Outdoor Hunting

The Shotgun Conservationist doesn’t teach us how to hunt, it explores why we should hunt. As public lands remain imperiled, factory farms pollute the earth and subject animals to inhumane conditions, and global uncertainty presses us all to be more self-sufficient, there has never been a better time to take up hunting. Writer, natural historian, and public speaker Brant MacDuff has done just that. An avid animal lover and raised as a non-hunter, MacDuff started his journey intending to investigate the claim that “hunting is conservation.”

In 2022 I drew one of Colorado’s coveted Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep hunting permits. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I knew little to nothing about hunting Bighorn sheep, or the high alpine country they inhabit. Knowing that I was unprepared, I solicited the help of a couple of friends to join me. This is the story of what it took to get there and what happened when we did. Through triumph and loss, I got a better understanding of one of the animals that are one of America’s conservation success stories.

George Bird Evans is a man to whom upland shooting has been a way of life for 50 years, and his book is both a creed for shooters and a fascinating sharing of the experiences of a true specialist. It is not a book for meat hunters (although possession of the game means as much to the author as to the next man), rather it is a book, half "how-to," half anecdotal and philosophical, that reveals in rich and intimate detail the unity that makes upland shooting that triad of bird-dog-gun in which no part is complete without the others.

Often just one tip or tactic makes the difference in whether you take an elk home to dinner or have to hike back to the truck by yourself. In John E. Phillips’ latest elk book, Elk: Keys to 25 Hunters’ Success, you’ll learn from successful elk hunters the strategies they use to find and take elk.

Few books have captured the haunting world of music and rivers and of the sport they provide as well as A River Never Sleeps. Roderick L. Haig-Brown writes of fishing not just as a sport, but also as an art. He knows moving water and the life within it - its subtlest mysteries and perpetual delights. He is a man who knows fish lore as few people ever will, and the legends and history of a great sport. Month by month, he takes you from river to river, down at last to the saltwater and the sea.

Proving that fishing is not just a part-time pursuit, At the Grave of the Unknown Fisherman takes us through a year with America's favorite fishing scribe, John Gierach, who dedicates himself to his passion despite his belief that "In the long run, fishing usually amounts to a lifetime of pratfalls punctuated by rare moments of perfection."

A little over 100 years ago, East Africa was terra incognita to most whites: a land largely unmapped, sparsely settled by Europeans, and teeming with wildlife. It was the hunter-adventurer's paradise, and by the early 20th century, a small, lionhearted clan of explorers and big-game hunters began leading safaris there for money.

Anyone who tells you that he or she knows everything there is to know about hunting elk will lie to you about something else. That’s why I’ve written this book, Elk: Keys to 23 More Hunters’ Success, and included more information to follow my highly-successful earlier book, Elk: Keys to 25 Hunters’ Success. The first two men in this new book, Ronnie Strickland and Will Primos, have a combined total of 78 years of elk hunting experience, often calling in several bulls in numerous states for other hunters each year. Not all these bulls have been taken.

Whether debating bamboo versus graphite rods, describing the pleasure of fishing in pocket waters or during a spring snow in the mountains, or recounting a trip in pursuit of the "fascinatingly ugly" longnose gar, Gierach understands that fly-fishing is more than a sport. It's a way of life in which patience is (mostly) rewarded, the rhythms of the natural world are appreciated, and the search for the perfect rod or ideal stream is never ending.

Whether it’s a rabbit, a deer, or something even bigger, nothing is more exciting than the thrill of the hunt. This is especially true when your weapon requires the skill and precision of a bow and arrow.

If you are a neophyte hunter and this is your first time to traverse mountainous areas, icy forests, or grassy plains, search no further because I will cover all the pertinent information that you need to find the best game in your area. In The Great Hunt for Beginners, you will learn about useful tips and tricks.

J. W. Schultz (1859-1947) was an author, explorer, and historian who lived among the Blackfeet as a fur trader. In his famous book Rising Wolf, Schultz tells the story of Hugh Monroe who came to the Blackfoot country when he was 16 and was adopted into the Blackfeet tribe. He accompanied war parties, took part in buffalo hunts, and helped to make peace between the Crows and Blackfeet.

Originally published in 1994, this book was a fly-fishing phenomenon in the way Howell Raines' Fly Fishing Through the Mid-Life Crisis was. Taking his fishing hobby to near metaphysical levels, Ted Leeson tells about his passions: rivers, trout, and fly fishing. With wry humor and rare insight, he explores questions that engage most fishermen: What is it about rivers that draws us so irresistibly, and why does fly fishing seem such an aptly suited response?

New England Grouse Shooting is one of the foundations of modern grouse hunting literature. Author and famous artist William Harnden Foster is considered one of the timeless authorities on grouse shooting, and this book stands as a testament to that knowledge. From the days of market hunting and hammer shotguns to the modern era of pointing dogs and the invention of skeet shooting, this book is a must-listen for any serious ruffed grouse hunter.

From trout to carp and catfish to bonefish, the tips in Fishing for Dummies (3rd Edition) help anglers prepare for what awaits beyond the shore. Featuring new and updated content on kayak fishing, advanced sonar equipment, GPS, and technology integration, this revised edition delivers the latest and greatest in fishing enjoyment and how-to. Listeners will discover how to choose the right gear, the right spots, and the right times for fishing.

You’re perched in a tree stand when a huge whitetail walks below you. You raise your gun to aim. Do you have what it takes to bag this trophy buck? Now is your chance to learn what you need to know about deer hunting history, gear, techniques, safety, and more.

You’re hunting in the woods when a prize gobbler struts into a clearing. You raise your gun to aim. Do you have what it takes to bag this trophy turkey? Now is your chance to learn what you need to know about turkey hunting history, gear, techniques, safety, and more.

Brilliant, witty, perceptive essays about fly-fishing, the natural world, and life in general by the acknowledged master of fishing writers.

A fourth-generation fisherman, Jake Anderson, grew up in the rich fishing environment of Anacortes, Washington. At age 17, Jake began salmon fishing in Bristol Bay, Alaska, and by the age of 25 he was crab fishing in the Bering Sea. Soon after, Jake became a deckhand on the F/V Northwestern and joined the popular television series Deadliest Catch. Aside from fishing, Jake has a harrowing story that has yet to be told. As an avid skateboarder, Jake aspired to become a professional until he was sidelined by injury, addiction, and homelessness.

Paradise, Gierach shows us, is relative; it can be found in the guilty luxury of fishing private waters or when one is soaked to the skin, in a small canoe on a big lake in a storm a hundred miles from anywhere, exhilarated after a day's fishing. There are also pleasures to be found in unexpected places: solitary fishing trips, fishing for less-appreciated fish like carp, or meeting a guide who at first seems like an inarticulate ax murderer but who proves to be a "Zen master among fishing guides."