EverydayHunter.com Books

The F-Troop Camp Chronicles, by Don Feigert

2008-12-27T08:49:00.001-08:00

Reviewed by Steve Sorensen
Published by Shenango River Books, Hermitage, PA., 2008; 213 pages, 27 chapters. Paperback.

Feigert’s prose is a treat to read. His paragraphs are
like potato chips -- you can’t stop with one.

Most hunting camps are buttoned up for a long winter, mothballed until the approach of trout season or spring gobbler season. But memories of camp continue to live as those who hunt or fish from them reminisce about camp camaraderie.

Hunting camps are a living paradox. Collectively they’re a breed that has a zillion things in common, but the paradox is that each camp is unique to itself. When camp owners maintain a logbook of their adventures, it reveals that camps are as unique as the individuals that make up the roster.

Such a logbook is behind a new volume by a writer you’ll take a liking to. Don Feigert writes about his camp and his comrades along the west bank of the Allegheny River in Warren County, PA, between Irvine and Tidioute -- a place called Althom.

Whenever you drive through hunting camp country you’ll note that every camp seems to have a name. In compliance with this unwritten rule of owning a hunting camp, Feigert named his camp “F-Troop Camp,” not for the antics of the 1960s TV sitcom, but for the antics of the Feigert family and friends. And of course, books need names, too, so his book is called The F-Troop Camp Chronicles -- A Life in the Pennsylvania Outdoors.

Feigert is the outdoor scribe for the Sharon, PA Herald, and as a writer he’s no amateur. During the past 25 years he has been published in more than 75 magazines -- including high-flying literary magazines -- and he has won numerous awards putting pen to paper.

Most importantly, with both feet firmly planted on the steep hillsides of western Pennsylvania, he knows how to connect with his readers. F-Troop Camp Chronicles recalls incidents from 22 years of camp life, complete with pranks and pratfalls that would otherwise be forgotten. Feigert’s prose is a treat to read. His paragraphs are like potato chips -- you can’t stop with one.

Along the way you’ll meet lots of Feigert’s cohorts, including “Miss Kentucky,” an able trout fisherperson in her own right, along with a host of other nicknamed associates: Pieman, Pigpen, Pocahontas, Decibel, Millimeter Matt, Wildflower and many others who have enjoyed the hospitality of F-Troop. You’ll also meet some of the guys who’ve written the stories you’ve read in Pennsylvania Game News and other magazines.

One of the great things about hunting camp is that no one is ever ordinary. People’s lives might seem mundane to an observer, but camp life somehow pulls them together and transforms them into something extraordinary. They might reveal themselves as first-class cooks and handymen, world-class fireside philosophers, or buffoons who claim no class at all.

Whether you’re the owner of a camp or a guest in one, there’s a good chance that camp owns a part of you -- which is why The F-Troop Camp Chronicles is proof that the days of hunting camps are far from over.

Two of Feigert’s previous three books are already sold out, including one with the bold title Trucks are Better Than Women. This book is likely headed for the same happy fate, so get your hands on it while you can. To order an autographed copy, send a check or money order for $16.75 per paperback copy (includes postage.) A limited edition signed and numbered hardcover is also available for $36.75. Send to Don Feigert, P.O. Box 1381, Hermitage, PA, 16148.

If you’re just starting a camp, or are a camp veteran of 50 years, you know that camp is a place where some of your fondest memories happened. And you’ll know that the memories have only just begun.

Still-Hunting Trophy Whitetails, by Bill Vaznis

2008-08-23T07:07:00.000-07:00

Reviewed by Steve Sorensen
Published by Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA., 2007; 242 pages, 25 chapters. Paperback.

If you’re willing to get out of your stand and
try a method that will make you a better woodsman,
a better student of deer, and a more successful hunter,
this book has arrived at the right time.

Since Teddy Roosevelt’s day, outdoor writers haven’t written much on the subject of still-hunting. In fact, it was way back in 1882 that Teddy’s friend Theodore S. Van Dyke wrote The Still-Hunter, which remains the classic work on the subject.

Still-hunting fell out of favor during the years of high deer populations. Most of the old-timers who mastered the method are now gone. My old friend Leroy was one; he knew the woods like he knew his living room. My grandfather was another. And when my dad had younger legs he was pretty good at it, too.

Today, with more hunters competing for the prize – meat for the freezer and antlers for the wall – still-hunting has given way to stand hunting. Times have changed from a day when no one had a tree stand, to a day when most hunters have more than one.

If you’re a stand hunter, your aim is to find a white-hot deer trail or gain access to a nutritious food plot. Find them and your odds go way up. Most rifle hunters settle into a stand that overlooks an escape trail, hoping that a buck will go by like the one they shot last year or the year before. Die-hard archery hunters use a similar strategy, but look for trails where deer will be relaxed, or they hunt over cultivated food plots if possible.

But, if you’re a hunter who doesn’t have the time to scout for the trails, or the land on which to plant high quality clover, the method that makes the most sense might be still-hunting.

The hunters who traditionally practice still-hunting are guys who live in areas with big woods and low deer populations, boots-on-the-ground-hunters like Dick Bernier of Maine, the Benoit family of New Hampshire – hunters who can truly be called woodsmen. Another is central New York’s Bill Vaznis.

Vaznis’s new book on the topic, Still-Hunting Trophy Whitetails (Stackpole Books, 2007), will likely give a boost to this time-tested method because it shows up when most hunters are getting frustrated with stand hunting. If you’re willing to get out of your stand and try a method that will make you a better woodsman, a better student of deer, and a more successful hunter, this book has arrived at the right time.

Few methods of deer hunting are more satisfying than still-hunting. The still-hunter matches wits with a wary game animal in his own environment. He uses skills that many people associate with Native Americans, but they’re skills that any committed hunter can learn.

Vaznis says that still-hunting works for rifle hunters and bow hunters alike, and his book is a detailed manual that aims to teach the method to both. While it’s true that hunting can’t be learned from a book, this book can definitely shorten the learning curve.

The effective still-hunter doesn’t blunder through the woods hoping to intercept an unlucky buck. He sneaks along, taking advantage of every feature of the terrain, every wind current, every feeding and bedding area, and every skill including calling. Vaznis even has a chapter on how to wear blaze orange effectively.

He destroys a number of myths that people associate with still-hunting, arguing that you don’t have to be absolutely silent, that you don’t always move slowly, that you don’t get bored when still-hunting, and that still-hunters actually see more deer.

Lots of hunting books contain stories that you’re not sure you can believe. The stories and examples in this book have the ring of truth. That’s one feature that makes it such an excellent how-to manual. And they’re backed up with plenty of great color photos.

I spent years hunting from stands before I gained confidence that I could become a good still-hunter. That confidence would have come much sooner if I had Still-Hunting Trophy Whitetails a long time ago. Now that I have it, I’m making a regular habit of studying its contents. My advice is that you do that same, because the day will come when the art of still-hunting will rescue your season.

