Most of the shotguns made in Spain did not have a great reputation until some time in the 1960s – when a few of the top Spanish side-by-sides were discovered by outdoor writers Jack O’Connor of Outdoor Life and freelance writer Colonel Charles Askins. One of the outstanding Spanish makers they discovered was AYA, an acronym for Aguirre and Aranzabal. (The “y” in Spanish is similar to “and” in English.) Since then many excellent Spanish double gun makers have emerged or were already in production, like rrizabalaga,
Grulla,Arietta, Ugartechea, and Garbi.All of these makers are in and around Eibar in the Basque country of northern Spain, and they all concentrate on making side-bysides in the finest English tradition.

AYA has been making shotguns since 1917, and they make a wide variety of double gun models,many of them bespoke side by- sides, some of those are matched two-gun or two-barrel sets. The AYA model 4/53, which is on display at all the RGS banquets this fall, comes in 20- and 28-gauge, the 20- gauge has 28" barrels and the 28-gauge has 27" barrels. The test gun I’ve been shooting is the 28 bore, and it wears 29" barrels.

Maybe the phrase “simple elegance” best describes the 4/53. The gun is designed around the classic Anson and Deeley box lock action, both of whom worked for Westley Richards in England long ago. Their patent on this action dates back to 1875, so this one has the double under locking bolt system. The barrels pivot upon a hinge pin which is replaceable with wear. Reportedly, this is an easy receiver to service.

Elegant without being fancy, the 4/53 incorporates a bit of hand engraving on the action – and there is a choice of case hardened receiver (like the AYA gun available through RGS) or the old silver finish, which is actually the receiver style I prefer, although I am testing the case hardened AYA. This is true bone charcoal case hardening, not chemically produced case coloring.

I’ve been shooting this test AYA a lot, banging away mostly at low seven, low six and low five skeet targets – as I think those clay birds best simulate escaping grouse. There has not been one hiccup in the gun’s performance, although the back trigger is a bit squishy. The trigger can no doubt be easily remedied by a gunsmith. This little 28 has ejectors, and it tosses spent empties with real authority.

I say “little 28” because the gun is so light. I assume this one is built on a true 28- gauge frame because it only weighs 5 pounds 11.5 ounces. While standard AYA model 4/53s come with 28" barrels this test gun has the 29", as already mentioned. For added cost you can have an AYA 4/53 in any barrel length you want, within reason, of course.Also, in addition to the 28 gauge this model can also be had in 12-, 16-, 20-gauges or .410. Even the 12-gauge 4/53 only weighs 6 pounds 10 ounces.

Adding to the simple elegance of this grouse-gun-to-be is the straight hand stock and double trigger system. Further, the gun wears a beautiful piece of finely contoured walnut. Traditionalists will love the wood’s hand-rubbed oil finish. Stock dimensions are 15" x 11⁄2" x 23⁄8" with 1⁄4" of cast. There’s no recoil pad or butt plate, just a classic hand checkered butt with no checkering at the top or around the edges. Wearing a T-shirt and cashmere sweater while shooting the test gun, it did have a tendency to slip from the shoulder a bit upon firing. This would not happen when shooting with a proper vest, coat or shirt with a not-so slippery texture. There’s a gold initial oval at the stock’s base. The checkering on the fore-end and the straight grip is hand-done– very nicely done, too – and at 24 lines to the inch.

These are chopper lump barrels – i.e. not built with the mono bloc system – the barrel and lump (chamber area) are all one piece. There are disc set firing pins, and a single selective trigger is available as an option. The gun wears a splinter fore-end, but a bigger fore-end is available – again at an extra cost. Barrel lengths other than 28" are an add-on option, as would be walnut upgrades, semi-pistol grip, full pistol grip, perhaps others.

The safety is automatic, which means as you eject the empty just after knocking your grouse down – the safety comes on automatically. In clay bird shooting practice you will have to remember to push the safety off prior to each shot. This can be good practice for grouse and woodcock shooting situations.

The bottom plate (bottom of the receiver) is split – and this part is in blue – not case hardened. There is hand engraving on this bottom plate, plus engraving on the receiver sides, the trigger guard, opening lever, top tang – with a touch of engraving even on the fences and the back of the barrels. The safety switch has a pronounced hump that’s finely checkered, offering a very positive feel to that safety. Receiver lock up is very positive, pull the barrels up into the receiver and hear a satisfying “click” as the locking takes place.

