Hunting

In the first two parts (Part I, Part II) of this series we discussed why someone might read an old book about outdoor activities for the purposes of entertainment and for historical enlightenment.  In this final part of the series I will seek to explain the value of reading these old books for their intended purpose—to instill in the reader some practical knowledge of how to hunt, fish, shoot accurately, etc.

When originally published, these books were written by the foremost authorities on sporting activities and many of the books are still regarded today as the standard by which other books on the subject are judged.  Still, we must admit that fifty or more years is a long time and face the possibility of out-datedness head on.

Many modern hunters will eschew these books as hopelessly out of date and not worth reading because so much has changed in the last half century—heck, many of these books are so old as to predate the .223 Remington and .308 Winchester.  There is some merit to this way of thinking, after all, many of the companies discussed in these books are no longer in business and many of the rifles, cartridges, and other technology which were used in the 1950’s are out of production and impossible or impractical to find nowadays.  Furthermore, given the advance in technology over the years, the techniques and technology may no longer be the most efficient way of taking game or fish.  All of these statements notwithstanding, these books are still of immense value to the modern sportsman.

It is simple to overcome the issue of out of date information regarding what rifles and cartridges are available on the marketplace.  First of all, many of the guns you will read about in these books still exist in a modern form—for example, the Winchester Model 70, 1894, or 1886—or they can be found on the used market relatively easily.

And if that is not comforting enough, you can always use a little creativity in following the advice found in the books.  If Townsend Whelen suggests a modified Mauser military rifle for hunting in the backwoods, you can take a look at the Ruger Model 77, which is based on the Mauser action and retains many of the original features such as the claw extractor and the angled recoil lug.

The same goes for cartridges.  You will find that many of the writers suggest cartridges that are still readily available in today’s sporting goods stores, such as the 30-30, .375 H&H Magnum, .338 Winchester, and the venerable .30-06 Springfield.  And just as with rifles, if someone suggests a hard to find cartridge you can always find a modern equivalent that will offer comparable ballistics.

For example, if someone recommends the .300 H&H Magnum—which is still available, but maybe not readily so—you can substitute the .300 Winchester Magnum, or if Elmer Keith recommends his 334 OKH wildcat cartridge—which probably never saw use by many people outside of Keith’s own circle—you can substitute the .338 Winchester Magnum and get equal or better performance.

The point is this; even if some of the rifles and cartridges referred to in these books seems archaic, there is always a way to bring the information into the present.  And given that the authors of these books were esteemed for their expertise on these subjects, it seems prudent to try our best to bring this information into the 21^st Century.

Let us not also forget that some things don’t change when it comes to our preferred outdoor activities.  The best way to dress and pack out game hasn’t changed and likely never will until the day we all go into the wilderness in our own private helicopters.  The techniques for marksmanship which earned Col. Whelen and C. S. Landis national championships haven’t changed and anyone would be well served to follow their advice for hitting the bull’s-eye.  The laws of physics haven’t changed, and the tables for drop and wind drift of a .22 caliber bullet in Small Bore Rifle Shooting are still accurate to this day.

The best area to place your bullet, or look for game, or drop your lure also hasn’t changed.  While technology may have changed in the past fifty years, we can take comfort in the fact that the quarry has not.  If Edward Freeman made his hunting trips with a .38-55 Winchester Model 94 and dropped hundreds of deer in the Maine woods, you can be sure your .308 Winchester has the potency to take down a whitetail.  Hunters may have added camouflage, scent blockers, and range finders to their bag of tricks, but the animals have remained the same.

For all of the above reasons, classic sporting books still have a place in your library for their original intended purpose—to teach you how to bag your quarry or hit the bull’s-eye.  Good information is good information, regardless of when the words were put down on paper.  Much of the information in these books stands the test of time and requires nothing of you, other than to read it, for it to make your outdoor excursions more enjoyable and successful.  And whatever information has become outmoded due to advances of technology is easily transported into this century with just a modicum of creativity on the part of the reader.

And this is to say nothing of the man who prefers to take to the woods in the fashion of his father or grand-father and is steadfast in his commitment to tradition.  I know these people are out there.  People who wish to take the woods with wood stock and blued steel instead of synthetic and stainless; people who prefer wool, cotton, and leather to acrylic, polyester, and rayon; people who value patience and perseverance; and people whose foremost desire is to enjoy the outdoors and their time spent in it, rather than to simply get in, get their game, and get out.  For these sportsmen, books like this provide hours of enjoyment and a lifetime’s worth of valuable knowledge.

In the first part of this series we covered how classic books about the outdoors can stand the test of time purely for their entertainment value to readers, particularly the enjoyment that is can be had from the stories of hunting and fishing.

The second part of the series is similar to the first part, but instead of deriving enjoyment from stories of trophy elk or trout, the enjoyment comes from connecting to another time.  Granted, these books are not that old, ranging anywhere from fifty to one hundred years old, but to many people, it’s an era that holds a certain level of fascination.  Whether the fascination stems from learning how your father hunted, how your grandfather hunted, or remembering how you hunted as a youth, the fascination is undeniable and these books provide a way to learn about the history of hunting.

Some people are simply captivated by how things were done in the past, even if they have no intention of using those tools and techniques in their own sporting excursions.  For people like that, classic books about the outdoors are a goldmine of information.  Almost all of these books cover in great detail the tools used for the particular subject—rifles, cartridges, clothing, rods, reels, lures, tents, packs, etc.—so that one can get a complete picture of how hunting, fishing, or match shooting was done decades ago.

Examples of books of this kind are ample, the most notable being Wilderness Hunting and Wildcraft by Townsend Whelen, Keith’s Rifles for Large Game by Elmer Keith, and Rifle-Craft by C. S. Landis—currently the oldest book published we publish, dating from 1923.

One of the more unique books that comes to mind for its historical value is This Business of Exploring by Roy Chapman Andrews.  While this book is not about hunting or fishing or any other sportsman-like pursuit, it remains a fascinating account of a bygone era.  The book is about one of the expeditions of the author, a noted explorer, in his search for fossils and other artifacts in Mongolia in the late 1920’s.  In the book, Andrews writes of death, war, and groundbreaking discoveries in an age of scientific exploration which no longer exists.  Reading almost like the journal of a real-life Indiana Jones, Andrews’ book has tons of entertainment and historical significance.

Smith & Wesson Hand Guns by Walter Roper and Roy McHenry is a book written about the history of the Smith & Wesson Company from the founding of the company through World War II.  This particular book was written from the ground up as a historical account and has been used by Smith & Wesson collectors as a reference for decades, as the book contains a fair amount of detail on the changes to each Smith & Wesson model through the years.

Elmer Keith makes reference to Smith & Wesson Hand Guns many times in his own brief historical account of the revolver—which can be found in Sixguns—and Keith’s history of the revolver is itself a valuable reference work to firearms historians as a secondary source, since Keith personally interacted with Civil War veterans and other Old West survivors.

It is impossible to deny that these books are valuable to those of us who read books for their historical content.  From learning how things were done by a prior generation, to learning about the founding of a company and the technological advancements of firearms, these books have it covered.

In the final part of this series we will discuss the practical value of classic sporting books.