Best Hunting Books You've Read

[Cycletroll]

"Cougar Killer" by J.C. Bruce.
The guy was an incredible woodsman and his bushcraft and understanding of animals is brilliant.

 

[Grousefeather]

best hunting books

I like upland hunting and have a respectable pile of books. I like Sheldon, the Tranquility series. Burt Spiller, best Grouse and Woodcock stories. Also, Gene Hill, and William Schaldach.

 

[jbkebert]

Another book that I have really enjoyed.

If you didn't bring jerky than what did I just eat.Bill Heavey

A collection of short stories from Bill. I enjoy his colums in F&S magazine.

 

[BADUNAME37]

Successful Handgun Hunting
by
Phil Johnston

This book is what got me interested in big-game hunting using only a handgun. When I first started, I had a .454 Casull. Now I have a 500 Magnum that I use regularly during black bear and deer season.

 

[Hopkins]

Havilah Babcock's "Education of Pretty Boy" and "my Health is Better in November"

 

[zeos]

not really a hunting book, so much as just and outdoors type book.



here is a documentary about the guy.

http://www.vbs.tv/watch/far-out--2#

 

[Tomcat47]

A Look At Life From A Deer Stand

This is a must have for the hunter (my opinion of course).

A Look At Life From A Deer Stand: "Hunting for the meaning of Life" by Steve Chapman

I have read some of the great titles posted here also.
Capstick, Patterson.... Legendary whitetails is awesome!

Notable mentions are also:
The Archers Bible - Fred Bear
Fred Bears Field Notes

One That I want to get soon: I Remember Papa Bear: The Untold Story of the Legendary Fred Bear Including His Secrets of Hunting by Dick Lattimer

There are some more that I can not shake out of the old file drawer, but they are stuck in my head....try to shake em out and come back to this one!

Great Thread! And dont pass up...A Look At Life From A Deer Stand...It is not a big book, and yeah it is on the spiritual side of things...but has even accompanied me into the woods on a hunt.....

 

[Sky]

Wilber Smith writes about South Africa and his books are not really what you would call hunting books. Usually boy meets girl loses girl and finds girl kinda stories however; almost all his stories have hunts and survival stories. In 1977 a British friend recommended his works to me and I have read all of his published works. Might be something to check into during your sentence err stay in N.Y. Wilber is one of the best story tellers I have ever read.

 

[MCgunner]

You might not like this one, but Aldo Leupold's "A Sand County Almanac" is the bible of outdoor ethics. It was quoted a lot when I was in college (wildlife and fisheries management), so I bought and read it. It's a wonderful book for the hunter, though not directly concerned with any form of hunting. He does talk about rabbit hunting on his place and such, but it's about ethics and caring for the land, that sort of thing. I don't know, it just struck a chord with me when I read it many years ago.

 

[langenc]

Capstick and Africian safaris--yes.

BUT no one mentioned "Hell I Was There" by Elmer Keith.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

The Still Hunter by Van Dyke. Although the guy used a .44-40 Winchester '73, his information on how to hunt deer is most excellent. I went from a 50/50 chance at seeing deer, to being able to creep well within 100 yards of them by applying what he teaches. My freezer is full of venison too.

LD

 

[northwoods99]

I just finished a great book Big Bucks, The Benoit Way. It so good I read it with out putting it down.

 

[erkman]

One of my favorites is Loaded for bear by Martin H. Greenberg. It has several stories in it.

 

[alexanderplatz]

I am currently in the middle of Hemingway's True at First Light and I think it is a great hunting book, and that every THR member who reads would enjoy it.

 

[Smokey in PHX]

Anything by Capstick, Ruark, Hemingway, and O'connor are good as mentioned. I also have a lot of Roosevelts books which are interesting - he was a tough guy in real life.

 

[Daveboone]

Another nod for Horn of the Hunter. Much more enjoyable than anything from Hemingway. Two other books: We Lived In The Arctic and We Liive in Alaska. I forget the authors name, but she and her husband spend several years after his discharge from the army bushwacking in Alaska primarily living off the land Wonderful reads. Another- sorry if I am a bit off on the title, Wolf Man of Alaska. The biography of Alaskas only wolf control officer in the first part of the 1900s through the 50s or so. Great tales of Alaska, and much more than just wolf tales.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

"...Anything by Capstick..." Absolutely. Death in the Long Grass, Return to the Long Grass, et al. The guy could spin a yarn. Likely in your local public library.
Your public library is usually a good source for hunting vicariously. Points for the use of a 5 syllable word too. snicker.
Jack O'Connor's, 'The Hunting Rifle' is a good read too. Not strictly hunting stories though. More about how assorted cartridges actually perform.

I'm reading Death in the Long Grass right now. It is a fantastici book and I am really savouring it. After the chaper about lions and eating people I'm now a bit scared (actually more than a bit - no sleeping in tents for me) of Africia.

 

[whetrock]

I personaly love the book the Modern Hunter Gatherer the methods described in the book are a bit primative but it sure did give me a deeper apreciation for modern firearms and hunting equipment which I feel a lot of us take for granted that being said I still believe there is a ton of usefull information in this book for the " off the grid " types.

 

[T.R.]

Narrow Escapes by Ben East. This is a collection of true stories of Americans and Canadians who were attacked by wild animals. Many bear tales with superb illustrations..

TR

 

[bjk7]

The Tiger

I highly recommend a book on the NYT bestsellers right now called The Tiger: A True Story of Vengance and Survival, by John Vaillant.

here's a link to a homepage for the book:

http://www.thetigerbook.com/

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

Short stories?

The late and great Douglas Mitchell used to write "The Back Page" for Field and Stream magazine. If you can find his articles someplace, wow.

 

[hank327]

"Hunter"

"Hunter" by John Alexander Hunter is a fantastic book. It's the autobiography of an African professional hunter's experiences in the early 20th century. I first read this book which I found in the local library when I was in junior high.

http://www.amazon.com/Hunter-John/dp/1571572430/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311655165&sr=1-1

 

[dmazur]

"The Hunting Rifle" by Jack O'Connor. I read this 40 years ago and it was inspiring. Now it is just a good read, as the material is somewhat dated.

Just about anything by Jack O'Connor is good to read.

And I also enjoyed Patrick McManus' various books, which are largely a compilation of short stories that appeared in hunting magazines. These are a rough mix of hunting, fishing, and growing up in rural America stories that strike a chord in many of us.

 

[T.R.]

True tales (non-fiction) of two brothers from Ohio. Their Dad and Mom died during the Great Depression so they collected their limited hunting & camping gear to head into the wilderness of Saskatchewan, Canada.

North to Cree Lake

Face the North Wind

Both books written by A. L. Karras

Good reading to you!!

TR