Buying old turkey hunting books

Unique, Rare and Hard-to-Find books are what Scoop’s Books deals in: looking for and For Sale. Contact us today to Buy or Sell. photos by Dave Richey

I spent just enough time outdoors today to go to the doctor, say hello to my neighbor and bask in the warming breezes. I’m trying to work some nasty knots out of my back, and it’s not working very well.

At 45 degrees, the weather seems almost balmy. I spent some time arranging and rearranging books that will be for sale on my Scoop’s Books website. Some titles are once-in-a-lifetime acquisitions for any sportsmen and some are moderately priced. I may have a new address for my new book website soon. I hope to have 1,000 or more fishing and hunting books up very soon.

These fishing and hunting books are meant to provide two specific things for book buyers: education and information.

I also am placing some books on eBay for auction purposes. Feel free to check them out.

I want to buy your old turkey hunting & duck decoy books

It’s obvious that not all sportsmen like to read books, and that is OK. They just don’t know what they are missing. There are so many fine fishing and hunting books available and listed on Scoop’s Books. Find a book cover that interests you, and email me at the above email address to see if the book is still available.

A hunter might ask: why buy a book on deer hunting? I already know how to deer hunt. Good question but a poor answer. Anyone who doesn’t study deer regularly will know something about hunting these animals, but won’t know enough about how to hunt them when the going gets tough.

It’s the same with turkey hunting books. I buy as money as I can afford for my collection, and still need some others. If you have any turkey titles, and might consider selling them, send me a list of the book titles and the author’s name, and I’ll get with you soon.

Lots of people can cast a fly, but there are countless books available that can help with casting more accurately but also can teach us how to read the river, determine which insect is hatching, and which patterns will help fool the fish. Nothing is ever guaranteed except paying taxes until you die, but reading can broaden your horizons and help people learn new skills.

I’m constantly looking for fishing or hunting books to buy. I need to buy books in order to sell books, and I’m picky about condition but pay fair prices. So just what am I looking for and hope to buy from you?

I’m primarily interested in turkey hunting titles now. The scarcer they are, the better. Common turkey hunting books I don’t need.

The easiest answer is for you to tell me the author’s name, the title of the book, and whether it is a paperback or hard-bound book with a dust jacket. From that tiny bit of information, I can usually determine whether I may be or am not interested in buying that title.

Contrary to popular belief, all fishing and hunting books are not scarce. Most also are not worth big money. Many books I turn down are not worth $5, and I have no need for them. But for you, the potential seller, I will pay within reason what it takes to buy books in good shape that I want for resale.

Books with damaged covers, childish scribbles, underlined passages, highlighted sentences, damp-stained covers or those with other faults are not worth offering. I never buy musty, mildewed or ex-library books because they usually aren’t worth owning.

Anything noted immediately above is what I don’t want

So, c’mon Richey, what exactly are you interested in? I seldom buy new titles. I never buy Readers Digest or condensed books. I prefer books that state 1st edition or 1st printing on the copyright page. I absolutely will not buy print-on-demand books.

Topics of interest to me include Atlantic salmon, muskie, brook trout, tarpon, fly tying, bamboo rod building and other types of fishing books work for me. I crave good books on hunting ruffed grouse, deer, ducks, geese, upland game, wild turkey, woodcock and other hunting books. I have a mild interest in African hunting books but am picky about what I buy. I do pick up books on duck decoys.

Some hunting authors that I’m collecting. Please save this list.

There are certain authors I collect.

Robert Austin	Fred Bear	Havilah Babcock	Larry Benoit	Wayne Bledsoe
Stewart Bristol	Bob Brunner	Nash Buckingham	Doug Camp	Thomas C. Chubback Burns
Peter Hathaway Capstick (first editions only)	Russell Chatham	Wally Chodak	Thomas C. Chubb	Malcomb Commer
Wingbone Cryer	Eugene Connett	Ralf Coykendall	Paul Dalke	Henry Davis
Jack Dudley	John Duff	George Bird Evans	J. Wayne Fears	Bill Harper
William Harnden Foster	Percy Haver	Marv Heeler	Vic Jansen	John Knapp
Dana Lamb	Homer LeBlanc	J. Stockley Ligon	Doyle Loadholtz	John Lowther
Thomas McGuane	John Minor	Art Moraski	Richard Nissley	Jack O’Connor
Hoffman Phiilip	W. H. Purser	John Pusztay	Larry Ramsell	George Richey
Robert Ruark	Ernest Schwiebert	Louie Spray	Bob Swineheart	Robert Traver
Jack L. Turner	Ted Vogel	Alfred Weed

and countless others.