The Politically Incorrrect Guide To Hunting, by Frank Miniter

2008-08-09T06:03:00.000-07:00

Reviewed by Steve Sorensen
Published by Regnery Publishing, Inc., Washington D.C., 2007; 268 pages, 14 chapters. Paperback.

Hunters are the key piece
to the wildlife management puzzle.

A generation ago, a man would take his lever action out the back door and provide his family with a supply of healthy meat. Celebrating the event wasn’t odd or unusual. It was normal and natural, as it had been for thousands upon thousands of years.

Today, that same activity is not only frowned upon in many segments of our society, but the man who engages in it is broadly mischaracterized and aggressively opposed.

What has changed? Obviously, what has changed is the attitude of modern man. (Of course, I also mean “woman.”) Man has insulated himself from the necessity of death as an instrument to preserving his own life. Maybe he’s more comfortable if he pretends he’s not involved.

He is involved, but has found a way to avoid acknowledging it. In an industrialized society, it’s easy. Just hire others to do your killing.

How? We pay a chain of people whose end products are air-tight, virtually bloodless containers of beef, chicken, pork and fish conveniently presented when we grab our groceries. We employ lawn-care specialists who apply chemicals to our lawns to eliminate the nasty bugs that chew up the landscape. We use exterminators to rid ourselves of insects that bite us and rodents that bite our stuff.

And through our state game agencies we engage hunters to kill the animals that ravage the forest if they become overpopulated, crash into our cars while we’re humming along at 65, destroy millions of dollars in agricultural crops, and eat our expensive shrubbery.

While hunters provide many benefits, they are anathema to lots of people – at best, a necessary evil.

But hunters are good. Very good. A new book details the many benefits hunters bring to our society. The Politically Incorrect Guide to Hunting by Frank Miniter (published by Regnery Publishing), spells it out.

Ever wonder why alligators are killing and injuring more people than ever before? Or why bear and cougar attacks are on the rise? It’s simple, and Miniter explains it.

When these animals are not hunted, they lose their fear of man and they see man as prey. When we develop the land that was once habitat for these animals, we push them into closer and more frequent contact with people. Hunters serve society by keeping these animal populations in balance with their available habitat, and with human activity.

Miniter says that hunters are the real conservationists. Yes, it’s counter-intuitive, but sport hunting never endangers animal populations; it keeps them stable and healthy.

And, hunting benefits more than just game species. Without deer hunting, songbird populations would plummet. What’s the connection? Miniter gives example after example. Ban hunting and plant diversity suffers, soil erosion increases, and habitat disappears.

Miniter says that hunters pour more money into conservation than anyone on the planet, including “environmentalists,” and he offers proof. Miniter claims that hunters have saved many species from extinction, and he provides the evidence. Miniter shows how hunters even play a role in keeping our air transportation system safe.

I discovered how serious that issue is last spring. As I sat beside a US Airways pilot on a flight to Alaska, he told me that colliding with animals is one of the greatest dangers during take-offs and landings. He said that few pilots haven’t hit a deer or a goose.

Think it’s bad when you hit one with your car? When they are sucked into the engine or go through the windshield of an aircraft, they cause millions of dollars in damage. One goose can crash a plane and kill a whole flock of people.

I’ll say it again. Hunters are good, and we need them. They are the key piece to the wildlife management puzzle. Don’t get your information about wildlife management from Animal Planet and the Disney Channel, where wild animals stay hermetically sealed behind the TV screen. Get it from the real world. A good place to start is The Politically Incorrect Guide to Hunting by Frank Miniter. Read it, and support your local hunters with the truth.

Deer Wars: Science, Tradition, And the Battle over Managing Whitetails in Pennsylvania, by Bob Frye

2007-07-07T06:22:00.000-07:00

Reviewed by Steve Sorensen
Published by The Pennsylvania University Press, University Park, PA, 2006; 305 pages, 12 chapters. Paperback.

A definitive history of deer management in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania hunters are at war over deer. On one side of the battle people believe that traditional deer management policies in Pennsylvania have been effective and can continue to be effective. Some hunters want higher doe populations (an end to herd reduction), others want yearling bucks back as legal targets (an end to antler restrictions), and some want both. Some do not accept that too many deer will harm the habitat for themselves and other species.

On the other side of the battle, people believe that managing deer and managing habitat are inseparable, and can succeed only as biologists use scientific management policies. They accept reduced herd numbers, and they want to keep young bucks off limits. Antler restrictions, they believe, are a way to allow most bucks to live beyond their first set of antlers, and provide hunters with the opportunity to hunt more mature deer.

In fairness to hunters, not all of them fall neatly into one or the other category.

And, in fairness to the deer managers who have come up with the current rules, none of them promised an eight-point or better in every thicket.

That, in a nutshell, describes the current conflict. Strong feelings run rampant on both sides. But what many hunters forget (or are unaware of) is that this is only the latest battle in a war over deer management in Pennsylvania that has raged for a hundred years.

Pennsylvania has a rich deer hunting history and tradition. And with the Pennsylvania Game Commission's funding coming primarily from hunting license dollars – maybe because of that fact – the voices of hunters speak loudly in the debate. They always have, since long before the advent of "herd reduction" and "antler restrictions" in 2002.

Part of the problem is that in the space of a century the Keystone State changed dramatically away from a rural culture. During that time the deer herd went from being too small to being too large for a shrinking habitat. Yet deer seasons hardly changed as more roads were built, cities and towns expanded, and suburban farms became housing developments while the human population doubled.

A new book called Deer Wars by Bob Frye, Outdoor Editor of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, is as close to a definitive history of deer and the conflict over deer management in Pennsylvania as you will find.

He covers the era of market hunting... to the days when the forests were clear cut... to the time when a deer track was rare... through the various attempts to repopulate the state with deer... to the arguments about protecting does... right up to our current controversy. It's all in this book.

Through the decades, the voices of conservationists and biologists including Aldo Leopold, Richard Gerstell, Roger Latham and others recognized that because the forests changed, deer hunting policies needed also to change.

Most hunters don't realize that as early as 1935, Game Commission biologists were advocating a decrease in the deer population to improve both the deer and the habitat. To the hunters themselves, however, shooting does was unpopular idea. Doe season followed an on-again, off-again pattern, and the herd continued to increase as the battle between tradition and science waged on.

Anyone joining the debate about deer management in Pennsylvania should read this book before speaking – it's that important. Read it and you'll understand more about Gary Alt, the biologist who had more to do with bringing us to where we are today than anyone else. Read it and you'll gain a better grasp on the relationship between a healthy habitat and a healthy deer herd. Read it and you'll learn enough to speak with confidence backed up by knowledge.

Frye's book is thoroughly researched, comprehensive, and an easy read. Whether you're a hunter, an anti-hunter, a farmer, a forest manager, a politician, a biologist, an environmentalist, or just an ordinary person who wants to understand what's happening with deer management in Pennsylvania, read Deer Wars: Science, Tradition, And the Battle over Managing Whitetails in Pennsylvania by Bob Frye. It's available from www.Amazon.com at a discount.

