daverichey May 26th, 2008

TITLE: Best Birds Upland & Shore
AUTHOR: Worth Mathewson with artwork by David Hagerbaumer
PUBLISHER: Stackpole Books
DISTRIBUTOR: Stackpole Books

CONTACT:

Stackpole Books
5067 Ritter Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055-6921

WEBSITE: Stackpole Books
COST: $34.95+ postage;

Bird-hunting may still be months away, but a great gift for the upland and shoreline bird hunter in your life is this great hardcover 219-page book. It is a compelling read for many reasons: it can stir the mental juices of any bird hunter; it helps sportsmen recall similar outings that deserve to be remembered, and it sports the delightful artwork of noted wildlife artist David Hagerbaumer.

The author writes extremely well. He captures the mood of hunting these game birds, and his poignant prose makes the reader feel as if he is walking alongside the author to work in behind a stylish pointer or setter, looking up and ahead of the dog’s nose, expectantly awaiting the flush they know will soon come.

This book, amply illustrated by black-and-white drawings, covers such game birds as band-tailed pigeon, white-winged dove, mourning dove, bobwhite quail, Scaled or Gambel’s quail, Mountain quail, Mearns quail, Valley quail, ruffed grouse. blue and spruce grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, sage grouse, Lesser and Greater pinnated grouse, the ptarmigan (rock, white-tailed and willow), turkey, snipe, woodcock, chachalaca, sora rail, clapper rail, the gallinules (Virginia, King, Coot, purple and common), sandhill crane, ringneck pheasant, Grey partridge, chukar, and Columbian sharp-tailed grouse.

I love all types of bird hunting, but am particularly in love with hunting the wild turkey. Mathewson recounts one of his hunts for this king of game birds, and it is a minute-by-minute account of what happened. This is a superb bit of writing, and it is highly recommended for its keen attention to detail.

This book is not a fluff book, one filled with meaningless words or a rehash of similar stories that seem to be recycled all too often by too many people. This is great, original writing, and is something that can build a raging fire in your belly. It makes you want to read the book from cover to cover at one setting.

However, as has been my experience with great and wonderful outdoor writing, I want to savor it and make it last. I want to wallow in the pleasure of fine writing, pace myself so the experience of good reading will linger longer, and as is true with the really great hunting books, it’s my intention to read it at least once a year.

This is not a how-to book as much as it is a book of experiences. Some of the how-to is there but you’ll need to read between the lines because the author is skilled at working in tiny nuances that tell you what and why he is doing something.

The author knows how to write great copy, and anything that captures birds, dogs and fine firearms into one book, is good enough for me. I shall return to this book, and will do it soon, for another taste of fine writing coupled with excellent illustrations that take my mind afield, long before the law allows me to be there with a fine shotgun in hand.

It books were rated, as restaurants are, this one would reach the magic pinnacle of five stars. It’s that good.

Tags: birds, book, daverichey, hargerbaumer, mathewson, review, shore, upland

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daverichey May 16th, 2008

TITLE: Bowhunting For The North American Twenty-Eight
AUTHOR: Gary Bogner
PUBLISHER: Safari Press
DISTRIBUTOR: Safari Press

CONTACT:

Safari Press
15621 Chemical Lane Building B
Huntington Beach, CA 92649-1506

WEBSITE: Safari Press.com
PHONE: (714) 894-9080
ISBN #: (for bookstore ordering)
COST: $29.95+ postage; These books are sold only by Safari Press and are not sold in bookstores

I’ve never had the chance to shake and howdy with Bogner, but he is from Michigan, and I’ve known of he and his hunting exploits and charitable work on behalf of game and their habitat, for many years. There are other well known hunters who have taken all 28 North American game species, but not many who have done so with a bow and arrow.

Bogner believes in the rules of Fair Chase, and all of his bow hunts are planned according to these basic rules that govern ethical hunting. Some of this hunts required three, four or more attempts to take the animal with a bow under the most difficult of conditions.

This taking of a quality specimen of the 28 species of big game animals is more than one man’s dreams: it became his obsession. Bogner made four hunts to take his Dall ram, and his quest for a bighorn sheep in deep mountainous snow will make your hair stand on end.