I’m always interested in any books written by Michigan turkey hunters like Denny Geurink. State published turkey hunting, management, ecology, roosting habits, food habits, etc. are needed.

People have nothing invested in offering me books for possible purchase. If I can’t or won’t buy your books, I’ll be happy to explain why. If I do buy, know that I will give you the highest possible price, and hope then to be able to resell the books for a modest profit but that doesn’t always happen.

I’ve never cheated anyone, and don’t plan on starting now. My reputation is excellent, and I sell books off my website and some by mail order sales. It’s in my best interest to pay the highest possible price, and still realize a potential profit.

I grade books fairly, charge a fair price and pay a fair price when I buy. I’ve been buying and selling books for 43 years, and one doesn’t stay in this kind of business for long by cheating people.

Give me a try. The nasty winter weather is behind us, but late spring rains may stall your outdoor activities.  Take a bit of that time to dig through that pile of fishing and hunting books stashed in the attic, barn, basement, cellar, closet, garage or wherever, write down the author’s name, the book title, and whether paperback or hardcover with dust jacket. If you can read this, you can certainly email me and tell me what you have for sale.

It’s that easy. And who knows? The book you sell could be valuable or not, but the payment may allow you to purchase some fishing or hunting equipment. Try me and let’s see what happens.

Always be prepared for a bow shot

The Boy Scouts of America have a famous motto: Always Be Prepared

To best the better deer, operate on the Boy Scout motto: “Always Be Prepared” photo Dave Richey ©2012

That same motto should certainly apply to bow hunters, especially those who hunt the December archery season. Bucks are does can appear and disappear without warning, and hunters who have their bow hanging off a limb or hook are not really prepared.

One of my friends told me last fall that a pair of does snuck in on her, and before she could lift her bow off a nearby limb, the buck and both does had vamoosed. She didn’t spook them; the buck was keeping the does away from the food source, and when they left he was pulled along in their wake.

“What did I do wrong?” she asked. She wanted the truth but wasn’t really prepared for my answer.

Her problem was the same of most people: not being ready

“You weren’t ready,” I told her. “I learned many years ago to always be prepared for a shot. The hunter must always be ready, and it’s one reason why shooting bucks is easy for me.”

If a buck is within range, and offers a broadside or quartering-away shot, from the first sighting of the animal until the arrow slices in behind the front shoulder, is a matter of five seconds or less.

Many hunters tire easily of holding their bow. It fatigues arm, shoulder and back muscles, and stiff muscles are slow to respond.

I often lay my bow across my lap while sitting down, and the release is always on the string. Too many people tell me it takes them 10-15 seconds to get the release on the string when a buck shows up. For most of them, the buck is out of range as they fumble and make small noises while trying to put the release on the string.

They get all jittery at the sight of a buck within bow range, Their heart beat speeds up, they make useless movements and make noise and waste time, and by the time they are ready the buck is gone.

Get into a proper shooting position in your stand, and ready the bow. That means having the release on the string from the beginning to the end of the hunt. Trying to pull a release out of a pocket when a deer is nearby is a lesson in frustration and futility.

Being ready  means a shot is imminent and all things are in place

If my bow rests across my lap, all I have to do is rotate the bow upright, and begin making the draw when the moment is right. Missing that right moment is easy when the hunter isn’t mentally and physically prepared.

A friend of mine, who bow hunts about 85 days per year, wears tall knee-high rubber boots as we all do to cut down on human scent. He has developed a novel way of always being ready for a bow shot.

“I sit while hunting, and being right-handed, will stick the lower limb of my C.P. Oneida Black Eagle bow into the top outside edge of my boot,” he said. “A buck walks in, and the bow is upright, and I begin my draw (the release is already on the string) while sliding the lower limb out of my boot. By the time I’m at full draw, my red-dot sight is tracking the animal. When it stops or provides me with an ideal shot, the arrow is released. It takes about two seconds to draw, aim and shoot, and there is very little movement to spook wary deer.”

