By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

A reader was kind enough to suggest a couple of rants ago that I was carrying on the tradition of bloggery established by the late Jeff Cooper. That would be nice, because of all the gun columns in cyberspace, his was by far the most interesting and it is still up there.

By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

There are a lot of people I wish were still around, and right at the top of the list is the South Carolina knifemaker George Herron. George was not only a genius with his hands, he was one of the most generous men I have ever known. I have no idea how many beginning knifemakers he coached, or how many thousands of hours he spent teaching them the art, but it was enough to found a whole school of knifemaking—the South Carolina school. And none of it was for money. He did it because he was glad to do it.

By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

“I’ve now worked for three months to get it back. Called the NRA, lawyers, sent letters, called and written the local district attorney. Nothing. Finally I found a lawyer who gave me a straight bit of info. There is a statute that says law enforcement can seize items from a pawnshop without a warrant, and if they think the item is stolen, you are out of luck. 

By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

Don’t worry, this gets back to shooting.

For reasons too sordid and complex to get into, I’ve been required for some time to throw a plug 170 feet with a 6-foot baitcasting rod. In the past, I’d always been able to do it, but not this year. And so in a panic, I sought out a friend of mine who is both a mechanical engineer and an expert on setting up and using all kinds of tackle. I will even embarrass him by using his name: Dick Kondak.