AYA offers numerous additional side by- side models. The No. 4 Deluxe is the same as the 4/53 save for additional hand engraving and a wood upgrade. The No. 2 is a classic sidelock, and some say this one is the most famous model in the AYA line. Tens of thousands have been sold since its introduction in the 1950s. The Holland & Holland locking system and trigger system are used. This model is extensively engraved in English scroll, plus the No.2 is also available with a “rounded” receiver. There are a number of additional models in the AYA line, and be sure to attend one of the RGS banquets if you’d like to get your hands on the 4/53.

Nick Sisley can be contacted at nicksisley@hotmail.com.

First the disclaimer: these are not new books, nor are they focused on grouse or woodcock. Nevertheless, the worlds within them touch most of us at some point – politics, conservation, dogs, humor and hunting. Presented in no particular order, these are five great books recommended for your winter fireside musings.

	Politically Incorrect Guide to Hunting by Frank Miniter
No one who hunts can avoid the debate. Sometime, somewhere, an anti-hunter will ask, “How can you kill defenseless animals?” We come armed with a variety of explanations – habitat encroachment, challenge of the hunt, engagement in the outdoors – but many of us wish we had heftier munitions. This book provides them. Franklin Miniter gives hard facts and surprising stats in support of hunting, citing everything from cougar populations to alligator lengths, table tennis injuries to bear attacks, the tons of game meat served in soup kitchens to human injuries caused by collisions with deer.He takes vegans to task and traces the transformation from environmentalism to eco-terrorism. Miniter’s writing is straightforward with only occasional lapses of bias apparent through his word choice. Little known facts and significant numbers – the sheer force of his statistical argument –make this a fascinating and valuable book.
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	Merle’s Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Ted Kerasote
Ted Kerasote met “a big, golden dog” by the San Juan River in the Utah desert. “Merle,” as he later named the dog, adopted Kerasote, choosing him from among his friends. “Might it have been what I ate, and the subtle residue it left in my pores, that made him so interested in me?” writes Kerasote, comparing a dog’s reliance on scent to ours on sight. “…When I ate meat, it was that of wild animals, not domestic ones – mostly elk and antelope along with the occasional grouse, duck, goose, and trout mixed in.” Kerasote writes of his life with Merle, examining the canine perspective, as in this consideration of scent. He uses anthropological research and animal behavior studies to analyze Merle’s actions, agreeing with some and refuting others. Kerasote tells tales of Merle’s encounters with moose, coyotes and bison; of his relationships with other dogs; of hunts for elk and grouse; and, inevitably, of Merle’s aging. The dog door is the underlying metaphor for the book – it gave Merle the freedom to live his own life, and Merle’s use of it gave Kerasote insight into his dog’s nature. Accepting the concept of a dog having a life of his own (as opposed to a life in which all actions are dictated by a human owner’s control) is the brilliant lesson the book teaches – readers find themselves looking at their dogs very differently afterwards. Merle is a great character, exuberant and intelligent. If you like audio books, Patrick Girard Lawlor’s reading (on CD orMP3) is wonderful. He gives Merle’s voice just the right tone to complement the dog’s eyebrow lifts and tail wags. Kerasote anthropomorphizes throughout, but the enormous affection between human and canine makes the excess forgivable
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	A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold
Written in 1949, this book is as relevant today as when first published. A benchmark in nature writing and theories of conservation, Aldo Leopold’s work organizes the “almanac” section in a month by month odyssey of the outdoor world of Wisconsin. In the second section, organized by place, Leopold “recounts some of the episodes in [his] life that taught [him] gradually and painfully, that the company is out of step. These episodes, scattered over the continent and through forty years of time, present a fair sample of the issues that bear the collective label: conservation.” The last section tackles the politics and ethics of conservation, presenting them with a clarity of language possibly unrivaled in conservation literature.An example: “Wilderness is the raw material out of which man has hammered the artifact called civilization.” The book builds from observation to experience, then analysis and reflection, but it doesn’t have to be read straight through.You can open it anywhere and instantly be submerged in text rich enough to savor in mall quantities. This is a book that deserves permanent residence on every hunter’s shelf.
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	The Great Duck Misunderstanding and Other Stories Compiled By Brian R. Peterson
What’s astonishing about this collection of hunting and fishing stories is the variety of writers between its covers. Who would imagine Milton Berle sharing page space with Ted Nugent? Or James Thurber chalking up yucks with Patrick McManus? Toss in another 50 or so outdoor humor writers, and you’re talking about the kind of funny stuff that actually makes you laugh out loud when you’re sitting reading alone. In P.J. O’Rourke’s “Brave Hunter, Stout Woodcock,” he describes woodcock as looking like “a knee-walking shorebird in urgent need of Jenny Craig.” Since game tastes like what it eats and woodcock eat earthworms, he suggests hunting and frying night crawlers instead.And so on. The collection covers fresh and saltwater fishing, deer hunting, duck hunting and more. There’s Joe Bob Brigg’s “Prairie-ogHunting,”which concludes an AK-47 is what’s really needed to hunt them. Other revealing titles include, among others, “Pheasant Dogs I have Known and, uh, Tolerated,” “Blowing Away the Media” (about shooting televisions, literally), “Sex and the Single Retriever,” “Buford’s Hawg Posse,” “The Cows are Trying to Drown Me,” and “Shut up and Eat Your Snowshoes.”
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	The Green Hills Of Africa by Ernest Hemingway
Keeping in mind Ernest Hemingway’s declarative prose style (stripped down and on the verge of stiffness) and remembering his goal of writing truth through observations as objectively as possible, hunters can discover his unique ability to describe things that often seem indescribable. He writes about feeling frustrated and anxious in having no luck pursuing kudu, even though he’d successfully taken several other animals. He conveys the joy of total immersion in the hunt and the simple rhythm of eating, drinking, sleeping and hunting on an extended trip. When his friend shoots a larger rhino, he is honest. “There we were…wanting to congratulate, waiting to be good sports about this rhino whose smaller horn was longer than our big one, this huge, tear-eyed marvel of a rhino, this dead, head-severed dream rhino, and instead we all spoke like people who were about to become seasick on a boat….” Hemingway describes the landscape of Africa and its wildlife in words surprisingly spare but nonetheless vivid, particularly for hunters who find so much of the experience of hunting difficult to convey. Note: Be sure to have a bottle of very cold beer or a glass of port by you while you read. Hemingway and his characters pay a lot of attention to their drinking, and readers will inevitably develop a thirst.
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A vital component to fulfilling RGS’ mission

