Black Bear Hunting, Richard P. Smith
daverichey February 4th, 2008
TITLE: Black Bear Hunting
AUTHOR: Richard P. Smith
PUBLISHER: Stackpole Books
CONTACT:
Stackpole Books
5067 Ritter Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
PHONE: (800) 732-3660
WEBSITE: Stackpole Books
COST: $32.95
ISBN: 978-0-8117-0269-0
This hardcover book on hunting black bears takes me back many years to a time when Stackpole Books asked me to do a bear book, and I had three books of my own to write, so I introduced Rich Smith to the editor. So Smith did his first book … also on bears. He writes extremely well on the topic because he is around bruins a great deal of the time.
I’ve shot numerous bears while hunting with the author, and we’ve been friends for over 30 years. I’ve hunted black bear in many other places around North America, have killed many animals, and Smith is the most knowledgeable authority on bear hunting I know.
His new book is jam-packed with great information on bears. One section that particularly appeals to me was how he judges the skull of a big record-book bruin before shooting. He covers all the details, and as he writes “it’s in the ears.” The ears, the distance between them, and distance from the ears to the nose, makes it a big bear. If the animal looks like it’s wearing a Mickey Mouse cap with big ears, it’s a small bruin.
Smith has forgotten more about hunting black bears than most people will ever learn. And what he forgot to put into this book isn’t worth the space it would take. This book is a graduate degree on bear hunting!