He writes here of hunting antelope, Barren Ground caribou, bison, black bear, brown bear, polar bear, Canada moose, caribou, Central Canada barren-ground caribou, Columbia whitetail, Coues deer, Dall sheep, Desert bighorn, moose. Mountain caribou, mountain lion, mule deer, muskox, Rocky Mountain elk, Rocky Mountain goat, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep, Roosevelt elk, Shiras moose, Sitka blacktail deer, Stone sheep, Tule elk, whitetail deer, and woodland caribou.

This book is more than the ramblings of a man who spent great sums of money to realize his dream. While many sportsmen will never have the chance to duplicate his efforts, they will have the chance to read about how and why he put himself through so much hard work. He may or may not be a perfectionist but he does know what he wants, and once that urge needs scratching, Bogner lines up a guide and goes hunting.

This is a hunting book but it’s also a tale of sheer determination. This hunter is now a retired airline pilot, and concentrates on taking more bow hunting trips, being a real estate developer and a bank founder. Bogner’s list of credentials include being one of only eight people who have taken all 28 North American game species, and taking Africa’s Big Five, all with a bow.

He has been president of Safari Club International twice, and he has worked tirelessly to support animal conservation and the preservation of the environment. This is a book that details one man’s dream to hunt wild game and his fight to help protect it.

It is a rare individual who will subject his body and equipment to the challenges he so willingly accepts. This book is filled with pride of accomplishment, of helping the environment, the animals he hunts, and the true love of the hunt.

Tags: bogner, book, bowhunting, daverichey, northamerica, review, scoopsbooks, trophy

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daverichey May 3rd, 2008

TITLE: Return To Toonaklut: The Russell Annabel Story
AUTHOR: Jeff Davis
PUBLISHER: Safari Press
CONTACT:

Safari Press Inc.
15621 Chemical Lane
Building B
Huntington Beach, CA 92649

WEBSITE: Safari Press.com
COST: $34.95; hardcover, dust jacket, maps, b/w photos and drawings. Safari Press titles are sold only through the company, and are not for sale in bookstores.
TELEPHONE: (714) 894-9080

Russell (Rusty) Annabel’s stories are timeless. Although many of today’s sportsmen may never have heard of Rusty Annabel, that would be their loss. I grew up reading his outdoor stories in the outdoor magazines during the 1940s and 1950s.

Born in Tacoma, Washington, Rusty moved to Alaska at an early age when that U. S. territory (now a state) was a frontier. He homesteaded at Toonaklut, where he married, had children, acted as a guide, trapped and wrote magazine articles about some of his countless adventures.

This man became a legend in his own time. He forged a literary career that captivated kids like me in the 1950s, and he made adults yearn for a chance to hunt Alaska and experience some of the same experiences that Rusty wrote about.

His hair-raising prose may now seem a bit over the top, but in those years, such stories were the engines that helped drive outdoor magazines to success. They were easy to read, laced with wild adventure and filled with characters that only Alaska could produce.

He had a way with words. Annabel could describe a wilderness filled with majestic Dall sheep, ornery moose, dumbbell caribou and enraged grizzlies. As perfect as Annabel was at describing fishing, hunting, bear encountered and other animals at close range, his personal life was far from perfect.

At heart, Rusty was a man in love with the frontier life. After many years in Alaska, he left under a dark cloud, apparently one step ahead of the law. He rambled around Mexico, trying to pull together what remained of his life, and at the end he led a very frugal existence.

Annabel, a gifted writer with an imagination as big as Alaska, cadged stories from everywhere, and seemed to believe in the old adage: “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” His stories captivated sportsmen for many years, and he would often write one story a week from Toonaklut, and send them off by train to his New York agent to peddle to the outdoor magazines.

He created his own personal legend, which was a mix of myth and truth, and made a living for years digging into his memory for more story material. Each month, this tow-headed kid would read a Russell Annabel article and dream of Alaska, the land of the midnight sun. Many years passed before I hunted his beloved Alaska.

I never met Annabel but have read many of his stories and some put the taste of fear in my mouth as he climbed the mountains and fought for the life he wanted. A simple life of fishing, hunting, trapping and writing about his and others exploits.

This is a book that will keep a person up late at night, savoring each chapter like a glass of fine wine. Rusty Annabel’s legacy was his ability to write a good story, and keep the reader hanging on his every word. Return To Toonaklut gives us an in-depth look at the man, the legend, and his talent for writing good outdoor stories.

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