Year-Round Trophy Whitetails by Joe Brooks

2007-06-23T05:06:00.000-07:00

Reviewed by Steve Sorensen
Published by Cabin Fever Publications, Sylvania, Ohio, 2006; 200 pages, 14 chapters. Paperback.

Big bucks come to the hunter who pays his dues,
and this book is about dues paying.

Lots of hunters are spending their summer months thinking about how to score on a great buck come fall. A book that will increase the odds of achieving that goal -- and a book you can read and digest quickly -- is Year-Round Trophy Whitetails. The subtitle is "The Secrets to Putting All of the Odds in Your Favor," but it's no secret that hunting deer all year-round will raise the hunter's odds. What separates exceptional hunters from average hunters is deer hunting homework. This book is about what that homework is, and when to do it.

Joe Brooks, the author and a trained wildlife manager, has killed lots of big bucks. He lives and hunts in northwest Ohio. But his book does not take a regional approach. His area is much like parts of northwest Pennsylvania, and most of his tactics are adaptable here.

He teaches that monster whitetails can live anywhere, even with pressure, and he's right. Big bucks have been spotted in or near every town wherever whitetails live, and Brooks has developed a comprehensive approach to hunting them successfully. The prepared hunter can harvest them using his step-by-step system. He includes many ideas that he has personally developed, and they make this book useful.

I'll argue with a few of his ideas. He says that doe populations are too high, that hunting does is good game management, and that a doe-to-buck ratio of close to one-to-one is desirable for trophy bucks. That's all well and good, but he also says that trophy hunters should not shoot does on property where they hunt bucks. He believes that will destroy the trophy potential by moving animals to neighboring properties.

Instead, he says the trophy hunter should depend on hunters on neighboring properties to thin the doe herd. My view is that there is nothing wrong with managing property for trophy bucks, but hunters should be game managers before they are trophy managers.

Brooks advocates baiting where it is legal and admits that some of his trophy bucks were shot over bait. That's worth mentioning because most Pennsylvania hunters will object to the tactic, but the author is merely open to using the method where legal. I don't believe baiting is a lead pipe cinch to scoring on a trophy buck, especially where natural food and farm crops are available. But baiting is controversial, and it's a minor point in the book.

Brooks gives plenty to think about that hunters don't always consider. Have you thought much about how you approach landowners to ask for hunting permission? Brooks shares his secrets on getting permission on pages 48 through 51. He says that standing corn plays a significant role in how you should hunt, but you'll be surprised at what he says. Check it out on page 154. He does not advocate the usual methods of scrape and rub hunting. Why? He gives three reasons. Read them on page 166.

This book may not deliver all that it promises, and some of the ideas presented are not as original as the author believes they are. For example, his ideas on using maps and aerial photographs are not new. But the bottom line is that, with occasional exceptions, big bucks come only to a hunter who pays his dues, and this book is about dues paying.

Year-Round Trophy Whitetails is self-published, and I don't mean to discredit the book by saying that. Many great books have been self-published, and it's not an easy path. But in this case it shows. The quality of many of its photos leaves something to be desired. (Some are very low resolution.) And the text is not polished writing. But how much does that really matter when the book is chock full of instructions that you can put together to increase your odds of bagging the buck of a lifetime?

Criticisms aside, there are three things I have no doubt about. Joe Brooks is a better trophy hunter than I am. Any deer hunter who reads his book will be a better deer hunter. And this is not a run-of-the-mill book that rehashes what everyone else says. In these days of smaller deer herds, older and smarter bucks, and all-around harder hunting, it's a book worth reading.

Year-Round Trophy Whitetails is the number one selling book at Cabelas -- a solid endorsement from hunters themselves! It retails for $24.95 but is available through Amazon.com at a discount -- only $16.47. And if you buy more than one book you're eligible for FREE shipping!

Hunting Pressured Turkeys by Brian Lovett

2007-06-09T04:24:00.001-07:00

Reviewed by Steve Sorensen
Published by Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 2007; 195 pages, 12 chapters. Paperback.

It's about time someone addressed the issue of
how to hunt turkeys that have seen it all before.
Someone has said that Pennsylvania's turkeys are
so pressured that if you can call in and kill
a spring gobbler here, you can do it anywhere.

At the beginning of each summer I make a few suggestions for the hunter's off-season reading. Summer is as much a time to reflect as it is a time to prepare for the future, and the hunter who lives and breathes his sport has no better time to catch up on the latest ideas and issues. So when you head out on vacation, or sit down to enjoy the summer evening, or wait for summer thunderstorms to pass by, pick up a book that will help you to reflect or prepare.

One book that should be at the top of your stack of summer reading is Hunting Pressured Turkeys by Brian Lovett, former editor of Turkey & Turkey Hunting magazine. It's a virtual textbook that leads a long and growing list of excellent turkey hunting books.

Unlike many books, this one delivers on its title. "Pressured turkeys" are what we hunt in Pennsylvania, and it's about time someone addressed the issue of how to hunt turkeys that have seen it all before. By the end of the first week of our spring season, the odds are that the turkey you're hunting is under pressure. He sure behaves like it. In fact, someone has said that Pennsylvania's turkeys are so pressured that if you can call in and kill a spring gobbler here, you can do it anywhere.

Lovett starts with good news – he says that the glory days of turkey hunting are now. Populations are at record levels, interest is high, information is widely available, and turkey hunting gear is highly refined. Passionate hunters are better equipped than ever before by what's available to stuff into their vests, and into their heads. But with the woods full of passionate turkey hunters, it's no wonder turkey hunting has become harder. So what we need to remember is this – it doesn't matter how much pressure turkeys are under, "they are still out there and gobblers still want to hook up with hens."

That's reason enough not to give up, and reason enough to believe Lovett's book will help you with that gobbler that beckons you back to the woods with each morning sunrise – even if that stubborn songbird escorts you to the season's final day.

If you want to judge this book by its cover, go ahead. The picture on the front is only one of dozens upon dozens of beautiful colored photographs throughout. And the text is just as satisfying. Along with chapters on "How Turkeys Use the Land," "Calling Pressured Turkeys," and "Troubleshooting the Tough Ones" are chapters on scouting, strategies for different times of the day and finishing the deal. The chapter called "Staying Safe in the Pressured Turkey Woods" is more than an obligatory safety lesson.

Back when I began hunting turkeys, most of us learned how to call in and kill a gobbler by trial and error. The few hunters who regularly killed spring gobblers succeeded mostly because they were fanatics about it or they had access to lands they kept secret. The few books we could find on the subject, even though some were written by the early masters of the sport, were interspersed with questionable wisdom.

