Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/116174
Shotguns – Connecticut Shotguns A-10 American, Small Frame, Sub-Gauge T he name Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company has graced this category twice before, which simply attests to its genius in perfecting ground-breaking scattergun concepts of imaginative design, exceptional quality and tremendous appeal . . . but never more exquisitely than this year, for its small frame, sub-gauge A10 American in 20 and 28 gauge. The true sidelock A10 American over/under, whether in Standard, Deluxe, Platinum, Rose & Scroll or Sporting Clays appointments – an accomplishment of truly unique bearing on the American market – is now firmly established as a wildly popular customer favorite. It's offered in many configurations to please individual taste, but in our opinion, the absolute hands-down sweetheart of the line is the ultra-scaled, small frame, sub-gauge in 20 or 28. The neatest profile, shallowest frame in the A10 family. Small meaning . . . well . . . in frame, about the depth of the last two joints of your second finger; subgauge, implying not an actual constriction in normal 20 or 28 gauging , but amazing, less-than-standard sizing of the gun as a whole. CSMC has built baby frames and miniatures before, but this time, they outdid themselves. The result is a wondrously petite little work of gunmaking artistry so lovely it'll make a grown man cry. Or could you ever imagine a better heirloom, Christmas gift for your wife or granddaughter, one to last the ages. And while you're at it . . . one for yourself to please your fancy. Because best of all, the A10 Small Frame is offered with every embellishment option, aside gauge, in the family line. .410? Well, maybe. It's been somewhat problematic with the monobloc. If anybody can do it, it'll be CSMC. The A10 Small Frame, Sub-Gauge: great things do come in small packages. – Mike Gaddis S P O R T I N G C 60 L A S S I C S F Hunting Lodge – Honey Lake Plantation or more than a century Honey Lake Plantation has catered to discerning sportsmen. After a $40 million expansion, serial entrepreneur Bob Williamson opened his magical property to the public in 2008. At Honey Lake Plantation, sportsmen find 4,865 acres of rolling hills and fields that offer some of the best bobwhite quail hunting in the country. Its five lakes have been engineered to provide trophy bass and bream fishing, and there is an expansive sport-shooting complex that offers a wide variety of clay target warm-ups. Honey Lake Plantation offers seasonal hunting for Eastern wild turkey, doves, ducks and white-tailed deer. Award-winning field-trialers Ed and Sheila Hart oversee the dog-training program. Combined with five-star accommodations, gourmet cuisine and a wide variety of non-sporting activities, Honey Lake Plantation has emerged as one of the premier sporting venues in the country. Optics – Swarovski's EL Range Binocular and ATX/STX Modular Spotting Scope P hotographers have been increasing the versatility of their cameras by changing lenses for decades. Swarovski recently brought similar convenience and versatility to telescopes with their innovative ATX/STX Modular spotting scopes. Variable eyepieces have long enabled us to change magnification. This is the first scope that lets us also change the size of the objective lens. The result is a more compact scope for travel and the potential for the brightest viewing possible. Objective lens diameter determines how much light enters the instrument. A 65mm objective is brighter than a 50mm. An 85mm is brighter than a 65mm, and a 95mm is unprecedented. But you get all three with the Swarovski ATX/STX Modular system. Hunting in the mountains? Twist on the lightest 65mm objective. Scouting from duck concentrations in the wetlands? Mount the heavier 85mm objective. Digi-scoping? Turn up the brightness with the massive maw of the 95mm objective unit. Wide-angle eyepieces, field flatteners for edge-to-edge sharpness, HD lenses to eliminate color fringing, the finest lens and prism