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Posted By: Norm American Sportsman tv show - 12/18/08 08:05 AM
I remember these shows as a kid/teen, and I'm trying recall the guns that Bing Crosby and Phil Harris used. Anyone older, or more attentive remember?
Posted By: Hairy Clipper Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/18/08 11:08 AM
Bing had a SXS of some make. I watch the video I have over and over and cannot tell the maker. Phil used the always reliable Winchester Model 12. It has been said that Phil was a real 28 gauge fan!

Hairy
Posted By: Researcher Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/18/08 03:33 PM
Many of us have longed for the network to release the two best episodes -- 1. The great field trial gunner and character actor Andy Devine Woodcock hunting with his .410-bore Parker, and 2. Robert Stack going to Great Britain and picking up a 20-gauge (Purdey?) and shooting with the "Wee Scot" Jackie Stewart.
Posted By: David Williamson Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/18/08 03:40 PM
I used to watch the Andy Devine show all the time, and when I did read about him hunting, I thought his favorite gun was a 28 ga. On one of the shows I think he was quail hunting with a 28, I know it was a sxs.
Posted By: Twister'sPa Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/18/08 04:05 PM
I remember an episode where Phil and Bing were pheasant hunting on a Pennsylvania farm and I think Bing shot an albino pheasant.

I do remember the Jackie Stewart episode as well. He put on quite a shooting exhibition.

Also remember another episode where they were plantation quail hunting in the south and another character actor (can't remember name) with a double put on quite a shooting exhibition.
If ABC released those on DVD, I'd buy them. They were great shows.
-Jim
Posted By: steve voss Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/18/08 05:41 PM
I'd buy the whole set!!! My favorite was Bing & Phil shooting Sand Grouse in Kenya. IIRC, they were shooting 28 gauge Superposeds.

sv
Posted By: eightbore Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/18/08 07:55 PM
Andy and his wife both shot registered NSSA skeet. In my collection of Skeet Shooting Review, I have not located a picture of either of them with an identifiable shotgun. "Wait for me, Wild Bill."
Posted By: mike campbell Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/18/08 08:15 PM
They're out there on VHS. With VHS tapes selling for a buck, you could hit a bonanza at a yard sale. They come up on EBAy occasionally.

I can remember renting a bunch of them 10-15 years ago. I like bird hunting, too, but I remember Jimmy Dean shooting a moose and shaking so badly he could hardly talk, Fess Parker taking a grizzly in the middle of a stream, Peter Fonda shooting caribou, etc.

This one is currently out of stock on Amazon.com...

American Sportsman : Bird Hunting

Hosted By: Curt Gowdy. Winner of 14 Emmy Awards, The American Sportsman series takes to the land, sea and sky in pursuit of outdoor adventure. In Bird Hunting, Andy Griffith and Sam Snead set their sights on snow geese. Bing Crosby takes aim at sand grouse in Tasmania, and Bear Bryant bags pheasant in Alabama.
Posted By: Jimmy W Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/18/08 08:23 PM
Wow!! What a wonderful show. I used to really love Curt Gowdy. I can't remember all the guests but I do remember Jimmie Stewart. I believe I have a picture of him shooting trap in a magazine somewhere. Curt really brought the shooting sport to life. Thanks for the enjoyable memory.
Posted By: David Williamson Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/18/08 08:47 PM
The American Sportsman, great show, sometimes. One episode showed Curt Gowdy and his son/s stopping by a Wyoming stream and Curt says "this looks like a good place to fish", the boy cast out and on the first cast pulled in a very large trout. I turned it off.
Another time they were filming Joe Brooks, legendary fly fisherman, on a stream in N.J., the Muskenetcong River outside of Hackettstown. I was involved with a group of fly fisherman trying to make one stretch of the "Musky" No-Kill. They brought Joe in and fenced an area of the stream and stocked larger trout than would ever be put in there. Local people told the producers that you better not air that or there will be an uprising.
Joe later went and fished arm and arm with the locals below a dam. They aired that and showed him catching a few 9-12" trout.
Most of the shows very very good as there was no hunting and fishing shows on especially here on the east coast. Do-gooders ruined it after.

You had to love Redd Foxx pheasant hunting.
Posted By: Jerry V Lape Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/18/08 08:59 PM
I seem to recall a pheasant hunt with Bing and Phil Harris wherein Bing was shooting a 28ga SxS Purdey.
Posted By: PeteM Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/18/08 09:03 PM


Curt Gowdy, hunting guide, Jack Hemingway, Mariel Hemingway, Nov 1976
Photos ©, 1976 Hal Landen ALL RIGHTS RESERVED


Curt Gowdy and Jack Hemingway
Photos ©, 1976 Hal Landen ALL RIGHTS RESERVED


Pete
Posted By: Anonymous Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/18/08 09:51 PM
I almost can't beleive this topic is being discussed! Almost every year, at some point during the dove season, I mention an episode of A.S. with Bing Crosby and Phil Harris shooting doves in South Africa from a blind situated over a small pond- both using 28ga over/unders! A TV hunt that is ,for some reason, more memorable to me than any other? Those little shells were so neat when I was a kid. No one has ever known what I was talking about!
Posted By: steve voss Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/18/08 10:06 PM
Originally Posted By: ben-t
I almost can't beleive this topic is being discussed! Almost every year, at some point during the dove season, I mention an episode of A.S. with Bing Crosby and Phil Harris shooting doves in South Africa from a blind situated over a small pond- both using 28ga over/unders! A TV hunt that is ,for some reason, more memorable to me than any other? Those little shells were so neat when I was a kid. No one has ever known what I was talking about!