Today, even though turkeys are highly pressured, learning to hunt them is much easier for at least three reasons. The first is because our turkey populations are at historically high levels, offering more opportunities to hunt turkeys than ever before. Second, because skillful turkey hunters whose expertise would challenge the likes of a dozen or so famous old-timers (Latham, Lee, Elliot, Harbour and others) live everywhere turkeys exist. And third, because solid instructional materials have proliferated right along with the flocks of turkeys themselves.

You've made your share of mistakes, and you probably know that nothing can take the place of learning from them. But you can learn from the mistakes of others, too. Like most turkey hunters, Lovett has made many, and he clearly teaches the lessons of his mistakes. Unlike most hunters, he doesn't make excuses, and you have no excuse not to get your hands on a copy of Hunting Pressured Turkeys. You'll be a better turkey hunter if you do. You can order Hunting Pressured Turkeys from www.Amazon.com at a discount.

Books for Hunters Young and Old

2006-12-08T23:52:00.000-08:00

by Steve Sorensen
(Originally published in the Warren Times Observer, Warren, PA., December 9, 2006.)

The Legend of Johnny Big Buck and
Strategies for Whitetails are the perfect
Christmas gifts for hunters young and old.

One frustration hunters have is that Christmas come after the regular deer season. If it came before deer season, hunters wouldn't have to wait a year before actually using the stuff the find under the tree.

Today, I solve that problem for you with a couple of gift ideas for hunters and aspiring hunters -- things they'll want to spend some time with before the next season. First, I've discovered a book that is the perfect introduction to deer hunting for kids up to about 4th grade, and another book from Charlie Alsheimer that will soon find a place among the classics of whitetail hunting.

To the too-young-to-hunt kid who can hardly wait to join Dad as he heads out to the deer woods, give The Legend of Johnny Big Buck, written and illustrated by Jason R. Mumford of nearby Girard, PA. It's a story about archery hunting, sportsmanship and the camaraderie of five friends that will cultivate kids' interest in hunting.

By creating this book for children, Jason has done hunting a valuable service. The Legend of Johnny Big Buck helps present hunting in a positive light for children, depicts what hunting is like, and teaches some of the skills hunters use.

Each 8½" x 11" page is a full color illustration with kid-appeal. The text is large type, and will be read over and over. The pictorial cover is hardback, and it has a pictorial wrap.

If you know a kid whom you'd like to get interested in hunting, or one who is already interested but still too young to participate, this beautiful book will make a great gift. He or she will live the adventure again and again. Provide any youngster with a positive viewpoint about hunting by giving a copy of The Legend of Johnny Big Buck.

To the adult hunter, you can do no better than give Charlie Alsheimer's new book Strategies for Whitetails. Alsheimer, a top professional wildlife photographer, field editor for Deer and Deer Hunting magazine, and host of the national television show Deer and Deer Hunting TV, is from Bath, New York. The many seminars he has presented locally have made him well known to hunters in this area.

Strategies for Whitetails represents a lifetime of study of the natural history of the whitetail and how knowledge of America's favorite big game animal can help the hunter to be successful. On the back cover it's called "A landmark book from the master whitetail hunter," and that's no exaggeration. Alsheimer has been ranked with Fred Bear, Aldo Leupold and Teddy Roosevelt as deer hunting's top inspirational leaders of the past century. Anyone on the same list with those greats definitely has something to say.

When I was a kid I remember reading "All About" books on chemistry, astronomy, and a variety of other subjects on an elementary level. Strategies for Whitetails could properly be called "All About Whitetails." However, it's anything but elementary.

Read Alsheimer's book and you'll find your questions answered about how wind, temperature and precipitation affect your hunting. You'll learn what is realistic to expect with regard to antler size in your area. The chapter on "What Makes Deer Move" is worth the price of the book. A discussion of the five stages of a deer hunter will help with some healthy self-analysis. And you'll understand what "quality deer management" is.

Alsheimer has been developing a theory on what triggers the whitetail rut (their breeding behavior) and tells how its phases are broken down and how to predict its timing. And, he offers tactics for every stage of the season. Strategies for Whitetails is truly a comprehensive book, and it's loaded with the best photography you'll see anywhere.

It has been a while since a book on whitetail hunting has joined the short list of must-have classics on the subject, but I predict the Alsheimer's name will be added to those of Larry Koller, Theodore Van Dyke, and a few others.
The Legend of Johnny Big Buck and Strategies for Whitetails are the perfect Christmas gifts for hunters young and old. Both are available from Amazon.com for under $18 each. And if you buy both, you'll get Free Shipping!
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Know Hunting: Truth, Lies and Myths by David E. Samuel

2006-07-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

For Hunters, Non-Hunters and Anti-Hunters
by Steve Sorensen
Published by Know Hunting Publications, Cheat Lake, West Virginia, 1999; 298 pages, 17 chapters. Paperback.

Recreational hunting has saved wildlife,
and hunting provides the only viable
economic incentive for wildlife management.

If you're a hunter who finds your favorite pastime under attack, your summer reading time will be well spent with "Know Hunting: Truth, Lies and Myths" by Dr. David E. Samuel. If you're a non-hunter who hasn't thought much about the pros and cons, "Know Hunting" will be very informative. And if you're an anti-hunter, "Know Hunting" will give you the deeper truths about hunting and conservation.

Written in a straight-forward, easy-to-read style by a professor of wildlife management (now retired) from the University of West Virginia, "Know Hunting" is a comprehensive defense of hunting. Published in 1999, it's still very much up to date.

The debate about hunting in America is loaded with emotion on both sides, but Samuel doesn't succumb to the temptation to sling mud. He truly wants to understand those who oppose him -- and to be understood by them.

Samuel discusses a broad range of issues related to hunting and the anti-hunting ideology that competes against it. He believes urbanization is at the heart of the contrast between these ideologies. He explains that urbanized people lack first-hand exposure to wildlife and that few of them recognize they are part of the predator-prey system. He reveals the profound difference between "animal rights" and "animal welfare." He contends that once the public understands this distinction -- that animal rightists are the real extremists, and that hunters care more and do more for animal welfare -- it will be positive for hunting.

He describes how recreational hunting has saved wildlife and how hunting provides the only viable economic incentive for wildlife management -- not only in North America but everywhere in the world. He says that anti-hunters make a shallow argument when they say that what hunters do for wildlife is so that they can kill more animals. He shows how a decline in the number of hunters is bad for all kinds of wildlife -- not just game species. And he makes a strong case that ethical hunting fights the anti-hunting movement.

He surveys the enormous impact of the dollars contributed by hunters to the welfare of wildlife through the sale of hunting licenses, and also through one of the most successful pieces of federal legislation ever passed, the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937. Hunters and the hunting industry lobbied for a tax on guns and hunting equipment that would be dedicated to wildlife management and distributed through the states. It has produced billions of dollars. Neither non-hunters nor anti-hunters offer any comparable source of funding for wildlife, so the financial contribution of non-hunters is miniscule compared to that of hunters, and the financial commitment of anti-hunters to the wildlife they presume to protect is almost non-existent.