What many hunters don’t realize about late-season hunting is that bucks are hungry, and are trying to regain weight lost while in rut. This is a vital concern for them, and if does are traveling with a buck, he may drive them away so he can feed.

Some hunters will pass up a 4-, 6- or small 8-point buck in order to help serve as a steward of our natural resources, and will try to shoot a doe. The does are flighty because bucks are hooking at them with their antlers, and they come in and out and seem to be in constant motion.

Just remember that Boy Scout motto while hunting

Hunters like the woman who missed her opportunity tonight must learn to be ready at all times. It requires paying constant attention. Deer can appear and vanish within a few seconds, and hunters who are reaching for their bow or fumbling with a release are usually too late.

I tend to daydream a bit while on stand but my mind is always aware of what is going on around me. I can slip from an idle daydream into drawing my bow in an instant, and hunters who can do this time after time seldom miss an opportunity to shoot at a buck or doe.

They, like a true Boy Scout, are always prepared for action.

Weather tips for hunting deer and gobblers

Let’s settle the playing field first

It’s impossible for hockey players to play a game unless they are on the ice, and it’s impossible for hunters to shoot a buck or doe if they are sitting indoors watching television.

That’s settled, so what do we do when faced with inclement weather? You know: like some of what we’ve had so far this month?

East winds, northeast and southeast winds, and rain. Some snow flurries today. Copious amount of rain two or three times. Strong blustery winds. Weather that even deer dislike.

If we were to set out every evening during hunting season when inclement weather rears its ugly head, we may have been able to hunt only a few nights so far this season. The abundance of combined weather conditions has been noticeable to most hunters.

The spring turkey hunting season begins shortly, and if nature stays its course, there may be some days when the big birds hunker down and do nothing. Few birds like to move when the wind is strong.

So, what can we do about it? The answer is to go hunting anyway. Some of the animals and birds we hunt in season will move even in bad weather although they may not move very much or very far.

It’s bad weather, attitude and grit will get you a chance

It only makes sense that if critters move for only 15 or 20 minutes, the closer one hunts to the bedding area should provide them with greater opportunity to be nearby when they get up to feed.

Mild rain doesn’t bother turkeys or whitetails at all. They are out in it on a daily basis, and can’t come inside out of the weather. If it is a soft rain, they often move well. They move less in a hard down pouring rain. I hunted turkeys once in a heavy snow storm and the birds moved well. Predicting movement is not a precise art.

Deer will move on an east wind, but most hunters have few locations set up where an east wind offers them an advantage. A strong wind is much worse than a soft breeze.

Heavy winds put everything into motion. Trees, weeds, cattails and tall grasses move. Leaves (those still on fall trees) shake violently on the trees, go blowing off branches, and leaves are constantly in the wind at ground level and above. Deer and turkeys detest such windy conditions because it removes their ability to see motion because everything within sight is moving. Strong winds make noise, both deer and gobblers depend on their hearing to keep them safe.

Stands located closest to heavy cover offer hunters the best opportunity to see deer on such miserable days. The important thing is to get into a stand without being seen, smelled or heard.

Crow hunters say that these black birds can’t count. I contend that deer can’t count either, and that opens up one possibility to get into a stand even if the deer bedding area or turkey food or roost sites are downwind of the stand. A friend can drive you in by truck, park with the motor running while the hunter crawls into the stand, and then drive off. That doesn’t work well for turkey hunters because of vehicle lights at night near a roost site drive many birds crazy.

A friend of mine and his wife leased land for many years, and each of them hunted a different parcel. My buddy would drive his wife 3/4 miles back off the road to her stand, walk with her to her ground blind while the four-wheeler idled nearby, and once she was in her blind, he would jump back on the machine and drive away. Again, this technique doesn’t work for gobblers unless they are hunting in mid-day, and guess approximately when and where the birds will travel.

She often saw deer while the sounds of the four-wheeler were still audible in the distance. The noise of the four-wheeler didn’t bother the deer during daylight hours, and if anything, it gave them advance warning that people were coming. Two people get off, two walk to the blind, one walks back and drives away. Deer can’t count, and this method works well.

Up your chances for success with a few simple field rules

The one thing to bear in mind is that deer and turkeys are used to seeing cars and trucks, tractors and other farm equipment in most areas during daylight hours. Deer will run from all motorized equipment heading in their direction, but they don’t run far unless the humans talk to each another. Human voices add another annoying dimension to this equation.

