The Governor's Pheasant Opener last weekend in Marshall unfolded to rave reviews by the 200 or so hunters and guides who participated, and by a like number of additional enthusiasts who attended a banquet that jump-started the two-day event.
That said, a kerfuffle has arisen over the brand of shotgun shells gifted to the hunters and guides at the governor's opener. The steel shells were made by Fiocchi, an Italian ammunition manufacturer.
Fiocchi was not a sponsor of the governor's event, and how their cartridges came to be loaded in shotguns toted by most of the opener's 108 hunters and 47 guides is a twisted tale _ and one that miffs Federal Cartridge Co. of Anoka, Minn., a leading shotgun cartridge manufacturer.
Federal Cartridge officials note that, unlike Fiocchi, their company employs about 1,000 Minnesotans, and pays about $6 million in state taxes.
