Turkey Hunting Book Collections

[Hookspur]

One of my favorite endeavors during the "off" season is seeking out old and obscure turkey hunting books. In adding them up this morning at 3 a.m. when I couldn't sleep, I discovered that my library of individual titles now numbers 372. A few of these are technical books and bulletins in nature, a few others are kids books, and a scattering are books that merely have a chapter or two on turkey hunting, but by and large the collection is made up of books dedicated solely to my favorite pastime. I also keep a list of titles that haven't yet been acquired, and I'm always on the lookout for these in bookstores, at yardsales, and on ebay as well as other internet sources.

I'm sure some of you also share this passion. When I find one for sale that's missing from my library, it's like walking up on a big patch of morels, or hearing the first gobble of the morning. It's an addicting habit! Can anyone relate?

Not that I'm a numbers kind of guy, but how many turkey hunting books are in your own collections? I sure wish that I'd bought cases of some of these older books when they first came out....prices for many out-of-print and/or hard-to-find books are now bringing astronomical sums!!
 

[Mmcdonald]

I was just able to add a copy of Tall Timber Gabriels to my collection, one of those morels I have been searching out. I'm just like you, filling the offseason with a book about my favorite topic, helps to make the time to next season pass more quickly.

[Hookspur]

Great find!!!

[Mmcdonald]

Thanks. I'm always on the lookout for more for my collection. The history of turkey hunting is fascinating to read about. I can always learn from the old masters who were successful turkey hunters when there were very few turkeys to hunt.

[Bennett]

Book collecting and I might add call collecting are as addictive as hunting itself.  I started buying every book I could find on the subject to try and learn how to hunt.  After reading most of these I began acquiring more of the collectible books and have gained much knowledge from these and books such as yours. I love sitting back and reading these stories. The knowledge I have gained doesn't always translate to wisdom in the woods. The past year or so I have been able to add several hard to find titles to my collection. I have bought Wingbone Cryer, Jack Dudley's book, and Tall Timber Gabriels just to name a few. I have also bought several of the "ghost titles".  I guess my collection numbers somewhere around 150 titles. I would rank Kelly's books as among my favorite books to dip into from time to time. I also enjoyed The Old Pro by Nunnery, Ben Lee's book, Doug Camp's book, Wade Wineman's books, The Grand Obsession by Phillips,  Bobby Dale's books, and Casada's Remembering the Greats. I was able to buy a book a couple weeks ago that I didn't know about, Scotch Turkey Guide by J. Wayne Fears.  Any tips on how to convince wives that books are a good investment?  Would love to hear about everyone's favorites. Look forward to Vol 2 Doc. Vol1 was great!

[Hookspur]

That ought to be an easy sell to the wife, if you tell her how much they've appreciated over the years. I can't tell you how many books I've bought for $5-$10 dollars when they first came out, and which now sell for upwards of $100-$300 or more, every time you see them on the secondary market! That's a pretty good return on your investment, but of course, the hard part will be letting them go. They become more valuable to me as the years roll on, and it would be difficult to part with any of them.

I list my books on the computer in different categories (those focused on hunting turkeys; technical books; kids books; books not totally about turkey hunting but which contain some chapters on it; etc.). My hunting-only category lists 247 titles.

Then, there's the NWTF and State turkey stamp collection, artwork, and of course turkey calls. Some might say I'm a turkey hunting nut, but to those people, I can only say, "Thank you!"

[firedup]

Doc, you know I am a sucker for this one.....my collection is nowhere near as complete as yours but I got a few.   Try to focus more on the 1st edition old ones.  Don't do too many tech bulletins and that sort of thing. Although there are several I would like to have. And you are rite, when you find that really rare book, its like Christmas.  I have found a couple that my heart actually was beating like a hammer! Just like buck fever!

Anybody got a 1st edition "The Wild Turkey and its Hunting" by McIlhenny laying around they don't need??   Trade for yard work!

[Hookspur]

Yardwork? I think one of those will cost you a complete landscaping project! 

[Mmcdonald]

Just got ahold of You Never Know, by Wingbone Cryer. A great addition to my collection.

[M Sharpe]

One of the books I've really enjoyed was Herb McClure's book, titled "Native Turkeys". It is a recount of some of his memorable hunts in the mountains of north Georgia. Mr. Herb has been turkey hunting since 1956. The birds he tells about are those that never got wiped out from over hunting. The book is a pleasure to read and Mr. Herb is a humble a man as you will ever meet. One who was, and still is, forced to hunt with a hearing loss. He is one of the pioneers still among us that is chocked full of turkey savvy.

[Mmcdonald]

Great book from an old time turkey hunting expert.