A Really Good Book of Short Stories

[Hatrick]

Anyone looking for a good bowhunting book should consider "Just Another Old Bowhunter" by Tom Kidwell. The subtitle, A Bowhunter's Journey Through Life, gives you a snap shot of what to expect. Tom talks about his bowhunting adventures and puts the true emphasis of the hunt on his relationship with friends, family, outfitters, the land, and the quarry he's hunting. This is not a book about how to, or how I, killed the big one. It's simply a man telling of his love of the stick and string and how it has been such an influence and big part of his life.

It's now available through 3 Rivers if anyone is interested in a good read.

I should mention that I did not see it listed in the new catalog but it is avaialable on line.

[mcgroundstalker]

Should be an interesting read. Thank you.

... mike ...

[Killdeer]

Very good read! I got a copy at ATAR last year. On the way home, I stopped around the corner from my hunting camp and pitched the tent for the night. Just me and the dog, get some rest and dry out the tent.

I cracked open the book and read for a while, and when it got dark I moved inside and lit the lantern. The coyotes started singing a couple hundred yards away, and I flipped the page to a new chapter. It was all about hunting in the county that I have been hunting for over twenty years! I felt like I had come home and was talking to an old friend.

It's the kind of book that makes me stay up too late and burn too much propane.  
Killdeer  

[Hatrick]

Yeah, Killy. It didn't take long to finish the book.

I met Tom in June this past year at Compton's. I'm just sorry I hadn't read the book before I met him.

[grouseshooter002]

Guys,
    That's another one to put on my must have list. Boy, I'm going to be some tired before I finish all the books I wish to read and broke too boot.

Rick

[paleFace]

really enjoyed Tom's book.  of course as Killy said Tom hunted a lot here in Virginia so I can relate to many of his stories.  Regardless it's a great read and well worth the pennies. I think I read cover to cover in about 4 days. I think Killy's reading environment was much better than mine, i just flipped the switch.

[GMMAT]

Thanks for the heads-up.

In return, I'll give you one.  I don't know the author's name (as I've already passed my copy along).  But, the name of the book is (pretty sure) 'What a Hunter Brings Home'.

Absolutely changed the way I look at what I do......and made my switch to full-time trad. more enjoyable.

[Jeff D. Holchin]

Thanks for the tip, I'll look for this book.

GMMAT, the author of the great book you mentioned is Steve Chapman, who has several other books that feature a Christian view of hunting, such as "A look at life from a deer stand".  He is an avid bowhunter who loves to chase deer, and his books are small enough to easily fit into the hunting pack for some quality reading while hunting.  His books are cheap too, as I've picked up several for less than $5.

[Hatrick]

GMMAT and Jeff, thanks for the tip on Steve Chapman's books. I'll check out Amazon to see if they're available.

[Ray Hammond]

I know this isn't a hunting book, per se, but a gentleman I came to know wrote what I believe is one of the finest short stories on the subject of trout fishing ever written.

Jack Gilchrist was a died -in- the- wool newspaper man here in GA, and speech writer and aide for many of our  governors during the 50's, 60's, and 70's .

Jack was a recurve and longbow shooter and lived in the little town of Ellaville, GA. He wrote with such clarity and had such a thrifty use of words that reading it took my breath away- and to read a story written by someone I knew, but obviously not well enough-after he had been my acquaintance for some time- was very surreal.

It's contained in a book called "Fishing's Best Short Stories"- twenty-five memorable stories from the mid-19th to the 20th century from some of the most popular and respected writers which truly capture the spirit of the sport.

The contributors include Stephen King, P.J. O'Rourke, Guy De Maupassant, Robert Traver, Joyce Renwick, Henry van Dyke, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, E. Annie Proulx, Thomas McGuane, Philip Wyle, John Taintor Foote, Bob Shacochis, Stephen Vincent Bent, Jack Gilchrist, Bob Shcochis, Robert Traver, Elmer Ransom, Geoffrey Norman, Weldon Stone, Jason Lucas, Edwin L. Peterson, Roland Pertwee, Paul Hyde Bonner, Warren Gibson, and Sparse Grey Hackle.  

It's still one of the greatest outdoor stories I've personally read, and though bittersweet, every year or so I pull it down from the shelf ,grab a glass of something and think about my buddy Jack- his wife's grand bbq chicken, the quiet calm of his home, and his love of hunting with the bow, which came to him way too late in life.

I believe shortly after Jack's wife passed he went into a nursing home, and is enduring the latter stages of Alzheimer's.

I recommend this book greatly to anyone who has  the spirit of the outdoors in their heart.

[StanM]

Sounds like a great read, Ray.  I think you might also like "The Earth is Enough, growing up in a world of fly-fishing, trout and old men" by Harry Middleton.