In planning each issue of Covey Rise, we particularly embrace one word, a word that informs so much of the upland lifestyle: That word is bespoke, or custom-made or made to order.

We’ve shared stories with you on bespoke shotguns (and do so again in the August-September issue), apparel, culinary creations, walking sticks, vehicles, and much more. This time, we add timepieces to that roster and the Montana Watch Company. In “Keeping Time in Montana” read about Jeffrey Nashan and his family producing bespoke wristwatches in their Livingston, Montana, shop. Their watches capture the essence of why a wristwatch is such an expression of personal character.

About the bespoke shotguns in this issue: In 1880, John Dickson the third began planning what’s known as the Dickson round-action shotgun by taking out patents on the gun’s unique design. The trigger plate configuration allows the attractive round action on bespoke Dickson and MacNaughton shotguns (and guns from a few other manufacturers). For nearly 150 years, John Dickson & Son in Edinburgh, Scotland, has been a lead purveyor of this style of shotgun. We share the company’s history.

In each issue, we include what we call a Chef Plate feature, and this time we visit Chef Dean Fearing in Dallas. Chef Fearing oversees the homegrown and surprising menu—Texas food without borders, he calls it—at Fearing’s Restaurant at the Ritz Carlton in Uptown Dallas. 

Athletic travel teams such as Little League or soccer are mobilizing to go on the road to away games—these teams are a uniting source of pride for many communities: Player families and the community at large rally around supporting the young athletes in their quest for excellence and good sportsmanship. But what about a team of retrievers and their owners on a travel schedule to hunt pheasant and other upland game? Read about it in “Travel Ball for Retrievers,” and the Wildrose Way, in this issue.

Finally, how often have we imagined our hunting partners, our beloved canines, sharing conversations with us, joining in to let us know what’s on their minds? Check out “Let Me Be Perfectly Frank” to get an entertaining dose of that reality.