in 1880, the Ford family built the Courthouse, which is still used for governmental functions.

  Ft. Steward is located in the central part of the county, and its 300,000 acres are open to public hunting when no training is taking place. The Richmond Hill WMA is located between the town and the coast, and Ossabaw Island WMA is off shore. Deer and wild hogs are the principal big game animals taken at both locations.

  All-season boating and fishing opportunities are available either in coastal waters, in ponds or in the Ogeechee River. Because of the nearness of coastal marshes and wild lands, subdivisions often have outdoor aspects to them with many having their own docks.

  Military retirees who want to be near a large base, have access to VA facilities and desire the diversity of outdoor opportunities offered by a coastal location find Bryan County a nearly ideal place to locate their retirement homes and start a post-retirement business.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – The Lady and The Spear

  A popular early show featuring a lady spear hunter, man-woman relationships, sex changes through life and an unexpected consequence from some nude photography is rebroadcasts while Hovey is receiving an award for this show. For an unusual hunting experience, listen for the ad from the Bare Butt Hunt Club of the Solitario.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Engines of Change

  Even after using a charm from Beau and Lou-Ann’s Small Engine Exorcisms, Hovey’s first bowfishing trip degrades into a “bowfishing anyway I have to do it” experience. Much more successful was his investigation of making wines from Southern grapes and fruits at Courson’s Winery in the historic grape-growing region of Deveroux, Georgia.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – A'fixing to get ready to go bowfishing

  Bowfishing can put lots of good fish on the table. Hovey interviews Muzzy’s Mark Land to provide a complete view of the sport as both an individual and group activity. Click the following link to look at the equipment, supplier’s contacts and a recipe for carp salad: http://hovey’soutdooradventures.com. To buy Practical Bowfishing click on the book when it appears to the left.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures - Sandersville, Georgia

  Hovey’s home town of Sandersville, Georgia, is featured with interviews with Rea Garrett, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Neil Pittman of the Country Buffet who talks hunting and cooking and with visiting Florida hunter Chris Holloway who tells about taking a trophy Washington County turkey. An ad this week is from Lonny’s Trains who puts turkey decoys on tracks.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures - Turkey Hunting Stories

  To provide turkey-hunting thrills and laughs, listen as Hovey tells how long-time Outdoor Life writer Charles Elliott bagged his first turkey and had his first drink, Thunderball Turkey, Catch and Release Turkey Hunting and Turkey Dance with Feathers, Chimes and Cannon. A new sponsor is Turkey Treads that lets you put down tracks just like a wild turkey.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Going Turkey Hunting

  Starting with wake-up yawns and ending with an exciting climax, listeners to three days of Hovey’s Spring turkey hunts with a flintlock rifle and a 3000-year-old chip from an Indian’s arrow point. Cooking features turkey plucking and cleaning as well as cooking a Holiday bird. Sponsor Buy Cheap, Make Cheap, Sell Cheap, Inc., explains how to make and sell products, “cheap, cheap, cheap.”

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – A'Fixing to Get Ready to Go Turkey Hunting

  The “a’fixing stage” of getting ready to go turkey hunting may last for weeks or months before opening day. When that day finally arrives everyone breathes a sigh of relief that the spouse infected with the turkey hunting disease is finally out of the house with their hundreds of items of gear, calls and strange noises in the night that are driving everyone else crazy.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Hunt Travel: Car, Plane, Boat and Train

  A not-too-serious look at Hovey’s hunting travels throughout North America by car, plane, boat and train. In the cooking section, he discusses making what has been often judged as the best American whiskey at The George Dickel distillery in Tennessee. Fermented grains from area distilleries provide SIN’s Happy Cow Division with raw materials to keep America’s livestock not only content, but happy, happy, happy.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Destination: Seward, Nebraska

  First of a series on destinations in small-town America, Hovey hunts snow geese near Seward, Nebraska, and explores Fall hunts for deer, pheasants, and waterfowl. A 228- class whitetail was taken last year just outside the city. Interviews with Pat Coldiron of the Chamber of Commerce and Roy Josoff, Jr. of Pheasants Forever give insights into the area’s wildlife. The cooking section includes the Runza sandwich and James Arthur Winery.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Hunt Africa Now

  Almost every hunter wants to hunt Africa. Hovey Smith explains how to do it, and includes real-time recordings of Cape buffalo and other hunts. He asserts that the best time to go is now and that the best-value hunts are in The Republic of South Africa where hunters may use muzzleloaders, bows, crossbows and conventional firearms in a family-friendly environment.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Turkey Talk, The NWTF National Convention

  Turkey hunters, volunteers and members of the armed forces listened to calling contests, purchased innovative turkey-hunting products and learned from the experts at the National Wild Turkey Federation’s 2011 National Convention in Nashville. Listen as Hovey interviews 20 vendors about turkey-related products ranging from a heated turkey-hunting seat to completing the hunt with a dram of Wild Turkey 101.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Gun Talk 101

  In a bang-up episode brought to you by Big Boomers, Inc., the evolution of firearms is explored by Hovey’s loading and shooting matchlock, flintlock, rimfire, and centerfire rifles, shotguns and pistols while explaining their hunting uses. This explanation is concluded with a matchlock safari on Buffalo Creek for a pair of mostly nocturnal animals.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Snow Goose Hunting in North Carolina

  An opportunity to hunt eastern snow geese in coastal North Carolina proved irresistible to host Hovey Smith as he hunted with fourth-generation guide Aaron Mathews near the historic town of Currituck. Hunting a muzzleloading shotgun, Smith got his snows and considerable information about hunting and cooking these abundant waterfowl, local foods and historic hunting methods. .

