Beard Beauty
Turkey beards are a meaningful memento of success in the field—one with the potential to provide ongoing pleasure limited only by your creativity. There is a pronounced tendency among turkey hunters to consider the length and thickness of a turkey’s beard the ultimate...
Joseph Thomson: Mystery Man of Africa
Over the course of the 19th century, phenomenon sometimes referred to as “the opening up of Africa,” hunters and explorers, along with a solid sprinkling of traders, were in the forefront. They pioneered the way into the interior and their tales of grand adventures,...
Remembering Grandpa Joe
I flat-out worshiped Grandpa Joe. His folksy wisdom, the wonderful times I enjoyed in his company as a youngster, and what he taught me when it came to living close to the good earth endeared him to me. He died a half century ago, and in fairness and from hindsight, I...
Samuel “Baker of the Nile”
In autumn 1858, on a beautiful day in the Scottish Highlands, a remarkable sporting feat that would be recounted innumerable times until passing into legend, occurred. During dinner the previous evening at the Duke of Atholl’s estate, Sam Baker, recently returned to...
Preserving Turkey Memories
A delightfully different approach.
Of Catfish and a Smelly Old Codger
To a starry-eyed boy enchanted by anything connected with hunting or fishing, his knowledge of the river had a mysterious, almost magical quality about it.
Mollygrubs And The Birds And Bees
Similar to pretty much any teenage boy in the time around the onset of puberty, Mollygrubs Messer talked with his buddies about the birds and bees, bragged of planned sexual conquests, boasted around backcountry campfires of upcoming plans to date some “hot chick”...
Elgin Gates: A Legendary Big Game Hunter
Mention the word “legendary” in connection with big game hunters and hunting literature, and thoughts of most serious readers likely turn in one of two distinct directions. Most will look back to the wealth of books produced by the pioneers who sampled and savored the...