Unlikely hunting buds: Elena Kagan, Antonin Scalia

LEXINGTON, Ky. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan says her hunting outings with fellow Justice Antonin Scalia began with an offhand promise during her Senate confirmation.

Kagan told a University of Kentucky audience Thursday night that she took up the pastime after a meeting with a senator. He asked if she had ever hunted or fired a gun. She never had, so she told the senator she'd like to accompany him on a hunting trip. Kagan says the look on his face was "total horror."

She promised to ask Scalia -- an avid hunter -- to take her hunting if she won confirmation.

After joining the court, she recounted the story to Scalia.

They started shooting together -- first clay pigeons and then actual quail, pheasant and antelope.

Kagan, a member of the court's liberal wing, says she enjoys hunting and spending time with Scalia, a conservative.