And hunters' support of wildlife is not simply through dollars spent. Hunters also do something anti-hunters almost never do -- they support wildlife through time invested in habitat improvement, which helps non-game species as well as game animals.

Samuel answers more questions than can be listed here: Why animal rights advocates cannot be considered environmentalists. Why some of the alternate methods of animal population control are actually inhumane compared to hunting. Why voter referenda on wildlife management are bad. How vegetarians are responsible for the deaths of animals. Why bans on hunting cannot end the killing of wildlife. Why the biblical injunction "Thou shalt not kill" does not apply to hunting.

Samuel argues that hunting should not be considered a sport, and I'm leaning his way. In responding to the dictionary definition of sport, he says, "Hunting isn't play or frolic. It's not done for simple amusement. It isn't a game…. Hunting is not about winning and losing. Sporting games usually have an audience, hunting does not…. Hunting is solemn. It is private."

Two things could help this book. One is for it to be reprinted with some new case studies. The other is the addition of an index to make the enormous amount of information in this book more accessible.

In the recent past, the wildlife manager was accountable only to hunters. Today, his job is much more difficult because he answers to a variety of people with competing worldviews. This difficult job would be made much easier if everyone would read "Know Hunting."

There is so much in this "must-read" that very little can be mentioned in a review. Anyone who reads it will be better informed about wildlife issues. If hunters and non-hunters alike would read "Know Hunting," we'd probably see fewer "No Hunting" signs on private property. "Know Hunting" by Dr. David Samuel is well worth reading, and reading again. Perhaps the best thing you can do for hunting is to Order a copy of "Know Hunting" from Amazon.com and read it so you can pass on the information in it.

Super Slam! Adventures with North American Big Game by Chuck Adams

2006-06-26T06:23:00.000-07:00

Reviewed by Steve Sorensen
Published by IHunt Communications, Clanhassen, Minnesota, 2003; 351 pages, 28 chapters. Hardback with pictorial cover.

One of its biggest values is to remind us
that faraway continents are not the only places
to experience hunts for exotic animals.

Field experience is the bread and butter of the top outdoor writers. I learned that from my Alaska moose hunt, succeeding in placing two stories in national magazines. Do that once, and it's small time. Do it over and over again and it's big time, and for big time bowhunting experience, no name is bigger than Chuck Adams. With more than twice as many animals in the bowhunting record books than any other hunter, his archery exploits are legendary.

Borrowing a term from baseball, when a hunter harvests all four North American sheep subspecies, or four wild turkey subspecies, it's labeled a "grand slam." So Adams' latest book "Super Slam: Adventures with North American Big Game" is an extension of that idea. It's named for the feat of arrowing all 27 big game animals on our continent. Most of his trophies have antlers, horns or skulls that score high enough to make the bowhunting record book. Several ranked number 1 at the time of harvest, and he still owns the top spot for Rocky Mountain Elk. He was first to complete the "slam" in 1990 -- and since then few others have joined him.

His vast field experience has resulted in nearly 5000 magazine articles and the all-time best-selling bowhunting books -- and even won him an honorary doctorate from Williamsport's Pennsylvania College of Technology, an affiliate of Penn State.

Even so, it doesn't come without having some considerable advantages, paying hefty dues, and a bit of luck. If you're interested in how Chuck Adams got his start, the challenges he's faced, and what keeps him ticking, you might be interested in his biography by Gregg Gutschow called "Life At Full Draw". But if it's stories you want, you'll be hard pressed to find a bigger collection than what you'll find in "Super Slam."

For some people, records are anathema when it comes to hunting. For sure, the animals we hunt deserve respect for reasons that go beyond keeping score. Score is merely an indicator of the maturity of an animal and an attempt to honor the animal as a prime specimen of its type. Too often, the well-intentioned attempt to honor the animal results in honoring the hunter.

That's not to say that "Super Slam" is without value. One of its biggest values is to remind us that faraway continents are not the only places to experience hunts for exotic animals. North America offers some truly great hunting opportunities for game animals that match the variety and the beauty of animals anywhere in the world.

Adams writes about such exotics as muskox (more people have climbed Mt. Everest than have shot a muskox with a bow) and polar bear (only four people had put one in the record book at the time Adams made his hunt). All of Adams' hunts are exciting, none more so than his hunt for the giant Alaskan brown bear. His bear ranks number 3 all time in skull measurement -- tied with a brownie harvested by bowhunting pioneer Fred Bear. Fittingly, the longest chapter in the book is on whitetail deer, the most prolific and most widely hunted big game animal in the world. He also spends plenty of pages on the five subspecies of caribou, the most accessible large antlered game animal anywhere. And the chapter on elk makes clear -- it's his favorite big game.

The chapter I enjoyed most is the one on Sitka blacktail. Alaska's Kodiak Island has generous bag limits for these cousins of our whitetail deer. One day in 1986, Adams shot a world record Sitka, and the next day shot a bigger one. At the 1987 measuring session for archery records, Adams walked away with the number one and number two spots. Since then, another archer has taken over the top spot.

I met Chuck Adams a year ago, and I asked him if he feels pressure to take only large animals. He said that he felt no pressure at all. That's easy to say, now that Adams has accomplished his Super Slam. But while he was pursuing it, he admits he felt the pressure of others trying to accomplish the feat before he did. For me, hunting is not about pressure.

"Super Slam" is not among the greatest in hunting literature, but it's a worthy read. Here's one piece of advice: twenty-eight chapters and 351 pages of hunting stories tend to run together when you read large blocks at one sitting. You'll enjoy it more if you read leisurely, a chapter every 2 or 3 days -- and that's especially true if you want to benefit from his field experience. Order Super Slam at a 37% discount from Amazon.com.

Whitetail Wisdom by Dan Schmidt

2006-06-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

Reviewed by Steve Sorensen
Published by KP Books, Iola, Winsonsin, 2005; 224 pages, 12 chapters. Paperback.

"Most of these [celebrity hunters] are
merely blessed to have access to great
land and unpressured deer." At last --
someone has said what I've long believed.

It's reading season. You may be about to while-away hours in a car or on a plane headed for vacation. Your derrière may find its way to a beach chair. Or, maybe you're looking for something to keep on the nightstand. Wherever you do your summer reading, the everyday hunter has some recommendations that should make you a better hunter.

"Whitetail Wisdom" by Dan Schmidt, editor of the top whitetail magazine Deer & Deer Hunting, is one of the few deer hunting manuals both simple enough and comprehensive enough to be called a true handbook. Its subtitle is "a Proven 12-Step Guide To Scouting Less and Hunting More." No question about it -- that gets the attention of any serious deer hunter who has lots of claims on his time.

Two big emphases in Whitetail Wisdom are key issues for me. One is the importance of a non-obsessive approach to deer hunting. That's not to say that Schmidt undervalues a serious game plan -- any knowledgeable hunter can list countless details that need to be analyzed and taken seriously. But Schmidt keeps hunting in its proper perspective. He recognizes that any hunter scratching out a living while raising a family doesn't have the time or money he'd like to devote to hunting.

