The year 2019 brought two great anniversaries to my mind. 50 years since Czechoslovakia defeated Soviet Union twice in the same hockey world championship only few months after the Soviet reoccupation. 30 year anniversary of the so called “Iron Curtain” coming down partially due to the events in 1968 that led to the invasion and occupation of Czechoslovakia.

The initial idea was to write and reflect on the bird season I have had this fall but while visiting friends in Florida for Thanksgiving my inspiration for the blog changed. Thanksgiving 2019 was full of admiration, appreciation and recognition of the real life heroes who sacrificed for us young people and young hockey player so much. Twenty years after their heroics in 1969 the world changed for most of communist Eastern Europe and us forever. read more »

This year’s Fourth of July was quiet and less exciting than we’ve had last few years. It was with us all. We stayed home, no travel, no horse competitions, no hockey camps to attend or anything like that. I actually prefer it this way but life and responsibilities usually do not take calendar into the account. We spent the day and the long weekend just staying home and working on our little horse farm in beautiful northwestern Wyoming. read more »

Finally, the time has come to reflect on my experiences throughout the last hockey season. I feel very fortunate to be able to help, mentor and teach hockey youths in the States and abroad. It was my second season with Jackson Hole high school team as an assistant coach and my first as a head coach with the Israeli national teams. I was given great opportunity to oversee and coach their national hockey program. Tremendous honor it is. I ended up traveling far more than I’ve traveled in many years but the experiences I had were all worth it. read more »

This piece was initiated the moment I finished reading the article about the latest workplace murder in Illinois. There is so much political “noise” generated after each and every shooting. Nobody takes time to learn the facts, the story behind what happened. Everyone(including the Republican Party officials) just use the moment of spotlight on guns and Second Amendment to grandstand and score some political points.

I always expect it from the Democratic Party whose sole agenda is to grab more power for them selves. They have no principals, they have nobody’s interests in mind other than the party itself. There is so many radicals in their midst at this point the common sense democrat is being squeezed out.

You can say that about the Republican Party as well but at least we have moral and philosophical values that guide through the difficult times. At least most of us do. read more »

Here we are again in December and I have few more great memories to share. I always look forward to the end of the summer for couple reasons. College football season starts and with that comes time to chase some birds. This year was quite hectic but I made sure there was enough time to get out and bird hunt.
Bird hunting for me is not only the number of birds you end up with in your vest but it’s an opportunity to roam through steep and sometime very snowy mountains of western Wyoming.
This year was no different. read more »

1918-2018 CZECHOSLOVAKIA

Many of my friends, colleagues or associates know me only as an American. I came to the United States twenty eight years ago and quickly assimilated to the lifestyle, culture, language and way of life we call AMERICA.

One of my most important priorities was to become United States citizen as soon as I could. I believe if you adopt new country as your home you also have to become a citizen who contributes to betterment of the country, not just exploiting its resources because they’re there. United States is the greatest country in the world not for what we have but anyone who is willing to learn, work and sacrifice can accomplish. Whether bank account full of money, spiritual and religious freedoms, having happy healthy family or just simply being who you are is your goal in life this is the place.

We all do not want the same thing but if you’re willing to earn it, you sure can have.
That is my view of these United States of America. BUT….. read more »

There is only a few more beautiful places than the southwestern desert in the wintertime. I have been fortunate last few years  to get an invitation to participate in the making of the quail hunting shows for the Gundog TV (previously American Birdhunter). These hunts take place anytime between early/mid December to the end of January. The locations are mostly in New Mexico. The specific spot is decided in the last moment as the scouting reports about the bird numbers come in. We’ve had good hunts, great ones and also couple epic ones. Is it ever bad? No it’s not.  Any chance I get to carry a shotgun and chase after quail or any bird is good. I have had friends or guides apologize for the “lack” of birds many times. The point is not how many birds but how often. It’s never too hot, too cold, too rainy too windy or not windy enough.

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” The existence of Israel is like a birth of a child. We all know the science behind it but every time a child is born it’s a miracle. What we have to do is to nurture and protect it so it has a chance for a long and healthy life. ”

These were my thoughts sitting at Ben Gurion International Airport July 29th 2017 waiting for my flight back to US.  I only spent two weeks there but the country and its people touched me in a way few things in life have had.

I will try to walk you through my trip chronologically even though I started with the end. 

The opportunity to not only visit Israel but also teach at a local hockey school presented itself couple years ago. Longtime friend, knowing of my public support for Israel, asked me if I would like to go.  I immediately jumped on the opportunity and committed. Things took little time but ultimately it worked out better than I ever imagined.
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The moment the bird season ended last winter  all the shooting seemed to stop and real work begun. I did not have much time to shoot or write. This winter was extremely busy for me outside of the shooting sports. Life’s true responsibilities always come first. The end of winter did not signal the end of work but for some reason I found more time to pick up a gun and have some fun. Is it the nicer weather, longer days or just coincidence?

It doesn’t really matter. What’s important I shot some brand new CZ shotguns this spring. I will try to share my experiences and many other shooters’ in this “field” report. It was a lot of fun to break clays again. You don’t realize how addicting it is until you have a great gun in your hand and see the clays break or turn into dust. Her are few shotguns that really stood out for me.

CZ SWAMP MAGNUM

This is a 2017 offering from CZ-USA targeting the waterfowl hunters among us. Interestingly enough I believe I’ve had reasonable success hunting ducks past three years yet only used 3 inch shells for half dozen shots. I never moved up to 3 1/2 shells nor would I want to.

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My most recent hunting trip started very differently than any other one before. I spent two days in CZ-USA’s office and warehouse in Kansas City. Getting to know how great firearms get from small east-central European town of Uhersky Brod, where CZUB is headquartered, to the hands of American consumers. Knowing what it takes is important part of being able to represent CZ-USA’s firearms in United States. I will not disclose any details here but instead I will focus on the people who are behind this fast growing company. Yes it is very important to have great product to sell but more importantly it’s the people behind the scenes who deserve the most credit for successful business. I met everyone from accounting, sales, marketing, shipping and receiving, parts department, assembly and the gunsmiths. It is little bit like a hockey team where everyone has a role and has to accept it for the benefit of the team. When the team does well, everyone does well. When the team does not, well you know what happens then.

There is one thing I would like to focus on more. Come to find out, twenty percent of the company’s work force are US military veterans. I could not be happier to hear that news and meeting everyone. I believe it is important for all of us to remember and appreciate the sacrifice these men and women make. IT IS AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN ON OUR COUNTRY’S BEHALF.

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