Pa’tridge Fever
The proper hunting man experiences a special reverence for grouse country.
Why I Stand with Ducks Unlimited
A mallard dropping through flooded timber is a pretty good argument for getting out of bed at four in the morning. So is a Labrador trembling beside you, convinced that you are the only thing standing between her and the greatest day of her life. In those moments, I’m...
The Old Maid
Good covey dogs are, as Lincoln said of Civil War generals, “as plenty as blackberries.” Hardy, spirited rangers that will put up whatever there is to be put up and give you your money’s worth day in and day out. That is, in good bird country. But if you are ever...
Autumn’s Greatest Hits: My Favorite Upland Bird Hunts
Choosing a favorite upland bird hunt is like choosing a favorite dog. You may have an answer, but it is probably best not to say it too loudly within earshot of the others. Besides, upland hunting was never meant to be ranked. Its pleasures are too varied, its birds...
Death of the Red-Winged Mallard
A classic Story from 1900 by H.S. Canfield. It took Robert Lee Briggs five years, working off and on, to slay the red-winged mallard. The pursuit got to be so much of a passion with him that it hurt his business, for he was a market-hunter on the southwestern coast of...
Aim of the Hunterman
Pitted with rust and powder-scalds, the old musket would explode with a roar that sounded like the crack of doom. And now, in the dusky hands of the Hunterman, it was all that stood between life and a terrible death. The negroes in the golden-wide ricefield, as they...
Why I Taught My Boys to be Hunters
I have said that my hunting has often been solitary; but that was chiefly in the early days. During the last 25 years, I have rarely taken to the woods and fields in the shooting season without having one or more of my own sons with me. Few human relationships are...
Nothing To Do for Three Weeks
He was a pine knot millionaire—hunting partridge on the tote roads and ducks on the lake, catching big crappies and trout in the rivers, gathering blueberries for food and pine knots for the fire, all work fit for a king. I left long before daylight, alone but not...
Down in the Bend With Riley
The eloquent writings of Nash Buckingham (1880-1971) were relatively unknown until Derrydale Press published several of his books in the 1930s. But “Mr. Buck,” as he came to be known to his legions of devoted readers, had been writing magazine articles for years. This...
The Sport of Kings on the Yorkshire Moors
The incomparable electricity of driven grouse. Some sporting destinations allow success to be manufactured to some degree. Pheasants and red-legged partridges can be reared and released. Fish can be stocked. Habitat can be improved, predators controlled, and...