Schmidt doesn't believe that big antlers -- or any other standards of deer hunting prowess -- are the measure of a hunter's worth. Nor does he believe deer hunting should be considered a sport. Sports are about numbers. He insists it's a pastime, "an activity that has been in our blood since Day 1."

In fact, Schmidt offers one statement that suggests the enormous respect he has for the everyday hunter in an age when many are obsessed with high-scoring antlers: "No hunter in North America, especially the so-called celebrities, could regularly kill mature deer from most of the properties most of us hunt.... Most of these guys are merely blessed to have access to great land and unpressured deer." At last -- someone has said what I've long believed.

His other emphasis is on enjoying freedoms -- freedom to appreciate all aspects of the hunt, freedom to hunt without the pressure of living up to someone else's standards of accomplishment, and the freedom of simplicity in an approach to hunting. The longer I hunt, the more important these freedoms are to me.

He has a minimalist approach I like. Figure it this way: if the editor of the number one whitetail magazine, a magazine that needs advertising dollars from all the new gizmos that some along, says that he favors a minimalist approach that leaves behind all but a few essentials, he's probably worth listening to. He prefers a few well-organized cargo pockets rather than a backpack overstuffed with gear that gets little or no use. A bonus of minimalism is the clearing of clutter from the mind.

What about the nuts and bolts of Schmidt's scouting-less-and-hunting-more strategy? He covers much more than I can mention in my limited space, but I'll itemize a few of his points. He brings what he calls a "5-point pyramid" to all scouting. It includes weather, food, habitat, human pressure and deer biology. A scouting effort that includes these basics will always outperform one that doesn't.

For the hunter from a crowded state such as Pennsylvania, Schmidt makes several points worth noting. He says that you won't find consistent success by pounding the same spot on the same property hunt after hunt. That's especially true today. He says the successful hunter should be acutely aware of how and where other hunters hunt -- again, true in a crowded state. And if someone finds your favorite spot, be patient and don't fret. He is just as likely to abandon it.

Schmidt has many tips I've never known anyone to offer. For example, he says that the seed pods on locust trees are an overlooked food source -- as are the leaves and twigs of aspen trees. And he says that the deer hunter should use a good guidebook to trees. (I've actually thought of that myself, and I own a couple of them.)

Available at a discount from Amazon.com, Whitetail Wisdom is a 224-page primer (complete with photos) on deer hunting that will school the hunter who's just getting started. It's also a digest of principles for the veteran with many seasons under his belt. And it's organized around a realistic philosophy of hunting that recognizes few hunters will become pros. Like any good guidebook, it's well-indexed and will give you many opportunities to thumb through for the information that almost guarantees you will become a better hunter. Order Whitetail Wisdom today!

Life at Full Draw: The Chuck Adams Story by Gregg Gutschow

2005-07-15T20:38:00.000-07:00

Reviewed by Steve Sorensen
Published by iHunt Communications, Clanhassen, Minnesota, 2002; 303 pages, 15 chapters. Hardcover.

"Could anyone be this good?" This book, an authorized biography, seeks to answer that question.

Chuck Adams. Any archer who doesn't know the name of the most prominent bowhunter today -- the one with the trademark smile and knit cap, the one often mentioned in the same breath as Howard Hill, Fred Bear and other archery luminaries -- isn't paying attention.

Adams has definitely earned his place in bowhunting history, and anyone who is intrigued by what it takes to have his amazing success wonders "Could anyone be this good?" This book, an authorized biography, seeks to answer that question.

How did Adams get into his line of "work"? As a 4.0 student in both high school and college. Adams could have and followed in the footsteps of his father (probably his closest friend) and had a comfortable life as an English professor. But from the time he was old enough to read, the articles in Outdoor Life convinced him he wanted to be an outdoor writer. An excellent education and knowledge based on field experience earned him his first job at Peterson's Hunting in 1974. Later he married, and could have settled down to a life with children, but could not have accomplished the goals he had with the responsibility of a family. And the incredible success of Chuck Adams has not come without sacrifice -- or controversy.

He knowingly sacrificed some joys for others, and the joy of children is one sacrifice he remains wistful about. A failed marriage was another sacrifice, although the book doesn't clearly address what role hunting played in that sad outcome. But the author of this biography shows no fear in addressing the controversial issues that have dogged Adams' career. As the first bowhunter to accomplish the "Super Slam," harvesting all 27 of North America's big game animals, Adams has had to overcome plenty of jealousy and criticism.

The bowhunting "Super Slam," countless articles in outdoor magazines, 111 Pope & Young entries, 5 bowhunting world records, and endorsements for archery manufacturers -- these have created strong opinions that range from admiration and idolizing to fraud and despising. Whatever your view, this book seeks to provide an accurate account of how Adams achieved his place in the world of bowhunting and attempts to answer many questions. What is Adams really like? Does he deal with doubt? Where did he get his work ethic? What is his attitude toward equipment? What do guides and outfitters say about him? What's that that toothy smile all about? And, perhaps the biggest question for many: Who finances Chuck's hunts?

One thing this book lacks is an index. Readers are always well-served by a good index so that people, places and events that the author found important enough to include can be easily referenced. A timeline would also be helpful in biographies. Those minor deficiencies aside, if you're wondering how this Superman with a stick and string has done it, this book will tell you. To get Life at Full Draw at a 34% discount, go to www.Amazon.com

Wild At Heart by John Eldredge

2005-07-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

Reviewed by Steve Sorensen
Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, Tenneesee, 2001; 223 pages, 12 chapters; indexed. Hardcover.

“For after years of living in a cage, a lion no longer even believes it is a lion… and a man no longer believes he is a man.”

When a man sets out for adventure, whether through hunting, sailing, mountain climbing, dog sledding, or any other traditionally masculine enterprise, the age-old “battle between the sexes” often rears its head. Many women simply don’t understand what makes a man tick — and even though men might know what winds their clocks, they often don’t know why. The result is that both men and women misunderstand men. Whether you’re a man or woman, this book offers insight into why men are the way they are, and assure us all that it’s not only good, but necessary.

Some observations are in order: First, this book is only indirectly about hunting in that it focuses on why men enjoy their traditional masculine pursuits. Second, it contains a clear and unapologetic Christian worldview. That doesn’t necessarily mean the author’s views strictly religious, nor is it an attempt to convert anyone. But it’s worth noting before you buy the book that it contains many references to biblical narratives, along with plenty of literary and motion picture allusions that make it easy to read. Third, this book is a significant publication in what today is called “the men’s movement.” Some people ridicule and criticize that, but a person doesn’t have to wholly subscribe to something in order to see the value in it. If you can accept that men and women are created for different purposes, then it is obvious that they have different needs and interests, and consequently participate in life in different ways. That should be no threat to any man or woman, whether they agree with the author or not.