Ben, that's the Sand Grouse episode I was talking about!! It's my favorite, too. At the time I watched it, I was young enough that it was the first time I'd heard of the 28 gauge.

sv
Posted By: postoak Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/18/08 10:16 PM
Heck Steve I though you remembered when they sold Pinfire Shells down at the Trading post
Posted By: eightbore Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/18/08 10:46 PM
Jimmie Stewart or Jackie Stewart? I think Jackie is the better trapshooter.
Posted By: MarketHunter Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/18/08 10:46 PM
I bought what VHS tapes there are for my Dad at Christmas a few years ago. It's only a few episodes, maybe 12 in all, and none of the ones that are being discussed here.
I think there are only three tapes, a bird hunting, big game, and fishing one. If there are more please let me know, I never could find any others even after a year of searching.
Posted By: Researcher Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/18/08 10:53 PM
What you describe Mike are the only bird hunting episodes of American Sportsman that were ever released on tape.
Posted By: PeteM Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/19/08 12:27 AM


Pete
Posted By: A W Cope Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/19/08 04:17 PM
One of the best shows was Andy Devine shooting woodcock with his 410 Parker. I remember him saying He had had a complete set of Parkers but the kids had them now. As I remember it was a skeet gun with beavertail and he shot it well.

AC
Posted By: PeteM Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/19/08 04:37 PM
The Complete Book of Woodcock Hunting By Frank Woolner, William G. (FRW) Tapply
http://books.google.com/books?id=6kNacjojX70C


Pete
Posted By: Hussey Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/19/08 06:26 PM
I have a copy of the tape of Bing and Phil shooting phes in Iowa? on a VERY cold day. Phil shot a 12 ga M12 that showed a lot of wear - lots of silver showing on the receiver. Bing shot what appears to be a Purdy in a very small bore, with long barrels. This may have been the 28 ga already mentioined.

I am glad to know that someone else remember the "albino" phez episide! I have vivid memories of watching that episide - seems to me the albino phez was actually a chicken. I just remember them laughing and carrying on in a way that only Bing and Phil could.

This board has had the pleasure of enjoying the comments of the gentleman who filmed these episodes. I am sorry that I can not remember his name but his posts discussing his personal experiences with this series was a treat.
Posted By: David Williamson Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/19/08 06:27 PM
A clip from Andy's Gang, the difference between then and now is that Pita would have stopped it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBGblSmeC-k&NR=1
Posted By: Dick Jones otp Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/19/08 06:57 PM
If PITA Wouldn't have stopped it someone else would have, That cat was playing "Dixie"
Posted By: Twister'sPa Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/19/08 10:44 PM
Jay,
Funny what we remember isn't it?
My memory if the albino pheasant episode (don't bank on any of this) was that Phil was carrying on
when it flushed and joked that Bing had just shot one of the farmer's chickens. It turned out to be
an albino rooster.
Dub Taylor was the character actor that I couldn't remember from the plantation quail shooting episode.
He was lights out with his double, but I don't recall what model it was.
Jim
Posted By: Chuck H Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/20/08 03:37 PM
I recall an episode where William Shatner was bowhunting for grizz. He was backed up by a rifle bearing guide which they clearly showed. Shatner did kill the bear up pretty close for the shot as I recall.

It was the only hunting show I recall from my youth.
Posted By: Researcher Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/20/08 04:14 PM
PeteM,

Thanks for the pic of Andy with his .410-bore Parker Bros. The same pic is on page 68 of Timberdoodle by Woolner. There are several pics from that episode in the Andy Devine wing of the museum at Kingman, Arizona. Also some pics of Andy doing the honors at Grand Junction, as well as his shooting coat, hat with all his badges from the Nationals.

Dave
Posted By: docbill Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/20/08 08:05 PM
The reason that Jackie Stewart was on the show is that he was not only a 3 time F1 champion but also the 1 st alternate on Britan's 1960 Olympic trap team. He went racing after not making it to the Rome Olympics. The man can SHOOT. He had a shooting school at Glen Eagles in Scotland at one time.
Posted By: Researcher Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/20/08 09:08 PM
There is a brief glimps of Sir Jackie shooting a couple of clays here -- http://www.sirjackiestewart.com/
Posted By: James M Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/20/08 09:51 PM
For some reason the episode I remember the most is one featuring John Connally, the Governor of Texas who was also shot while riding with John Kennedy, elephant hunting in Africa. Even after Dallas and to his credit Connally remaind a supporter of the 2nd amendment his whole life.
The other thing I clearly remember about the Crosby-Harris hunts is their singing while hunting. Unfortunately with the Petas and Antis of this world holding a politically correct sway we'll in all likelyhood never see the likes of this again.
Jim
Posted By: Fowlgunner Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/21/08 03:14 PM
PA,

I am not sure but I believe the Dub Taylor show was an "Outdoor Life" episode. I have a very poor copy, from when it aired on TV years ago.

