Winter Upland Trip: Winghaven Hunting Lodge

        If you usually start feeling a bit restless or bored come February, then we have the solution. Kiss cabin fever goodbye this winter. D&H invites you to travel with us down to the Winghaven hunting lodge in western Kentucky.

Woolrich Arctic Parka and Blizzard Blazer

Wool Quilted Arctic Anorak

The quilted shorter version of the classic Arctic Parka is 12 cm shorter in length than the classic version. It is made in a soft, lightweight wool blend fabric.  Detachable coyote fur on the hood.

First Upland hunt of the Season

       I spent a great afternoon chasing quail, chukar and pheasants at Shag's Run today. Shag's Run is the same outfit we do our dove hunts and winter upland hunts with. Owner, Billy Gerwin, is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to bird hunting, dog training and anything related. As usual while hunting at Billy's we all felt spoiled. The day was a really nice pre-Thanksgiving day. I got to hunt with my dad and a close friend of ours. We hunted our own dogs. After hunting we ran one of Billys' pups and were impressed by her natural aptitude for the hunt. The setter's show so much class and perfect ability.

Sage taking a nap on the way down.

Jake's bull moose

I thought I would share this photo of Jake from the Upper Canyon Ranch.  This is the ranch that we visit in September for both fly fishing and bow hunting for elk.  When we were at the ranch this past September, spotting moose was all that Jake could talk about.  I guess it is really hard to get a moose tag even for a resident and Jake had been trying for a very long time.  All I can say is wow!

D&H Upland Hunts

                            Are you ready for some bird hunting?
D&H will again partner with Shag's Run farm in Harrison County, Kentucky to offer four upland bird hunts this winter. We will be hunting Pheasants and Quail and each hunter will have many opportunities to pull the trigger. The farm is a stunning patchwork of farmed fields and brushy fence lines. Exactly the kind of landscape that screams "upland birds". The guys had a great time last year on every shoot. We will shoot on these days:

Saturday, December 15
Saturday, January 12
Tuesday, February 5
Saturday, March 2

If you have questions, contact Mark or Luke at 513-871-3474 or via e-mail at shop@bestgear.com

Skyfall: James Bond film review

I went to see the new James Bond film last night and I feel that a full film review is in order.
I was surprised that the director decided to give us the best right away and not hold anything back.  Money Penny drove a Land Rover 110 Double Cab Pick Up in the first chase scene and there were many things about this scene which made it the best in the movie.  First it was long.  It gave the viewer plenty of time to admire and lust over the Rover.  The Double Cab Pick Up is a great vehicle that we do not get to see on the streets in the States (this is a travesty).  Of course the chase was dangerous with all of the tight urban streets of Istanbul, but Money Penny had no problem behind the wheel of her Rover and all of the bullets hitting the Rover did not stop it.  We then had to endure a break in the action while the bad guy and Bond played around on some motorcycles.  Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against motorcycles, but let's face it, they were not made by Land Rover and isn't this just a bit of a waste of film?  Back to the real action, the guys get rid of the moto chase thing and jump on a train.  A train you say.  Not made by Rover?  Waste of film?  No.  The Rover is driving along with the train and having to dodge VW cars as they fall off the train.  At the end of the long chase Money Penny finally makes her big blunder and stops the Rover and gets out and well there is nothing left to say except for she is no longer driving a Rover.

D&H sweaters from Scotland

We are excited to receive our shipment of classic sweaters loomed in Scotland. 
For over 50 years the family that looms our sweaters have been making very special knitwear in the Scottish Border town of Hawick.  By using the very best natural fibres available from spinners in Scotland, the family designs and manufactures some of the finest wool garments available.

Malkin's Jam

We just stocked the shelves at D&H with another shipment of our favorite jam from Ontario.  Malkin's Jam is a name known to lots of folks that head to Canada on vacation.  I grew up going to Lake of the Woods in Ontario and we would stay at the Arrowhead Camp in Nestor Falls.  Arrowhead had a great general store where you could get all sorts of supplies including chocolate bars and jam.  My family liked the jam so much that we would bring cases of the jam back from our hunting and fishing expeditions.  When I opened Delamere & Hopkins over eighteen years ago, carrying the famous jam from Canada was near the top of my list.  The label now reads Canada's Jam instead of Malkin's.

Winter Fly Tying Classes

You're invited....

        Join us this winter to learn how to tie flies. We will have two sessions, each lasts three weeks and meets once a week. The first session will be December 6, 13,20. Second Session will be January 3,10,17. We will also likely open up a February session. The class costs $75.00. The first class will focus on Woolly Buggers and similar streamers. The second class will focus on nymphs and students will learn to tie the Prince nymph. The third class will focus on dry fly construction and tying techniques.
       Private and customer tying lessons are also available. These classes can focus on anything you want to learn to tie from dry flies to articulated streamers.

      If you have any questions or are interested, contact Louis Seta at 513-871-3474 or e-mail him at shop@bestgear.com
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A Great Elk!

              Just wanted to congratulate Andrew Bowen on a super Elk taken from the high country of Wyoming.  Andrew hunted with Boulder Basin Outfitters near Cody, Wyoming.  He found this elk at roughly 11,500 ft.  He reports that his Filson luggage/clothing and Danner Hoodlight hunting boots all performed flawlessly.  He said the highlight of the hunt, besides being successful, was the opportunity to watch numerous Grizzly bears in the wild environment.

shop floor on a Saturday

It was a cool 39 degrees when we opened the shop doors this morning.  We have been busy unpacking and organizing many new items for this season.  The shop floor is looking good and I thought I would share some photos.

Filson and Wolverine Trunk Show

This past Tuesday was the Filson and Wolverine Trunk Show at the D&H shop on Hyde Park Square.

The event was a success and most of the folks we had never met before; most drove quite a distance (Indy, Columbus, 75 miles north above Oxford, etc, etc).

Both Filson and Wolverine received good attention from customers.

Filson brought lots of new “in the works” items and a sneak peak at some of the items for next season.

Wolverine 1000 Mile Collection had many styles that we would not normally have in the shop and people were totally in to feeling the leather firsthand.