The main point in Wild at Heart is that men need (1) a battle to fight, (2) an adventure to live, and (3) a beauty to win. These three endeavors answer the basic question the author believes every man has: What is a man for? Sadly, the man of the 21st century is taught that he shouldn’t fight, that adventure is risky, and that women have little or no need of him. Women are not forgotten by the author; women yearn to be fought for, need an adventure to share, and desire to have a beauty to unveil. Men and women are equal but different, and they complement one another.

Eldredge teaches that every boy is called to become a man, and that a boyish heart must continue to live within the man. This is important, although it is criticized as immature in today’s American society. But perhaps the best account of what is wrong with contemporary man is found in the author’s portrait of a lion in a zoo, a proud and fierce animal which, in the confines of a cage, has lost its purpose. The author says, “For after years of living in a cage, a lion no longer even believes it is a lion… and a man no longer believes he is a man.”

Eldredge says that men must relearn what it means to be alive and true to their inner selves, including the individual’s right relationship to the woman in his life. This book will do some good toward those ends. It will also help the hunter to understand his passion for the hunt and its proper place in his life. It's worth reading, and from Amazon.com, it's less than $15 -- a small price for what it teaches you about yourself.

Mapping Trophy Bucks by Brad Herndon

2005-07-09T07:27:00.000-07:00

Reviewed by Steve Sorensen
Published by Krause Publications, Iola, WI, 2003; 191 pages, 14 chapters; indexed.

Since a master's degree in hunting mature whitetails isn't available, you can do no better than immerse yourself in this book.

Most Pennsylvania hunters don't consider themselves trophy hunters. But as long as the current antler restriction policy protects spikes, four-points, and six-points in many areas, we might as well hunt as though deer are older and smarter, because they are. And Brad Herndon's Mapping Trophy Bucks promises to help us hunt more intelligently and increase our odds of getting a shot at a 2½, 3½ or 4½ year old buck, a few more of which are roaming our woodlands.

His book could be a textbook for a master's degree in whitetail hunting. If it were, its course description would read something like this: "How to use topographic maps, aerial photos and plat books to develop a terrain strategy, giving consideration to wind and approach avenues, to find and predict when to use high-percentage stands for harvesting mature whitetail deer in forest and farmland." Since a master's degree in hunting mature whitetails isn't available, you can do no better than immerse yourself in this book.

According to Herndon, hunting mature bucks is all about terrain strategy. He ignores the products that promise to make us better hunters -- scents, calls, camouflage, cartridges, tree stands -- because these things are far less important than terrain and wind. If you don't handle terrain and wind correctly, your success may be dependent on nothing more reliable than luck.

The average hunter knows that certain things can't be changed. These factors include hills, streams, croplands and access to land. Topographical features — saddles, points, edges and benches — are givens. But wind is a variable, and the greatest unseen factor on the hunt.

The wind that snakes through our valleys and washes up and down our hillsides is a great betrayer. We have a very difficult time dealing with it, we are often tempted to ignore it, and it costs us more shots at bucks than we know. Wind is fickle, and it's easy to see why the hilly country that is home to our whitetails is such difficult terrain to hunt. We can be thankful that Herndon doesn't oversimplify the wind nor mention it as though all we needed was a reminder to hunt into it.

He says, "You can't change the wind, but you can understand how the wind changes." He explains how the unpredictable nature of the thermals and vacuums that drift around our hunting grounds interact with terrain features and how we can learn to use them to neutralize the whitetail's greatest defense — his nose.

With chapters detailing the many terrain features deer use, Herndon explains how to identify hubs, funnels, and other places where deer are concentrated. He explains why a stand at a double inside corner of a pasture or crop field is only half as effective as a single inside corner. He advises that your approach to a stand site is as important as identifying the site. He even covers how to make a trail that deer will adopt. The variety of terrain features and land uses make it critical that we understand how they relate to deer behavior and air currents. The more thought we put into our strategy, the more successful we will be because "Good thinking pays off," he says.

The book includes a chapter with a national perspective covering record book trophies — how to zero in on where they come from, how to judge them, and several stories about some of the biggest. This will not likely offer Pennsylvania hunters any advantage in hunting home stomping grounds, but it is interesting and it rounds out the emphasis on trophy whitetails.

The final chapter called "Dot-Com Deer Hunting" includes helpful information on how the hunter can access topographic maps and aerial photos online.

This 191-page, 8" x 11" book is well illustrated, includes numerous maps and drawings used as case-studies for the lessons Herndon teaches, and it even has an index, which always makes a good book better.

It's already time to begin planning your next whitetail season, and for about the price of a box of shells, Mapping Trophy Bucks is available at Amazom.com, and might be your best resource for positioning yourself within bow or gun range of a mature buck. Whether you're a trophy hunter or not, deer hunting is more challenging than ever and the lessons here will aid your success.

Kill It & Grill It: A Guide to Preparing and Cooking Wild Game and Fish, by Ted & Shemane Nugent

2005-06-26T18:28:00.000-07:00

Reviewed by Steve Sorensen

Published by Regnery Publishing, Washington, D.C., 2002; 203 pages, 22 chapters; indexed.

Underlying the cooking theme is Nugent’s reverence for wildlife and his unapologetic explanation of what it takes for wildlife to thrive in the modern world.

Love him or hate him, the rock & roll legend Ted Nugent is probably the most outspoken advocate for “blood sports” today. And when he turns to the domestic side of hunting — the preparation and cooking of wild game meat — you’ll find it a lot harder to hate him because you’ll love the dishes he prepares and the way he talks about them.

My first exposure to Nugent as a hunter was in the pages of a print magazine and my impression was — let’s just say it could have been better. Since then, he has grown on me. I learned that if you come to him with expectations, you’ll be disappointed. If you come with an open mind, he’ll sidle up to you and share some wit and wisdom in a way that no one else can. In fact, I must admit that he has turned some phrases I wish I could have written.

The attitude of this book is “Life is a BBQ” (a direct Nugent quote), and most of the 22 chapters are followed by one or more recipes. Underlying the cooking theme is Nugent’s reverence for wildlife and his unapologetic explanation of what it takes for wildlife to thrive in the modern world. Nugent argues that habitat destruction, not the hunter, poses the greatest threat to wildlife; that the cruelty of nature offers no reason for man not to participate; that hunters are the greatest conservationists; and that wildlife is a renewable resource. These are truths that hunters should shout from the mountaintops.

This book is both serious and fun. He isn’t afraid to tell you what he thinks. (Check his opinion about Janet Reno on page 66.) And despite a liberal helping of run-on sentences and made-up words, you always know what he is talking about. Here’s a typical sentence: “With long, coarse hair in black, brown, red, gold, silver, calico, brindle, and varying combinations and shades of all of the above, accented with spectacular razor-sharp ivory jutting out of their prehistoric lips, and a disposition that only me, their mothers, and God could love, these huge, ornery beasts are just what the good BBQ doctor ordered for a weary old rock ‘n’ roll guitarboy to cleanse the soul and humble the heart.” In case there remains any uncertainty about what meat he is praising, he continues, “If nature heals, pork exhilarates.”

