Home Forums Birds & Dogs Upland Game Nick Sisley

Nick Sisley has died. He was one great Ruffed Grouse hunter, had some fine Bird Dogs, loved the shotgun and was a fair hand with the written word.

He worked in the mill, but wanted to be an Outdoor writer. So one day he quit the mill and started the journey and became successful with his words.

sorry to hear this, I enjoyed his writing.

I use to read his articles in the "Game News" all the time. I bet he had some good buddies at the Rainbow Bridge. RIP

He certainly was one of the best upland hunting writers of his time. He was fortunate to live in a time when grouse hunting in Pa. was special.

Nick and I would cross paths on occasion. He lived close by and before hunting we sometimes would be having breakfast in the same little diner. Then he at one time had a characteristic yellow truck. If you saw it parked, it was a wise move to take a second look at that cover.

Nick had a hip replacement but the Grouse woods called hard before it had set. However, out he went, which didn’t work out all that well for him.

And yes we had Grouse back then in numbers that today are nothing but a memory. 30 flush days were not all that rare.

He was a good man, friendly and knowledgeable in most things Grouse, Bird Dogs and shotguns.

Sad to see the demise of both Nick's writing and grouse hunting. Both left many of us with special memories. He certainly was an fine example of a life well-lived.

Nick was also a great shot on claybirds. Was lucky enough hunt with him a few times over the years (both for birds and big game, though not ruffed grouse) and also to whack away at Sporting Clays. A very good, funny and gracious man.

That’s a shame- may he Rest In Peace.

I wasn’t fortunate enough to read much of his writings but after reading this thread- I looked some articles up and they were all quite good. Made me remember when I liked outdoor mags a lot more, when there was a variety of articles from squirrel/bird hunting to African Safaris, now it seems like they are all about just killing monster whitetails, mulies, or elk.

I think I’ll go squirrel hunting this weekend for the good old days.

That is not a bad idea. Late season squirrel is a tough bet where I go, but it is not always about piling them up.

Rest in Peace Sir.

Nick wrote a book titled “Grouse Magic” which pretty much described the peak of Pa Ruffed Grouse hunting. If I remember correctly one of his best Grouse Dogs was named Magic. A nice touch is the autographed editions have a Grouse tail feather taped to the inside of the front cover.

When Pa Grouse took a dive, Nick adapted and hunted the World and wrote extensively about most of its Gamebirds and Waterfowl. In addition, I doubt if any other writer reviewed more shotguns than Nick. He pretty much shot them all. Bruce Buck may have topped him, but few others come close.

Yet he never abandoned his home grounds, in that it was not unusual to see him at any number of the local gun clubs shooting trap, skeet or Sporting Clays with the local crew.

Sorry to hear this...

Yeah, we all gotta go sometime, will miss his shotgunning articles, Mike McIntoshs, Bob Bristers, Bob Hagel writings, most of all Elmer K and Jeff Cooper. MB

battue-----Do you remember the other gun writer for the PA Game News? I think it was Don Lewis-----I really like his section..

Lewis was a gun writer. Loved to read his articles on hunting small game and groundhogs that he called pasture grizzlies. Two other great Game News editor/writers of the Sisley/Lewis era were Bob Bell who wrote a lot on upland hunting, especially pheasants, and Jim Bashline who wrote great articles on fly fishing, guns, and upland hunting. Bashline went on to become an editor for Outdoor Life and his wife, Sylvia, wrote game cooking articles and books. All these guys brought hunting to life on the written page long before the video "hunters" of today. Great memories!

Most certainly. For years he wrote the rifle column for that monthly Game Commission magazine.

Addition: Forgot, but as mentioned he was big into Groundhog hunting. Just looked him up to jog my memory and he also wrote columns for some of the precision rifle magazines of his time. He was from Armstrong Co where I do almost all of my Deer hunting.

Addition 2:
“Donald Lewis, 87, of East Franklin Township, passed away Friday, July 25, 2008, at Armstrong County Memorial Hospital. He was born June 8, 1921, in Apollo, son of the late McCurdy and Sarah k(Cousins) Lewis, formerly of Kittanning. He was an outdoor columnist for the Leader Times, gun editor for Pennsylvania Game News for 40 years, current writer for Varmint Hunter and Precision Shooting, annual columnist for Shooter's Bible, lifetime member and past president of Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association, guest columnist for state and national outdoor hunting magazines, lifetime member of National Riffle Association and author of Shooter's Corner. He retired from Ringgold Corp. in Kittanning after 37 years as credit manager. He served in World War II in the 42nd infantry division in the European Theater as master sergeant. He was an avid outdoorsman and ballistic expert.”

Lots of memories there... I have a bunch old articles by most of the guys mentioned.. Met Lewis and Bob Bell... Great fellows..

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