Unforgettable books..

[WalkingBird]

In addition, for me it was "My Side of the Mountain", and the Sackett series of Louis L'amour books, especially "To the Far Blue Mountains".

I grew up in NY, and the My Side of the Mountain series was awesome to me as a kid, and now even. My Grandfather had the whole collectors series of Louis L'Amour that he passed onto me. The Sacketts were legends in my eyes as a kid. My favorite of his though has gotta be Last of the Breed, I've made it a point to read that at least once a year, and have done so for the past 13 years, and I'm always engrossed in it from cover to cover!

The only "hunting" books I had as a kid were the old North American Hunting Club collections. I loved the one's about hunting the west and Alaska. Nowadays, I've been enjoying O'Connors works and whatever I can find online, especially the stories out of turn of the century Africa

 

[BluegrassBilly]

My well-broken in copy of...

...given to me by one of my first mentors, who was ironically taken by cancer a few years later. F*** cancer.

Anything by the mad farmer, but in...

... he wrote, "Some of the most memorable, and least regrettable, nights of my own youth were spent in coon hunting with farmers. There is no denying that these activities contributed to the economy of farm households, but a further fact is that they were pleasures; they were wilderness pleasures, not greatly different from the pleasures pursued by conservationists and wilderness lovers. As I was always aware, my friends the coon hunters were not motivated just by the wish to tree coons and listen to hounds and listen to each other, all of which were sufficiently attractive; they were coon hunters also because they wanted to be afoot in the woods at night. Most of the farmers I have known, and certainly the most interesting ones, have had the capacity to ramble about outdoors for the mere happiness of it, alert to the doings of the creatures, amused by the sight of a fox catching grasshoppers, or by the puzzle of wild tracks in the snow."

And not hunting related, but certainly inspired an awe of wilderness:

 

[mplane72]

I'm a big fan of Where the Red Fern Grows also Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. Also, read a lot of Lious L'amour, Sacketts stories were my favorite.

My elementary school had a whole collection of books by this guy. I red them all multiple times and they had a lot to do with me becoming a hunter, my dad doesn't. When the school closed I went back and bought them all and saved them for my boys.

 

[kmott]

not looking to die by bill sampson





stories of hunting in Montana with his father and later stories of his own hunts

 

[thusby]

Hemingway's Green Hills of Africa
Don't know how many times I have talked myself into, and back out of, an African safari as a result of that book.

 

[119bowhunter]

Books? You guys are dating yourselves. Growing up in a canoe and wanting to be a "forest ranger", early /mid 70's reading for me.....
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And a fascination with the Rockies and the old fur trade
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Scrolling through this thread and saw your picture of the cover of "Runes of the North" never heard of it or read it but it looked like the perfect reading material for my upcoming fly-in fishing trip in Ontario so I promptly hopped on ebay and have a copy on its way...just hoping it arrives before we leave!

 

[Focus]

Hemingway's Green Hills of Africa
Don't know how many times I have talked myself into, and back out of, an African safari as a result of that book.

So have you gone? if not, check that box sooner rather than later!!!

 

[Focus]

Rifleman's Handbook by Rick Jamison (1989). I hold him personally responsible for the .338 (since sold) and the .22-250 in my collection. This book came to me during a time when I was really curious about load develooment and implementation of certain cartridges on critters.

Hunting Trophy Deer by John Wooters (1977). I checked this book out from the library countless times when I was a teenager and his writing fanned the flames of my deer hunting obsession back then.

Point of Impact by Stephan Hunter (1993). This book might have influenced a 30-30 "Poodle Shooter" purchase around the time it was published (a cool Winchester M94 with beautiful wood and the 1894-1994 roll mark on the receiver). There are several other guns mentioned in the book that have passed through my hands over the years as well.

P.O. Ackley's reloading manuals. These books showed me that folks have been forming brass into different shapes and seeking the perfect cartridge way longer than I've been alive. Some day someone's going to invent a death ray that makes modern cartridges obsolete, but until then, we're stuck with a brass bottle of propellant capped off with a chunk of lead.

Use Enough Gun by Robert Ruark. Man it must have been some trip to hang out with Harry Selby for months in the African bush. And his wife (The Memsaab) sounds like a helluva woman! "Daaa-ling, hand me my martini before you go over there to whack that lion. And please don't get eaten....how will I explain it to the girls back at the country club?!".

 

[geetar]

Being from the East coast for me it was shots at whitetails Larry Kroller

Charles J. Alsheimer books were always good to me as an easterner as well.

 

[BlueMntCeltic]

For me, growing up and camping with family and the Boy Scouts in Colorado in the 50's & 60's the one book I read over and over and still have is Townsend Whelen's and Brad Angier's 'On Your Own in the Wilderness'. My Dad served in WWII in the Pacific, carried shrapnel in his legs the rest of his life and affected his ability to walk to a great degree. He was never able to take us hunting but we did have a Model 94 he picked up at our local hardware store, used. Back in those days the A & A Trading Post had a barrel of them for rent during deer season, it was one of those renters that he purchased. My brother received that when Dad passed away and I'm sure he's passed it on to his son's. Good memories though, we did lots of camping from April to October with the family and year round with the scouts. I was blessed with a troop that set up their camping calendar and we went, regardless of the weather. Good training in 'Being Prepared'.

 

[geetar]

Hemingway's Green Hills of Africa
Don't know how many times I have talked myself into, and back out of, an African safari as a result of that book.

The only part of my “ Literature “ course in Highschool I liked was Hemingway. It may have been that one. I remember him hunting a kudu bull.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

The only part of my “ Literature “ course in Highschool I liked was Hemingway. It may have been that one. I remember him hunting a kudu bull.

How did you not like Melville

 

[geetar]

How did you not like Melville

Idk Moby Dick just didn’t do it for me but then again I might like it now.

 

[VikingsGuy]

Animal Farm - remains true - somebody always wants to be the farmer even if all animals are equal.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Idk Moby Dick just didn’t do it for me but then again I might like it now.

This is a direct correlation between being able to enjoy moby dick and being able to kill elk

 

[BrentD]

This is a direct correlation between being able to enjoy moby dick and being able to kill elk

It is positive or negative? hmmm. me thinks negative, according to my last couple of elk hunts.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

It is positive or negative? hmmm. me thinks negative, according to my last couple of elk hunts.

Both require a lot of slogging, perseverance, a bit of masochism, and above all being able to stay sharp even when you are board to death because all the good bits come with little or no warning.

 

[BrentD]

Both require a lot of slogging, perseverance, a bit of masochism, and above all being able to stay sharp even when you are board to death because all the good bits come with little or no warning.

So true. So true, indeed.

 

[Elkmagnet]

How an ordinary man can go from never firing a shot at another human to mass murdering.
An extreme example of how situations influence who we become and what we are able to do.

 

[noharleyyet]

Both require a lot of slogging, perseverance, a bit of masochism, and above all being able to stay sharp even when you are board to death because all the good bits come with little or no warning.

Ishmael might agree, Queequeg, Ahab, & crew not so much.