Although this old rocker and roller is a true family man who advocates clean living, think of his book as having a PG-13 rating for it’s occasional use of language and erotic imagery. Shemane (Mrs. Nugent) offers her point of view in a couple of chapters, and she is as entertaining as Ted himself. Don’t miss her story about bison hunting on their honeymoon (Chapter 11), or her own view of fresh flesh (Chapter 14) along with a few dessert recipes. I plan to try her recipe for “Coca Cola Stew” in Chapter 13. Chapter 3 (by Ted) is about do-it-yourself butchering, which will be of particular interest to hunters who’ve finally decided to butcher their own deer. The book also includes 8 pages of trophy game photos and ends appropriately with an appendix of conservation organizations every hunter should be familiar with.

Kill It & Grill It is worth having in your kitchen. It’s a unique cookbook for sure, and every game-feasting hunter should have a copy. It is available from www.Amazon.com. The hardcover is just $14.93 and the paperback is only $11.53 (32% off the list prices).

Coyote Soul, Raven Heart by Reg Darling

2005-06-12T05:52:00.000-07:00

Reviewed by Steve Sorensen

"I knew, long before I could articulate it,
that what happened in the woods was healing."

Coyote Soul, Raven Heart: Meditations of a Hunter-Wanderer, by Warren, PA philosopher and traditional archer Reg Darling, is an assembly of essays and journal entries -- part autobiography, part nature philosophy and part social analysis.

Some readers will be disappointed. If you're uncomfortable with controversy, you'll be antagonized. If your worldview is pro-business or exclusively Western, you'll find yourself in principle disagreement. If you are an animal rightist -- or not -- you'll be frustrated. If you find his occasional profanities gratuitous or stumble over his references to the joys of certain human behaviors, you'll miss the value in this book. Darling is a maverick and he prides himself as such. In the tradition of mavericks, he is a combination of humility and arrogance, and he'd like to challenge you.

Let none of that stop you from reading this book because Reg Darling is an uncommonly good writer. If he ever becomes widely known (and he deserves to be), some of his meditations will be classics -- on par with the best of outdoor writing. He releases sentence after sentence like arrows into the heart of the target. His piece entitled "A Fletcher's Meditation" is one example. "That the perfect flight of an arrow loosed with courage, confidence and concentration can bring us sustenance from the land is a great wonder."

"Camo" is another essay that repeatedly hits the mark. He views brightly colored noisy nylon clothing as disrespectful and irreverent toward the land, and goes on to say "Camouflage is simply the visual component of quietness." Clear, direct, substantial, and poetic. If you're fishing for quality sentences in quality essays, here is deep water loaded with lunkers.

While most of his views are understandable, occasionally he offers something mystifying, such as this journal entry relating to his teenage son: "Coffee is an adult treat Oren is allowed only on cold hunting days." It strikes me as oddly patronizing and controlling, especially given Darling's resistance to cultural norms and the confession of some of his own personal propensities.

A few of his descriptions seem unlikely, almost unbelievable, such as his account of hearing a coyote breathing as it paralleled him in the dark. But he admits later, "I look for meaning in things. I am probably excessive in that habit, and sometimes stretch desire-driven speculation pretty thin…."

Reg Darling is part child of the 60's, part Pleistocene man who shuns mechanical weaponry. Non-conformist blood runs in his veins. Hunting is a spiritual matter for him, but he is a little pessimistic about where it is headed. Not every hunter will identify with him and you don't need to agree with him in order to appreciate his writing -- but he might just change your mind about a thing or two.

You won't be able to pigeonhole Darling even after you have read his book, but you'll probably respect him and his philosophy. Perhaps the topic sentence of the entire book is on page 3: "I knew, long before I could articulate it, that what happened in the woods was healing." If you believe that, you'll get along with Reg Darling.

Coyote Soul, Raven Heart ends with a 7-page bibliography. The references it lists are not overtly cited in the book's 180-plus pages, so a paragraph on why it is included would be helpful. It seems to be a listing of the most formative works that brought Darling to his worldview, and offers an exceptionally good reading list for the thinking hunter.

I can't resist one more line from the quotable Reg Darling: "The meat matters. It is the umbilical cord that connects the hunter to Mother Earth." I like that. Coyote Soul, Raven Heart is published by iUniverse (2005) and is available online at www.Amazon.com.

Hunting Hard... in Alaska! by Marc Taylor

2005-05-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

Reviewed by Steve Sorensen

As your first step to a successful hunt
in Alaska, this book is a must.

It may not be a stretch to say that every hunter from the lower 48 dreams of hunting "The Great Land," Alaska. Back when I was a teenager, a buddy and I built a treehouse while talking about someday hunting the far-off forty-ninth state. Reared on the stories in Outdoor Life, we hoped that one day we'd make our own adventure. I'm glad to say that both of us eventually did.

Many hunters never do, often because both the planning and knowing what to expect from an Alaskan hunt are difficult. If that describes you, read Marc Taylor's book and you'll know what every dreamer needs to know to make the dream come true.

I can tell you that this book tells it like it is -- hunting in Alaska is not for the faint of heart. You don't go for a casual afternoon hunt in Alaska; it requires thorough planning and total commitment. In these 215 pages Taylor lays out everything, so that the novice can make his seemingly impossible dream come true and the returning hunter can learn more of what he needs to know about hunting any of Alaska’s "big five," moose, caribou, mountain goat, Dall sheep, or the great brown bear.

I can vouch for his accuracy, his thoroughness, and his wisdom. A former Marine Corps sniper instructor, he has put the teacher side of him into this book as well as the hunter side. From experience, he knows exactly what it takes to plan and execute a successful hunt, and as a teacher he guides you in planning it as well as anyone can. While reading the book, I thought about my own successful moose adventure a few years ago and wondered if he'd really cover everything. He did, interspersing dozens of tips that other writers generally overlook.

This superb book whets the reader's appetite for the hunt, beginning with 4 stories of Taylor's own hunts. They tell what Taylor believes you must know -- that hunting is hard in Alaska -- but they also illustrate many of the things he teaches in the remaining pages. The book is divided into short chapters, making it extremely useful and easy to find anything for re-reading. The index is another help, making this more than a "how-to" book. It's a reference book you'll rely on when you take your own trip whether you plan a self-guided or a guided hunt. And photos add to the enjoyment of reading.

Conditions are unpredictable. Danger is never far away. And killing your game is only the beginning. Once you've accepted these as axiomatic, you're ready to hunt hard… in Alaska. As your first step to a successful hunt in Alaska, this book is a must. Buy it from Marc Taylor's own website (where you'll see some other items you might want as well), or order it at www.Amazon.com and save 15%.