Visiting Northern California in early fall turned out to be an extension to our limited Wyoming summer. People in Sacramento area are still enjoying warm temperatures and us, Wyoming  residents, more than enjoyed the daily supply of fresh fruit and vegetables at local farm stands. Our daughter competed at a horse show just few miles southeast of California’s Capital. The main competition did not go on until the later part of the week, so I took this opportunity and visited couple of Sporting Clays Ranges within reasonable driving distance of Sacramento. I’ve never visited the area before so I really enjoyed learning more about it. There is many things I noticed, but will mention only some. There is a significant difference between the landscape, people’s attitude and overall atmosphere in what I called the “Heartland of California” compared to Southern  California. Once I realized that and talked to people on the phone at the respected clubs/hunting preserves I really looked forward to breaking some and hopefully lot of clays.

My  preparation started before we left home. I looked up Sacramento Sporting Clays on the internet. Names, phone numbers and addresses of many clubs popped up on my screen. Two days of time and driving distances initially limited my research. Upon learning people have reviewed many of their experiences my focus narrowed even more. My clubs of choice ended up being Raahauge’s Pheasant Hunting & Sporting Clays and Bird’s Landing Hunting  Preserve & Sporting Clays. read more »

It’s mid August and the rifles are getting sighted in. There is a growing excitement about upcoming hunting season for the beginner hunter I am. It is time to learn more about the process of ethical hunting. I consider myself more of a management hunter at this moment. I believe in gaining experience first before I try for the big trophy, but if the right buck comes across my crosshairs,it will be go time.

I made plans to go to Florida at the end of August to check on our farm in north-central Florida. Couple weeks before I went I approached a friend who is an avid shooter about possible wild hog hunt. He is a very good long distance shooter.  I know for a fact he had killed a coyote in just over 600 yards. Not a hog hunter.He has friends who are much more familiar with wild hogs in the area.

Florida has the second largest wild pig population in the U.S. after Texas. There is approximately 500 thousand pigs in the state. You can find them from the Everglades in the south all the way to northern panhandle. read more »

As many of you know I call the great state of Wyoming home. We spent many off seasons here during my playing career. Many years ago our family friend recommended us a trip to Jackson Hole. My wife and I made plans to set out west and visit as many places as we could in about six weeks.  Neither one of us has ever driven across the U.S.A. – it sure was exciting time for a young couple. We planned to visit Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Colorado. Well after spending the first couple weeks of the trip in Jackson Hole and other parts of Wyoming, the rest of the West did not quite offer the same feeling. We completely changed our plans and spent the remaining time in the Equality state. I do sound extremely subjective but I agree that other parts of the American West are just as beautiful and impressive. It’s just for a guy who came from Eastern Europe and spent close to twenty years performing on the hockey’s biggest stage, Wyoming is a wonderful change of pace. read more »

I have participated in my first NRA Convention during the weekend of April 14th as a guest of CZ-USA. The Convention took place in St. Louis, MO – the city I’m very familiar with and fond of. I have spent a lot of time in the area during my playing career and will spend more time nowadays on our travels with horses. This might not make much sense to many, but exit 49 on interstate 70 is a halfway point between our home in Wyoming and our farm in Florida. People of Missouri are one of the nicest if not the nicest in the country. Anytime I need equipment for the outdoors or farm supplies I can comfortably wait until the Missouri section of I-70. It is lined with everything that a gentlemen farmer and an avid outdoorsman could need. The only thing I have to pay attention to ahead of time is the weather. I drove through some of the most severe storms in that part of the country. I believe that severe weather is the reason for the kindness of the state’s people, the adversity they have faced over generations. read more »

On 3/17 I was attending CZ & Dan Wesson Shooting Day at Hartford Gun Club in CT. We have created this event to get as many people familiar with CZ firearms as possible. Some might wonder why such a random location. Well here is little history on start of my career.

I played professionally in Czechoslovakia and also participated in the international hockey tournaments with country’s national team. That is where scouts for many NHL teams “discovered” my playing ability. After couple of years playing for the Czechoslovak National Team I was drafted by the Hartford Whalers. The franchise does not exist anymore, it was relocated to Carolina,but that is where I got my start in North America. read more »