RGS has a core mission of growing ruffed grouse and American woodcock. We pursue this mission by working with public and private landowners to establish and sustain the young forest habitats preferred by grouse, woodcock, golden-winged warblers, eastern towhees and many other species of wildlife. We can’t ignore, however, that decisions made in Washington D.C. can dramatically affect opportunities for habitat management initiatives on both public and private forest
lands. Vast sums of money can be made available to assist private landowners in the sound stewardship of their woodlands, or by the same token, direction can be provided to federal land management agencies that all but eliminates active forest management as an option for federal public lands across the nation.

It is vital that RGS be engaged with our elected and appointed officials in Washington. As the old saying goes – “the world is run by those who show up,” and we have been showing up in the halls of Congress and key offices at the US Forest Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service and other important federal agencies for over 20 years.

I currently serve our membership as the Society’s Director of Conservation Policy. My primary function is to build coalitions with other wildlife conservation organizations to protect our hunting heritage and promote opportunities to practice forest wildlife conservation through active forest management.

The Funding Pie is Only so Big
As an example of an issue that can affect habitat management on our federal public lands, costs to control wildfires in the continental United States have risen dramatically over the past decade and these increases are likely to continue into the foreseeable future. The portion of the US Forest Service discretionary budget spent on wildfire suppression has increased significantly (See pie charts). These increases seriously impede the ability of the agency to conduct habitat management projects and address other pressing conservation needs.

As US Forest Service wildfire costs increase at a more rapid rate than the overall agency budget, the proportion of funds available for wildlife habitat enhancement and other important programs continues
to decrease. In addition, costs that exceed the amounts budgeted for wildfires are typically transferred from other programs as needed. This borrowing totaled $200 million in 2006 and $100 million in 2007. These two factors: the erosion of budgets for other programs as the wildfire budget continues to account for an increasing proportion of the overall Forest Service budget, and year-end borrowing from these other programs negatively impact the ability of the agency to pursue other goals.

Since 2005 RGS has led the efforts of the wildlife conservation community to ensure that the costs of protecting natural landscapes and rural communities from wildfires do not break the back of the Forest
Service. Legislation has been introduced during past sessions of Congress that would establish a special emergency fund that the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management could use to cover costs
associated with major fires; this would eliminate the need for these agencies to raid the wildlife management budget or other important programs.

