Books on Firearms and Hunting

[lowerunit411]

Help me out here fellas...i have a kid (25) who works for me who came from a non shooting/hunting family. Last year i helped him pick his first gun...Marlin 60. He has become pretty proficient and has an interest in hunting and shooting sports beyond the .22 Id like to buy him a book about hunting for Christmas. I have a nice library of hunting books but honestly most of them are "vintage"...not sure they would appeal to a younger guy...whats out there thats more contemporary than Teddy Roosevelt that a young man would appretiate? Thanks in advance!

 

[Sheepdog1968]

Jeff Cooper books are excellent (his prose is very well done). Some have a hunting focus. I don't have any specific title to reccomend but a quick google search (many of the books can be bought through Gunsite) should help give you titles and subject matter.

 

[Ringolevio]

Hear, hear on Jeff Cooper!

The definitive Jeff Cooper volume is "To Ride, Shoot Straight, and Speak the Truth". It covers hunting and a whole lot more. I wish someone had given it to me when I was 25 (although that would have been impossible; in 1998, the year it was copyrighted, I was already 50).

You might want to also give the young man Col. Cooper's "The Art of the Rifle" as a companion piece. Either, or both, will make for an enriching and memorable gift.

I would also recommend "Use Enough Gun" by Robert Ruark, a writer and big-game hunter who in many ways patterned himself after Ernest Hemingway. This book is billed as "A man's education as a hunter".

None of these books is "contemporary", in that they were all written 'way back in the 20th Century! But a classic is a classic.

Cheers, "Ringolevio"

 

[dampoo]

Here is where a purchase most of my books.

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=Jeff+Cooper&kn=hunting&sts=t&x=55&y=9

 

[wlewisiii]

Keith instead of Cooper. Much more real world and better advice for hunting. Plus it will teach him the virtue of a six gun in this modern world.

 

[Onmilo]

Don't forget a Gun Digest.
Lots of good articles, very good catalog section.
Receiving a Gun Digest as a Christmas gift cemented my interest in firearms for the rest of my life!

 

[mnrivrat]

NRA membership with American Hunter Magazine .

 

[Bubba613]

Shocking that no one has mentioned Jack O'Connor Complete Rifle Book or similar. O'Connor was the dean of outdoor writers until the 1970s. Today he is sadly remembered only as "the 270 guy", if at all.

 

[Davek1977]

"The Art of Hunting" by Norman Strung has a lot of info for a newbie hunter, covering all aspects of hunting, from preparation to the table. In fact, now that i'm reminded of it, I have to hunt down my copy so I can pass it on to my nephews!

 

[lowerunit411]

Great ideas...thank you all

 

[CoRoMo]

One of Capstick's books. Modern enough for the kid, and over the top entertaining. I love those books.

 

[bangaway]

Tell him about the library. They can order inter-library loan books from across the country. A lot of the books listed so far are hard to buy. Capstick is easiest to buy and great to read. Death in the Long Grass was my first read. Good choice. Hemingway? Hunting videos? These are nice as you can see country, how tough it is transverse etc. If he has never hunted it would be hard to imagine what is being read. Have fun and bangaway.

 

[22-rimfire]

I would suggest you visit a local Barnes & Noble or Books-A-Million and browse the appropriate section of the store. There are lots of good books on hunting. The old ones are still relevant, but the calibers mentioned may not have as much relevance today especially to a younger person. Hunting techniques have not changed much.

A potentially even bigger present is to take them hunting and do it together. You can provide the firearms the first time and let them shoot a bit to get comfortable with the rifle.

I also have a young guy who works for me who is budding into a young man with interests in firearms and blades. I'm thinking of getting him a similar kind of Christmas present. I will probably go with blades in his case.

 

[Clipper]

Not a gun book, but a hunting book that inspired me as a young man was A Sporting Chance. Hunting ducks with a boomerang. gophers with a blowgun, and his use of a cheetah, ferrets and toads for taking game and varmints was fascinating.