At Ease, Rick Perry Hunts Pheasants in Iowa

Meet Rick Perry, lifelong hunter.

Perry has floundered on the debate stage. He's stumbled on immigration. But the Perry who showed up for a pheasant hunt in Iowa Saturday was perfectly, naturally at ease — and not afraid to talk about it.

Perry has been hunter for decades. When he was a Texas state legislator, he and a group of the freshman members he served with would fly in Perry's plane to hunting camps in different parts of Texas.

Not all of his GOP rivals are as comfortable with guns and hunting. Mitt Romney struggled mightily to explain his own limited personal background with hunting and firearms.

Perry's love affair, on the other hand, has manifested itself as a record of easing restrictions on carrying guns in Texas.