In March of this year, the Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement Act (FLAME Act) passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 412 to 3. The broad bi-partisan support for the FLAME Act was due in part to the work of the Society and others who met time and again with legislators on Capitol Hill to outline the need for swift and effective action. As this is being written, the FLAME Act
awaits a final vote in the Senate, where it is expected to enjoy substantial support, and the signature of the President to finally provide a funding mechanism that will allow federal agencies to meet the threat of
catastrophic wildfires without further eroding their ability to address the needs of millions of hunters, anglers and other dedicated conservationists.

Small Trees as Renewable Biomass
Although a gallon of gas is currently well below the record high prices seen during the summer of 2008, there is still considerable interest in promoting the use of alternative fuels to lessen our dependence on foreign oil and to enhance our national security. Toward that end, the Society is working with others from the wildlife conservation community to correct a serious flaw in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. This legislation was designed to provide incentives for the research and development of alternative fuels, including bio fuels, and it established what is known as the Renewable Energy Standard. This standard defines what materials and processes can be used to produce a renewable fuel and, therefore, be eligible for the subsidies authorized by the Energy Independence and Security Act. Unfortunately, Congress bowed to political pressure exerted by preservationist organizations and crafted a definition of “renewable biomass” that explicitly bans the use of most wood fiber from federal lands. Frankly, Congress blew it.

It costs federal, state and local governments billions of dollars each year to harvest small-diameter trees from forest stands on federal lands that are overstocked and at serious risk of catching fire. These costs are exorbitant precisely because there is no market for these small-diameter trees. If these trees could be used as feedstock for the production of bio fuel, the costs recovered from the sale of this wood fiber to bio fuel producers could pay for the harvest operations – a true win-win situation. Even if economic conditions were inadequate to generate revenue from this wood fiber, its utilization to produce bio fuel would certainly be better than allowing it to rot in the field.

In addition to providing opportunities to protect wild lands and rural communities from fire, an expansion of the definition of the term “renewable biomass” to include wood fiber harvested from federal lands could greatly enhance opportunities to establish the young forest habitats required by ruffed grouse and so many other types of wildlife in the eastern United States. Today, although large-diameter individuals of
most tree species are readily marketable in most regions of the east, small-diameter trees commonly have little or no economic value. These small-diameter trees are often left standing and the shade they cast can greatly complicate the development of dense, young forest habitat conditions. If markets existed for these small trees, they too could be harvested along with the large trees. This would improve the economic viability of the harvest operation and improve habitat conditions for grouse and other wildlife.

The Society and others are currently working with federal legislators to change the definition of “renewable biomass” so that any wood fiber harvested in a thoughtful and sustainable manner, regardless of who owns the land, can be used to produce bio fuel. After all, it makes zero sense to preclude the use of a perfectly good source of fiber merely because it is harvested from the wrong side of a property line.

Other Current Agenda Items
Two important blueprints guiding the future for ruffed grouse and woodcock conservation have been completed over the past several years – the Ruffed Grouse Conservation Plan and American Woodcock Conservation Plan. These conservation strategies were the result of years of
collaboration between representatives of federal and state natural resource management agencies, universities, conservation organizations such as the Ruffed Grouse Society and many others. The Ruffed Grouse Society coordinated the development of the Ruffed Grouse Conservation Plan and was a key player in the American Woodcock Conservation Plan as well.

These Plans themselves will do little to enhance conditions for ruffed grouse and woodcock unless they are implemented. The Society is currently working with state natural resource agencies to see that the recommendations contained in these Plans are incorporated into statewide habitat management objectives.

In addition, because over 75% of the forest is privately owned in the eastern United States, which is the primary range of both ruffed grouse and woodcock, the Society is working to ensure that funds are available to private landowners for habitat management activities. Primary sources for these funds are the landowner assistance programs that make up the foundation of the conservation component of the Farm Bill–programs such as the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

As the current Farm Bill was being drafted in 2007 and 2008, the Ruffed Grouse Society partnered with 32 other conservation and environmental organizations under the banner of the Forests in the Farm Bill Coalition. The Coalition’s primary goal was to increase the level of support available through the Farm Bill for wildlife habitat management on private forest lands. The Coalition worked to expand support for both on-the-ground habitat management practices and for technical assistance to aid landowners in making the best habitat management decisions given their specific opportunities and objectives. The need is great for this technical and financial support. Private individuals and families control over 260 million acres of forest in the United States, much of this in the east. Disappointingly, only 22% of the private landowners who have harvested wood products from their property have done so with the aid of a forester, wildlife biologist or some other natural resource professional. Subsequent to the passage of the Farm Bill in 2008, the Society has concentrated its efforts on ensuring that these important landowner assistance programs are fully funded by Congress.

