Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/68594
ou have to wonder about some of the things to which we've become accustomed. For much of his career, a friend of mine hammered out a car-to-train-to-subway commute that took well over two hours each way. During his salad days he thought little about his long daily treks. They were just a part of his workaday routine. Only after he retired did he have one of those kick-yourself- in-the-butt realizations that he'd spent the equivalent of half his working life doing nothing more than hauling himself back and forth between home and office. Looking back, it now seemed to him that the length of his commute, more so than the sum of his accomplishments, might be the hallmark of his career. Routines seem to have a way of dulling the mind and the senses. Of course, that to which we become inured is not always onerous. Nonetheless, we should keep an open mind to the fact that a standard we have come to readily accept is not necessarily one we must settle for. S Like most of you, I've long been accustomed to shooting 12-gauge, break-open shotguns both in the field and at the range. From the standpoint of recoil, most of us would agree that shooting these guns is no big deal. With the added heft of a purpose-built sporter and light target loads, gunning a round of sporting clays is hardly unpleasant. Even with stout pheasant loads in a light game gun, the excitement of the hunt and the relatively few shots taken keep recoil from being a perceived annoyance. Sure, you'll feel the bite if you shoot a 12 over/under or side-by-side for doves in Argentina or hunt waterfowl from a layout blind where your shoulder takes all the recoil, but, other than that, what's there to quibble about? I had an old boss who used to say to me, "That's fine, but can't we do a little better?" Well, in this case the folks at Beretta have done something better, namely with their SV10 Perennia over/ under with its Kick-Off recoil reduction mechanism. peaking of something better, I recently had the opportunity to hunt with the Perennia in both 12 and 20 gauge and also try out Beretta's latest iteration of their autoloading A400 Xplor line, the A400 Action, at Highland Hills, one of the premiere wingshooting lodges in America. Located in north-central Oregon, Highland Hills is a member of the Beretta Trident Lodge Program. It's also the winner of the Orvis-endorsed Wingshooting Lodge of the year for 2003 and 2012. It's nice, of course, to have accommodations that would dazzle the Donald and to provide service that rivals the Ritz. Where I believe the rubber meets the road in this business, however, is how much real "hunt" the lodge has to offer. Dennis Macnab, Highland Hills' owner, has put a double helping of the best of our sporting traditions into his place. From exceptionally well-trained dogs, and personable and professional guides to strong flying birds and a surprising variety of shooting opportunities, this lodge, to paraphrase the saying, "can hunt." The rustically elegant lodge sits on a knoll in broad valley intersected by a meandering stream. The soft glow from the lights in the lodge were a welcoming sight as I drove up late in the afternoon, just in time for cocktails. After settling in, I was shown to the lounge where I was greeted by a roaring fire, top-shelf drinks and an array of appetizers, crowned by a plate of coconut-encrusted chukar breasts. Not a bad beginning, I thought to myself. I was at Highland Hills to film an episode for the World of Beretta television series, which will be appearing, about the time you read this, on the Sportsman's Channel. My guest on the show was Mountie Mizer, a long-time Beretta executive. I've known Mountie since the early 1980s when we were involved in promoting the then new-to-America game of sporting clays. Mountie is a wonderfully old-school gun guy. Passionate about hunting and his bird dogs, he knows the technical aspects of Beretta shotguns inside and out, and he's one S P O R T IN G CL ASSI C S 118