Talking while dropping someone off at a blind or when picking them up should not be done. Deer also are accustomed to hearing people talk, but whether talking near a hunting stand is a good idea, I think it’s best to drive up, drop off the hunter, and drive away without speaking. Why ruin a good thing?

One thing about weather: Any time there is a storm moving in, deer and turkeys will usually move just ahead of the storm during daylight hours. If the weather forecasts a storm arriving about 4 o’clock, try to be in a good spot by 2 p.m. It can be a super time to be hunting.

Weather plays an important role in deer and gobbler movements and travel. Rather than sitting indoors and not hunting, try to incorporate some other tactics into your hunting bag of tricks, and hunters may be pleasantly surprised at how well some of these will work.

Cut some trees and feed some winter deer

Deer gather around fallen tree-tops to feed in the winter

Today was one of those days when another 10 degrees of upward temperature movement would have felt nice, but it was a grand and wonderful day with a lovely sunrise.

It also led to this question. Do deer like the tips of branches to eat? We are getting DISH High Definition so we can better view the playoffs with the Detroit Red Wings over the upcoming weeks.

We were told that six trees had to be toppled to clear a good line of sight for DHD television. Those six trees were toppled a week ago, and now three others need to come down to provide us with the perfect line of sight to the satellite.

Some mature trees had to go

The trees cut down last week already are attracting deer. I went out with the DHD guy as he pinpointed the exact trees to down, and there were deer tracks all around the tree-tops.

The ends of the branches have been nibbled, and some new tops will fall tomorrow or Saturday to add a wee bit more food as the snow melts.

Did I want to cut the trees? Not really. I could see the Red Wing games just fine, and it will be interesting to see how much better the game appears than with regular television.

I watch so little television, other than the Winged Wheels and the Tigers, that one could say I don’t watch it. I’d rather waste my vision reading a good book than watching what passes for good television. Most of it is not good at all, and too much of it is awful, and much of it borders or crosses the line on obscenity.

I refuse to insult my intelligence by watching most of the garbage and pap on television. Sure, some of the stuff on the National Geographic channel, the Discovery channel and a few other channels offer programming that suits me, but 99.9 percent of the stuff causes me to hit the “Off” button.

Much of television disgusts me and is insulting

Ah, but I digress. We were talking about deer feeding on tree-tops. We had 101 trees cut last December around my land, and the neighbor had quite a number cut as well. There are deer tracks around those tree-tops. Lots of fresh tracks.

The periodic thinning of mature trees, and their sale for fire wood or for saw logs, can provide some money. Certainly not enough to get fat and sassy on, but perhaps enough to pay the taxes.

Several people have asked to cut wood, and I’ve granted permission providing they place all the tops from each area into a pile at a place of my choosing. I want the piles placed in strategic locations where they will provide a certain amount of cover and food next winter.

There is nothing worse than walking (or trying to walk) through a recently cut wood lot, and every two or three steps it becomes necessary to extricate your feet from clinging branches of tree-tops. I much prefer they be piled up, and I don’t care if the pile is 10 feet tall.

The winter snow, and deer nibbling on the tips will cause them to slowly settle. It provides a nourishing source of food that comes as a direct byproduct of improving our forest.

We provide deer with winter browse in key locations

Briers, brambles, saplings and shrubs will spring up this year as a result of that opening in the woods, and this too will increase the bounty of new food for deer, rabbits, ruffed grouse and other critters.

Bunnies will eat on some of the smaller branches and use the brush piles as cover. Grouse do the same thing, and I’ve found spots where deer have bedded in the lee of a large brush pile and then pass their time in relative comfort.

My ideal spot for a brush pile is near a small roll in the ground. Most of our storms come from the west, northwest and north although southeast storms occur each winter. A bountiful brush pile on the west, northwest and north edges of a small roll in the ground, and another on the southeast side, will give some protection for winter-weary deer. The food is there, and some evidence I’ve found indicate that is exactly what the deer did last winter.

So, in some obscure way, DHD television will be instrumental in giving winter deer a spot to get out of the worst of the winter weather, and I think that is a grand use for our new technology.

And, I’ll bet you wondered how I’d end tonight’s blog.