It’s fair to suggest that the Ruffed Grouse Society has one of the most difficult tasks of any wildlife conservation organization. The Society promotes the cutting of trees – an activity that is opposed by some
with an almost religious fervor. Yet, we are successful because our positions and actions are based on an objective review of the relevant science. We enjoy access to, and the respect of, elected officials from both major parties precisely because they know they can trust what we say and because we follow the advice of the late President Ford – “It’s alright to disagree as long we’re not disagreeable.”

The land had been bush-hogged initially, then thinned a bit and some was eventually mowed to encourage new grass. Finally a few walking trails were added, a coincidental result of tracks left by a tractor. It was an easy place to hunt and a great place to introduce a young dog to intoxicating grouse scent. With the old apple trees, thorn apples, clover patches and mixed berries it was a veritable farmer’s market for grouse.

An old barn had fallen down nearby, the timbers long since reclaimed by the earth. The rock foundation, a single blooming mountain ash and the little overgrown lane on the other side of the main road were the few remaining vestiges of Alexander Walls’ farm.

This site – a 1930s and 40s homestead – is typical of many aging covers in New England. I remember this one in particular because when I was a youngster the house and barn were still barely standing, apple trees dominated the surrounding fields and a gravity-fed water supply from a wonderful old spring still ran to the farmhouse. One spigot in the shed’s soapstone sink ran continually and another fed the hand pump in the kitchen.

Over the years Nature began her slow but mighty reclamation of the ground - maple, beech, birch and patches of red bush surrounded the apple trees and squeezed out the sunlight. The once great grouse habitat had aged beyond its prime.

A close friend of mine, Lance, decided to reclaim part of the old cover – as a benefit for those brush-worn partridge hunters among us. His work with a tractor, bushhog and ingenuity one winter returned one part of the area into suitable grouse habitat.

I entered the cover in late summer – the foliage was still green and heavy. My young setter, Max, was about to get a fresh whiff of grouse scent. I slipped the beeper collar on and proceeded to coax Max to work each side of the walking trail laid out by Lance for ol’ fogies such as myself. The evening sun was shaded by the hillside trees to the west, and it made for a pleasant walk. I had high hopes of introducing Max to a late spring bird just a bit short on experience. We meandered into a concentration of old apple trees, their crop heavy on the ground.

Casting to the left, but not too far, Max seemed to be enjoying this romp through the bushes. Occasionally coming to the walking path, I coaxed him back into the thicker stuff so he would get the idea that birds aren’t likely to be on the trail. Bedsides, even if we did bump into one looking for some clover or just a little grit, it’s sometimes hard to get a good point
when a bird is out in the open.

A little further along I called him and he bounded up, still not sure why I brought him to such a great new playground. Stepping off to my right in a particularly thick patch, Max followed a few steps and then jumped ahead, as he thought this was my new direction. He made a cast to the left and them I saw him get birdy. Maybe, at last, a little luck was coming
my way.

Once Max began hunting, I worked back on the trail and moved around the cover to the left, following the natural edge of undergrowth. He began working hard, casting back and forth, a sure indication bird scent was heavy. I heard the beeper tone turn to a soft, steady “beep, beep, beep” and turned my head in time to see him locked up in the brush.

No sooner had I begun to advance when the partridge burst out in front of me, close enough for me to see his wing dip as he banked to the right, and presenting a pretty fair shot. I raised my right arm, as if it were my Parker VHE 28- gauge and pulled my forefinger against an imaginary trigger.

At that moment I was content with Max – who had been doing so well this time out. He was excited over the scent and rushed around with continued enthusiasm. It was a simple yet wonderful evening in Lance’s cover, practicing a bit of “shoot and release.”

Everyone needs a little place like this, where after a hunt you can sit a stone wall, light a pipe and eat a sandwich with your dog panting at your feet. It is a place to pause and reflect, taking a moment to purge your mind of life’s trials and tribulations.

A wise man once told me that as you get older, you will find that small things take on greater significance. In this case it wasn’t important to actually bring down a bird, instead it was witnessing my dog’s fine performance that became paramount. It served as a gentle reminder that I have more hunts behind me than in front of me, a tingling awareness of my own mortality causing me to seek a moment of reflection.

Art Wheaton has pursued grouse and woodcock for over 40 years and missed his fair share. He can be reached at art.wheaton@gmail.com.