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OP
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Joined: Jul 2001
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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I have read most of his hunting books, and can recommend Hunting Trips of a Ranchman, The Wilderness Hunter, African Game Trails and Through The Brazilian Wilderness.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
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Joined: Oct 2002
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Campfire Outfitter
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OP
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Going to order a few of them. Were they generally fictions or were some of them based on his experiences?
Last edited by rickt300; 04/07/21.
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Almost completely Roosevelt's first hand experience. I would recommend the same ones MD did and have read most of them more than once.
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I've read a couple of his hunting books. Very enjoyable to read, hunting trips of a ranchman was my favorite.
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Joined: Jul 2001
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
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One of the little-known aspects of TR's life is that he made more money writing than in any of his other jobs.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
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Joined: Oct 2010
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Campfire Regular
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I have Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail. It's a good book.
Apparently Teddy was an enthusiastic, but not particularly skillful, marksman, and loved to hunt. His vision did not help, and he readily admits his mediocrity with his rifles.
Last edited by gaperry59; 04/07/21.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2013
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It’s been a while, but I seem to recall that like Howard Hill, if he could see it, it was “in range”. I have a couple or three, including the one where he goes after the panda. I’m apparently saving them for my old age. Mine were picked up in flea markets and such.
Pretty much all of the old hunting books are available as e-books from sites like archive.org, which is good because the old hard-copies can be pretty fragile. If you have a choice, get the scanned versions as opposed to the OCR, which can have “issues”. The scanned ones often have “character” in the form of the original owners’ names, bookplates, etc.
What fresh Hell is this?
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Have read a couple of them. Entertaining, and a glimpse at a lifestyle that is long gone.
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Joined: Dec 2005
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Campfire Outfitter
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Good reads. He gets a little verbose at times, but good historically
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: May 2002
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I used to have set of all his books, great reading. It was like he was there talking to you. My ex-wifes uncle gave them to me and after the divorce she asked if she could have them back and 19 yrs later I gave them back. I said I get them back to her when I was done with them.
After the first shot the rest are just noise.
Make mine a Minaska
Heaven has walls and rules, H-ll has open borders
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Joined: May 2005
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: May 2005
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I have Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail. It's a good book.
Apparently Teddy was an enthusiastic, but not particularly skillful, marksman, and loved to hunt. His vision did not help, and he readily admits his mediocrity with his rifles. No, I'm not a good shot, but I shoot often. Theodore Roosevelt
His writing is excellent, and all first hand, but it's very much written in the style of the day and tends to be less readable than modern works. Still worth the effort.
If something on the internet makes you angry the odds are you're being manipulated
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Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 3,529
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Sep 2005
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I have a set of his books and enjoy reading them.
“Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for the forest and fields in which you walk. Immerse yourself in the outdoor experience. It will cleanse your soul and make you a better person” -Fred Bear
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2001
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I've read his Africa and Montana hunting/ranching works. A well schooled writer extremely proficient at setting the scenes. Interesting, but certainly different ethics compared to today's sportsmen. Seems if he could see them, they were in range. Being essentially blind in his left eye, I suspect his range estimation skills were a bit wanting.
1Minute
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I've read a few of his books but did not enjoy them as much as many have reported. Like stated above, I found TR to be somewhat verbose and I would find I was forcing my way through until I couldn't take it anymore, then that title would sit for awhile until I gathered up the courage to continue on. The titles that I read were interesting snapshots of life in that time period but as enjoyable reads I prefer other authors. On a side note, we visited TRNP a few summers ago and it was nice to put Hunting Trips of a Ranchman in a proper perspective. It is hard to imagine setting off with a wagon in that country in search of enough meat to provide for the ranch hands. I had also never heard of hydrophobia until I realized what we call it today - damn skunks! Literary skills and questionable shooting aside, his establishment of the National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges greatly helped to bring conservation consciousness to be an acceptable attitude for the sporting public.
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Read hunting trip of a ranchman. Like someone else said, not the most readable prose. Interesting historically and because of who he Was. But he weren't no Ruark or O'Connor.
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I always have "Outdoor Pastimes of an American Hunter" nearby. Great stories for when you just want to flip through and find a read without getting into a full blown book.
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I have read several; Outdoor Pastimes of an American Hunter, The Wilderness Hunter, Hunting Trips of a Ranchman, and The Winning of the West. I enjoy the first hand account stories and the details about the animals and places. If you are already interested in the outdoors and hunting, I would recommend reading any of his works on those subjects. Like others have said, he wasn't the best writer but he was able to hold my attention cover to cover.
Last edited by Centennial; 04/09/21.
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He talks of a possible violent Bigfoot encounter told by his trapper I believe. I really like his books. Imagine leaving on safari as president. I think his rough rider stories are the best
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