Michigan’s deer herd has had an easy winter

This snow isn’t too deep for deer; belly-deep snow exhausts the animals

A study of deer facts can make anyone a better bow, muzzleloader, rifle or shotgun hunter. Here are some things to bone up on during the off-season.

A deer’s home range is the area that annually covered by deer while eating, mating, resting or caring for fawns after birth. The radius of a home range usually is less than a mile in diameter.

Home ranges often are elongated, and may decrease in size as animal populations increase. One exception occurs during the rut when a dominant buck travels widely. A buck’s home range decreases in size as the animal grows older or as the local deer population increases.

The theory of migrating whitetails was once ignored by wildlife biologists, but too much evidence exists of migratory patterns in northern ranges, especially during a severe winter. A case in point are whitetails along the Lake Superior drainage system once fall weather starts acting like winter.

Deer do migrate in some parts of the state

In a bad winter (which can coincides with the firearm deer season), deer may travel many miles to find shelter and food. If deep snow falls during the hunting season, look for migration trails that will cross state highways and back roads into heavy conifers or other dense yarding areas. Migrations from the Lake Superior shoreline gains strength as snow piles up, and deer move into huge yarding areas like the Hulbert or Tahquamenon swamps near Newberry, Michigan. during bad winters.

Such has not really been the case in many areas,. Most of Michigan this winter has dealt with little snow. Near Traverse City,  for instance, we often have 80-100 inches of snow by New Year’s Day and it just keeps piling through February and March.

The last I knew, about a week ago, the area had received about 25 of snow, and then it melts and disappears.

Deer in southern counties seldom yard up because of severe weather, but such is not true in northern areas. Once snow reaches a depth of 12 or more inches, and cold winds howl, deer head for yarding areas by the most direct route.

Deer yards are often in thick cover with thermal conditions

They choose evergreens (balsam, cedar and pine) where cold, snow and wind have less impact on them, and the dense cover provides some thermal protection against body heat loss. In Michigan, deer-yard confinement is considered to be 20 weeks during a bad winter and 12-14 weeks in milder weather.

Some deer movement is normal except in severe conditions

Deer often bed in thick brushy cover during the day and near feeding areas in the evening. During snowy winter months, deer may venture from a deer yard briefly to feed but return to its confines during the coldest parts of the day or night or whenever snow becomes too deep for easy travel.

Deer require up to one bushel of browse daily to survive the winter. A matriarch doe often leads groups of three to five animals to feeding areas, but if weather is severe and browse is in short supply, does will kick fawns away before they can eat. This is one reason why deer mortality among young-of-the-year deer is very high in bad weather.

A dominant buck will lose 25-30 percent of its body weight during the rut, and that weight must be regained before heavy snows fall or it will likely perish.

Falling temperatures often put deer on the move. However, the reverse is also true in Michigan’s northern areas during winter months. The colder the temperature during November and December, the more deer will move to stay warm.

Deer activity decreases in high winds and heavy snow storms. During lengthy snows, deer may be inactive for up to three or four days with very cold temperature says, and will move heavily once a storm passes through. That’s the time to go hunting if the season is still open.

Watch the weather forecasts, and see what the 24-hour forecast will be. Hunting is often good immediately before a storm front moves in providing it brings a sudden drop in temperature. If a major winter storm is predicted, it might pay to be afield earlier in the day than normal to take advantage of a whitetails predictable feeding patterns.

An active scrape features a strong urine smell, hoof prints and antler tine marks. Hunt 30-40 yards downwind of an active deer scrape during the first three days of the firearms season. Most but not all scrape activity has ended by the firearm season opener as the rut winds down.

Those does are ready to be bred, and this knowledge can help a hunter fill a buck or doe tag.

Food choices are widespread among whitetails. They favor natural browse and farm-grown crops, and some deer researchers believe Michigan’s deer are fairly divided between natural browse and farm crops.

Acorns rate high in nutrition and are easily found during the fall if the mast crop is good, but some years oak mast fails. Most of the state’s corn fields have been picked except in southern counties, but a standing corn field will attract deer all winter if it is near heavy bedding cover.

Does often stomp their fawns to death during a bad winter. It’s a bad thing to watch, but it’s nature’s way of allow the strong to survive and the weak animal eventually waste away with no marrow in their bones and a fuzzy face. That’s when the coyotes come calling, and a deer yard takes on the appearance of an abattoir.