He Wrote On the Heart of the Boy
I had not come here to say good-bye — I already had, and I never would. The Last eleven miles of road were as I remembered. Even these many years later. Each mile — rutted, washed-out and overhung with cypress and oak — had always seemed to be the price we paid to...
Shadows on the Hills
It is at the edge of dark, that pandemonium erupts. One day, I want to shoot a buffalo. With paces between us, facing his dare. I want to know for once before I die, even if on the day I die, the tremble of doubt and the taste of fear. It is only just, before all I...
Hunting Clues
There's your clue! If you remember the odd comment about nearly everything a few years past, everyone was saying: “There’s your clue!” This comment came when folks everywhere would wonder what to do next or which road in life to take when a fork in the road appeared....
2022 Magnolia Speech School Clay Shoot
The 2022 Magnolia Speech School Clay Shoot was held October 20th at the Providence Hill Farm in Jackson, Mississippi — and Sporting Classics was a sponsor. This year, more than 200 shooters enjoyed morning and afternoon shoots leading to an evening party overlooking...
The Baby Toddles
I think a dog’s pleasure in scenting game is certainly as keen as our seeing it. How many birds do you think there are in it?” I asked Jake. “Forty if there’s one,” he said. I believed him; for Jack owed me nothing, and he is not a farmer. To a farmer — at least, to...
Leopard in Our Lap
I felt terrible. I could have prevented the whole thing if only I had killed the leopard when it charged. When our family of five set out on our hunting safari in Africa, we were prepared for a great adventure. Although we knew Africa could be a dangerous place, we...
The Bloody Side of Hunting
For me, this hunting season is becoming the season of cuts. If you think this piece will be about dead animals, read something else. The recent blood in hunting has been mine. From thorns to sharp rocks to barbed-wire fences, there are things in the hunting world that...
Last Buck at Charlie’s Place
My last buck — the last to date at Charlie’s and likely the last, though the unknown has yet to reach its terminus. Distraught. That definitive aptly portrayed the sentiments of both Neal and me. Current news, while not completely unexpected, put us on alert. Near two...
John Schoenherr Bold and Beyond
As both sportsman and art lover, my walls battle for either mounted heads or country scenes. Oddly, though, I own no wildlife art. Before visiting John Schoenherr I wasn't sure why. Now I am. Over the years, most wildlife has seemed partisan to me, as though the...
Why I Taught My Boys to be Hunters
It has always seemed to me that any man is a better man for being a hunter. 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...