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – The Lady and the Spear

  Hunting with spears, libido changes for a guy through live, having women hunting companions, nude photography with an humorous outcome, a fun romp through man-woman relationships and a Valentine’s Day recipe for wooing women with Deer Heart Soup are in this week’s show with outdoors-woman Sharon Henson.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Handguns and Handgun Hunting

  Relax at the campfire while world-class hunters Bill Booth and Hovey discuss the diversity of world opportunities for handgun hunting. Topics include the new S&W Governor revolver which shoots the .410 shotshell, selecting a hunting pistol, wild hog hunting and exciting hunts with cartridge and black-powder pistols from North America and Africa.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Viva Las Vegas, Shot Show, 2011

  With 1,600 exhibitors, 57,400 attendees and 2,000 members of the media covering the event, the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s 50th anniversary Shot Show was a resounding success. Interviews taped during the show introduce new hunting accessories, guns, crossbows, knives and outdoor equipment ranging in prices from $5.00 to about $5,000.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – The Hunting Buddies

  Interviews with two hunting buddies, Bill Krantz and Roger Kicklighter, provide a wealth of stories through which to examine the hunting-buddy relationship. Featured will be hunts for swan and brant in North Carolina and hunts for deer, wild hogs, waterfowl and alligators on Georgia’s Golden Isles with Roger Kicklighter.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Hunting with Crossbows

  Nebraska, Florida and some other states will allow their archers to use crossbows next year as discussed by Excalibur Crossbow’s founders Bill and Kath Troubridge. They who taken much wild game, including elephant, with crossbws. Hovey considers other makers’ crossbows, including low-cost crossbows that can kill deer.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Ice fishing and stories to "chill a man's soul"

  Ice fishing, living in very cold climates and stories to “chill a man’s soul” are featured in this tribute to cold-climate living and the people who thrive in environments that many consider hostile beyond belief as Hovey discusses ice fishing with Canadian Peter Wood and his Alaskan experiences.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – CO2 Does Not Cause Global Warming

  Climates change, and increased carbon dioxide levels are a result of global warming rather than causing it. Hovey and his guest, Mark Wilson Thomas, will present this politically incorrect position. Making homemade wine is featured on the cooking segment, and Arizona duck hunting will complete the “hot air” theme of the show.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Dogs are Different People

  A show completely, “gone to the dogs”, will feature Hovey’s mixed-breed retrievers as he discusses how to evaluate and adopt the increasing number of trained dogs that are now in pounds with his Veterinarian, Dr. Kristine Evans. Stories feature Labs as deer decoys and retrievers as well. Plus one about an Alaskan husky named Sounder.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Christmas Show

  Starting with an original Christmas story, “A Visit from Auntie Thresa Claus,” the show continues the holiday theme with “Christmas at Copper River” as Hovey Smith relates his experiences as a young Engineer Lt. in Alaska, cooking an Idaho turkey taken last week and a North Carolina swan hunt which provided the fowl for his Christmas dinner.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Hunt for Idaho Elk and Turkey

  Clint Boone talks about “Buddy Hunts” for Idaho elk as he and Hovey tells about the Idaho elk seasons with discussions of gear, techniques and regulations. Clint also takes you along through captivating stories of some of his hunts while Hovey describes a novel turkey hunt to give you a real feel of the challenges of the hunt.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – Traditional Bow Hunting and Fishing

  If shooting your annual deer has become routine, listen as Dennis Dunn describes taking all 29 species of North American big game with traditional archery gear and Hovey discusses bowfishing. The cooking section will discuss handling large animals, and Business Module 15, Launching Your New Business.

  
• Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures – All About Turkeys

  Putting a wild turkey on the holiday table becomes a real possibility as Hovey discusses Fall and Spring turkey hunting with champion callers Jason Kidd and Mark Coin of DownNDirty Turkey Calls, cooking turkeys and an ad about SIN, Inc.’s new synthetic turkey. Business Module 14 will consider financing your new business.

  
• Hovey's Outdoor Adventures - A New Outdoor Show?

  A new radio host considers an interview with Cheryl Long, the editor of Mother Earth News; a gun story, “Brunswick Rifle at Hard Labor”; “Practical Wild Game Cooking” and relates some dark humor from the 1860s, “The Dog Died,” as possibilities for broadcasting on Hovey’s Outdoor Adventures.