I have two of the Boddington rifle books, American Hunting and Safari. A few Capsticks. My two favorite are "Hemingway on Hunting" which is excerpts from his other hunting related novels and two in one book containing "Hunting Trips of a Ranchman" and "Wilderness Hunter" both by Teddy Roosevelt.

My little library of good hunting books is slowly growing. Thanks to my wife buying me several of Ruarks and Capsticks books. She even found me an Elmer Keith and a Boddington. She is the Ebay queen and was able to get some great bargains.

What I am wondering is what you consider to be the core of a good hunting library? Specific titles and reasons why would be greatly appreciated.

By the way I wanted to say thanks to the members of the forum who helped me get my library started. Those books have made for some very enjoyable reading. Not to mention some very nice dreams of hunting Africa.

I wouldn�t think of a hunting library without "Hunter" by J.A. Hunter, "Man Eaters of Kumaon" by Jim Corbett, "Use enough gun" from Ruark and "Mahohboh" by Ron Thompson.
Good luck and good reading

William,

My top of the list for Africa is John ("Pondoro") Taylor's African Rifles and Cartridges.

More recent titles along the same lines are:

Craig Boddington, Safari Rifles; and

Gregor Woods, Rifles for Africa.

There are flocks of good Africana out there.

jim

It's really hard to narrow this down. I have over 200 African hunting titles alone......

Here's a good basic core, off the top of my head, and I'm leaving some (a LOT!) out, I know. These are musts though (some out-of-print and hard to find), that come immediately to mind:

ROBERTSON: The Perfect Shot (African game animals shot placement)

MELLON: African Hunter (the original "bible of African hunting")

BODDINGTON: Safari Rifles, North American Hunting Rifles, The Perfect Shot: North America, Search for the Spiral Horn, African Hunter II (the new "bible of African hunting")

O'CONNOR: Jack O'Connor's Big Game Hunts, The Hunting Rifle, Sheep & Sheep Hunting, The Art of Hunting Big Game In North America. (All of Jack's stuff holds up to the test of time, is honest, instructive, and makes for wonderful reading!)

CARMICHEL: Book Of The Rifle (THE finest nuts & bolts rifle book EVER written, by the all-time greatest rifle expert. You could teach a college course with this one, and use it as text!)

GATES: Trophy Hunter in Africa, Trophy Hunter in Asia

BURGER: Horned Death, My Forty Years in Africa

TAYLOR: African Rifles and Cartridges

Arino~: Last of the Few

Selous: A Hunter's Wanderings in Africa

DYER: The Big Five

RUARK: Horn of the Hunter, Use Enough Gun

LaGRANGE: Ballistics in Perspective (African DG cartridges & loads; this by a hunter with tremendously deep DG culling and control experience)

I forget who wrote this, but you'll also need "Nyati: Hunting the Southern Buffalo"

AD

My favorite read,Alaska Yukon Trophies Won and Lost.
My tastes favor NA over Africa.I still like a good
read on Africa but not as much as NA.

Dall sheep season T-18 days!

Jeff

I have nearly all of Elmer Keith's books in my library, including a signed edition by the Great Master (still needing to get hold of a copy of "Safari" which is quite rare/expensive and hard to find)...

I've got both of John Taylor's books on African Rifles and am currently reading Capstick's biography on him. A fascinating and eccentric character to say the least, but an excellent writer with knowledge and experience paralleled by very few men.

I've got several of Capsticks books and enjoy them alot...

JA Hunter's "Hunter"

I've got "The Jim Corbett Collection" on order now thru Safari Press - due to be shipped in October.

Craig Boddington's "Safari Rifles"...

Don't have any Ruark yet but have that on my wish list along with some of Teddy Roosevelt's works that I'm told are good.

Most of Capsticks books, all of Ruarks ,most of Boddingtons.
2 Holland and Holland books. African rifles, big game rifles ,plus heaps more including DVDs and videos. If I would only stop buying books on African hunting. ,I might be able to actualy save up for a hunt and go there myself.

The expanded version of Nyati is now available in hardback from fishunt@mweb.co.zw

Added bits from me, Charlie Haley, Ian Nychens (Months of the Sun, a must for your library) etc

A must is The wanderings of an elephant hunter by Bell (and not just because we're related )