At the 2011 SHOT Show this year, while waiting on the bus to take us to the range day, I was struck by the number of taciturn, and even downright grumpy, folks standing with me in the queue. I know, it was still fairly early on a Monday morning in Las Vegas. A lot of these folks had been out late, probably partaking of the “free” beverages at the tables. An 06:00 wake-up just to stand outside in the cold to wait for a bus with a bunch of strangers was not likely their idea of fun.
At any rate, I struck up a conversation with a fellow who seemed less grouchy than the rest. He immediately handed me his card. William Hovey Smith was his name, and it took a moment for it to register. I’d seen a couple of his books last year, but never got a chance to read them. Mr. Smith was not a retiring wallflower, by any stretch of the imagination. He was quick to let me know who he was and what he did, and just as quick to query me about what I do.
When he found out I wrote a blog instead of working for a major publisher or magazine, I thought he’d blow me off. That happens a lot at SHOT, where the industry is only now recognizing the full impact of the Internet. Smith didn’t miss a beat, though, and before I knew it, he’d taken my card and promised to send me a copy of his latest for review.
And so, a week or two ago, I received a copy of Backyard Deer Hunting, Converting Deer to Dinner for Pennies a Pound. The timing couldn’t have been better, as my day job has had me on the road a lot of late. I’d have plenty of time for reading.
As it turns out, I didn’t really need a lot of time. The book went quickly, written as it was in Smith’s homey, plain-language. On a two-hour flight to Spokane I flew through the majority of the 271 pages. I finished the book on the return flight, and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
In a nutshell, Backyard Deer Hunting is a guide to the budget-conscious hunter who wants to feed a family in a healthy and economical way. As Smith writes in his Forward:
This book is not about looking good, owning fancy gear, impressing anyone, or putting trophy heads on the wall. This book is about killing deer, wild hogs, bears, and other meats-on-the-hoof, and eating them.
He stays true to this theme throughout, encouraging the reader to use equipment at hand to the point of dumpster-diving for gear and clothing, sharpening up grandma’s old kitchen knives, and even to the recovery and processing of roadkill (where legal). The point is, you can get into hunting for big game without spending a fortune on gear. Under the right circumstances, you really can hunt, kill, and process big game for a few cents per pound.
Dunno if you can tell, but I liked this book. Smith really breaks it down to basics, cutting through the marketing hype and getting back to the important things. You don’t need the latest camo patterns, the $200 knives, or even the super-whiz-bang magnum rifle. According to the book, all anyone really needs is a .22 long-rifle and a 12ga shotgun. With these guns and a sharp knife, you can hunt, process, and eat pretty much anything from squirrels and birds to deer, hogs, or bear.
His tone and language are enjoyable as well. Some folks will find that he comes across a little coarse, but it’s an honest voice. He doesn’t pull punches, but he doesn’t go out of his way to present an ersatz hominess either. When I was reading the book, I felt like Smith was just trying to lay it out as plainly as possible. It isn’t always pretty, but it’s clear. When you finish reading, you get the message.
If anything put me off on the book, it would be that Smith could really have used a good copy editor. There were several instances of misused words where it’s pretty evident that the editors relied on spellcheck program instead of a human reader. This kind of error in a published work is a real irritation for me because it’s so unnecessary. Unfortunately, it’s also a reflection of the plight of publishing in the age of blogs and social media. It seems like no one has the time or patience to get it right these days… and what I think is worse, is that many people don’t seem to care.
I’ll pull back on the reins here, before I take off down the trail with my personal diatribe against the laziness and de-evolution of our written language. This is supposed to be a book review. So…
Despite the sin of weak editing, the book is still an excellent read and could be a real asset to newer hunters who may be intimidated by the pricy stuff they see advertised on TV or in the magazines. The information it provides outweighs the detraction of little errors. There’s plenty here that would pertain to experienced hunters as well, particularly when it gets down to meat preparation and cooking.
Would I buy the book myself? Honestly, I don’t generally buy how-to books so I probably wouldn’t. It’s not the kind of thing I read in my free time. But knowing the content, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the book to someone looking for good instruction on the basics of hunting. It accomplishes the goal Smith sets out in his forward, and there’s not much more you could ask of any author.
Beastslayer
Phil,
Actually, I’m commenting more on the title “Backyard Hunting…” rather than the full subject matter of the book itself.
I would tend to think, reading the latest stats on the dwindling numbers of hunters from DFG publication, that the cause of this decline is that there is no longer any backyard hunting. That hunting has turned into expensive hobby or a chore to find a good hunting spot.
Well, I was once assigned for four years in corporate community in the middle of a wilderness where, if I want to go hunting, even right between taking off from work at 5 pm and sundown, I just pick up my rifle and do my hunts.
Lately, I discovered that right here in SoCal, I can be in my favorite hunting grounds in 45 minutes and can have the option to camp out or go back sleeping in my warm beds and be back the following day before sunrise to resume my hunting. With this discovery, my time in the woods was actually more frequent that the week-end limited hunts in places like Fort Hunter Liggett.
But just late last year, I saw a few cottontails and some chukar right at my backyard. I inquired around if I can hunt in that unfenced area. Not a few people warned me about shooting within city limits, city regulations, etc. I researched and found no such prohibitions. But as soon as I start to walk my dog scouting a helicopter hovered over me with an unmistakable message: that my truck, my dog and myself is not supposed to be there.