Not to highjack the thread, but are there any of the "Outdoor Life" episodes commercially available?

Thanks for the great memories being brought back.

Will Gurton
Posted By: Norm Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/21/08 05:38 PM
I've been listening to the old radio shows of the Jack Benny Program and the Phil Harris/Alice Fay Show on Sirius. Harris was on both shows, and I think he's hilarious.

A few weeks ago, I realized that the guy is I think is so funny now was the same old guy from American Sportsman (remember I was a kid when the AS was on). This story from Curt Gowdy about Harris and Crosby on the ESPN site was the best I could find -

Bing & Phil

One was a raconteur and legendary imbiber; the other a master crooner with a wit drier than Death Valley. And once a year, the American Sportsman brought them together.

They were the original song and dance men of the outdoors: one a movie personality, raconteur and legendary imbiber; the other a master crooner, Academy Award-winning actor with a wit drier than Death Valley. Each an original, each made in America.

Phil Harris was from Indiana. He could make you laugh on sight. Often wearing a headband, which in those days was a symbol of rebellion, and sometimes a black state trooper's jacket, which was not, Harris walked the high wire separating good and bad taste like a Wallenda. But whatever he said or did, it was styled
with so much charm that only a novitiate could find fault.

Crosby, from Tacoma, Washington, was his straight man - quiet, dignified and blessed with a voice made by a celestial florist. Bing's honeyed tones complemented perfectly the gravel-bed that ran through Phil's throat. When they sang together, Vaudeville was reborn - comical, lyrical and touching.

Once a year we held a reunion on the 'American Sportsman' television series. Cameras and good times rolled as we followed bird dogs across sun-burnished fields and flying fish across golden oceans. We were adult children let loose with fly rods and shotguns in Nature's favorite playgrounds. Hunting and fishing were our excuse to join laughter and memory.

"It was for outdoor fans a ritual no less anticipated than Bing's annual Christmas show was by the rest of America." We'd plan the trips months in advance. Each was busy with family and career. But somehow we always found a free week, each juggling dates to keep our rendezvous. Each day, no matter what the weather, a warming trend developed in each of us. Phil insisted on spiritual fortification against the elements.

Phil drank whiskey like Picasso painted, which was all the time. Yet his constitution compared in strength and clarity - if not in humor - with the one written by our forefathers. Never, to my knowledge, did he fumble a line or a glass; and when he swung a 20-gauge on a bird he was world class.

"These get-togethers are among my favorites times," Bing once told me. "I love that guy (Harris). His approach to life is so right - never sweat the small stuff."

Crosby and Harris appeared on the 'American Sportsman' 16 straight years. It was for outdoor fans a ritual no less anticipated than Bing's annual Christmas show on NBC-TV was by the rest of America. When they came on 'The Sportsman,' hunters
and fisherman would stop whatever they were doing, sit down and be lifted by the routine of Mister Crosby and Mister Harris.

In the middle of a hunt, they might break into their act. It was drawn straight out of a Minstrel show:

"Oh, Mister Crosby?"

"Is that you, Mister Harris?"

"Indeed it is, Mister Crosby, and how is your day going?"

"Poorly, Mister Harris."

"Oh really, and why is that, Mister Crosby?"

"I forgot my socks, Mister Harris, and my feet are turning blue."

And sure enough, the camera would pan down to Bing's boots and bare ankles, whereupon a chuckling Mister Harris would offer Mister Crosby something liquid to warm his toes.

They're both gone now, and with their passing we lost a strand of magic. Crosby died on a golf course - his second favorite place to be.

Once, I called Phil's wife, actress Alice Faye, who lived in Palm Springs, and asked if she knew where I might reach the man. She answered that she hadn't a clue. "But when you finally get hold of him," she said with a lilt in her voice, "tell him for me to straighten up and fly right." Harris passed away in his
sleep. I hope he was dreaming of white-winged doves dipping and dodging against a blue desert sky.
Posted By: postoak Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/21/08 09:50 PM
Whatever Mr. Harris was drinking, it must have been pretty good for him, he died at 91.
Posted By: Hussey Re: American Sportsman tv show - 12/23/08 01:58 PM
Originally Posted By: Twister'sPa
Jay,
Funny what we remember isn't it?
My memory if the albino pheasant episode (don't bank on any of this) was that Phil was carrying on
when it flushed and joked that Bing had just shot one of the farmer's chickens. It turned out to be
an albino rooster.
Dub Taylor was the character actor that I couldn't remember from the plantation quail shooting episode.
He was lights out with his double, but I don't recall what model it was.
Jim


That show and Crosby and Harris in particular, had a tremendous impact on me and my approach to sport. They were gentlemen and never put the kill above the companionship and time afield. I don't think I ever saw an episode where Gowdy and the guests did not appear to be enjoying the moment - taking in every aspect of the place and time.

JDG
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