Friday, December 07, 2007
Just in time for Christmas shoppers.
The Whitetail Wizard (Claude Pollington) says his new deer hunting book is back from the printers. It’s available to the public right now, and it is a delightful book that has arrived just in time for Christmas shoppers.
The title is “The Life Of The Legendary Whitetail Wizard “, and even though he brags about his book (which is only natural), and he is mighty proud of it. The books were published on high-quality paper, filled with 110 color photos and a few old black-and-white photos of he and his family in the old days. Most of the book deals with the here and now of archery deer hunting. These books are being shipped out as orders come rolling in.
So what is this book? It contains a great deal about his life, and some about him buying and building the new C. P. Oneida Eagle Bow Company, about his Buck Pole Archery Shop and Buck Pole Deer Ranch, and a bunch of great bow-hunting stories. It is more than just about him shooting big bucks on his ranch; it also covers his many hunts in other states and in Ontario and Quebec. On these out-of-state hunts he has taken antelope, black bear, caribou, deer, elk, javelina, moose, mule deer, nilghi and other game.
He is constantly being asked by visitors at his archery shop to teach them how to accurately shoot a bow. He has labored long and hard for over 20 years to make these bows the best in the archery industry and he believes theyâ??ve succeeded. To prevent anyone from misunderstanding him, he said he hasnâ??t owned the Oneida Bow Company that long, but he has sold these bows for over two decades. He bought the company in 2000.
One might wonder what his book brings to archery deer hunters. Much of what he writes about consists of hunting techniques that he developed years ago, and many of these tactics have never appeared in book form before. His wind direction testing method is worth the price of the book itself, and it works wherever the wind blows, which is wherever people hunt with a bow.
Some of his early life is covered, and how they hunted deer back in the 1940s and 1950s when few people considered hunting with a bow. He has hunted with a long bow, recurve and compound since those early days, and he now has over 60 years of bow-hunting experience. Sixty years of hunting deer means he has witnessed the many highs and lows of deer numbers in this state but few people have killed as many bucks as he has. Thatâ??s no brag, just fact.
These days he preaches proper deer management, and on a ranch the size of his (1,024 contiguous acres), itâ??s not only necessary but vital that doe numbers be held in check. Right now, on his ranch, the deer herd is about one buck to one doe, a goal that even western ranches have trouble attaining.
He said he loves teaching newcomers how to shoot accurately. He stresses perfect practice, and offers alternative methods for practice around the house. His method is much like shooting instinctively, and people who use his internal red-dot sight (legal in Michigan and in most but not all states) can learn to shoot far better than they ever dreamed possible. This book is filled with solid hunting information.
The book covers his life, buying the archery business, how to learn to shoot with great accuracy, great tips on hunting the rut, scoring live big bucks in the field, and much more. It is literally filled from cover to cover with color photos of live deer. The book is loaded with solid how-to information from his 60+ years of deer-hunting experiences.
He is selling two different formats of the same book. Both have the same internal content with one exception. The limited edition of 250 numbered and author signed copies has a limitation page and the paperback does not. The limited edition is a hardbound book.
Books are available by sending checks payable to Claude Pollington. Order from Buck Pole Archery Shop, 20669 30th Avenue, Marion, MI 49665. Phone (231) 743-2427 and ask for Lori for credit card orders or for in-store sales. The price for the paperback edition is $35, which includes postage. The limited edition copies are numbered and signed by him, and will sell for $110, which includes postage. Michigan residents must pay 6 percent sales tax.
More than half of the limited edition books have been sold, and itâ??s expected this printing of 250 numbered and signed copies will be sold out before Christmas. The limited edition has a dark cloth cover with gilt titles, and a montage of photos on a color photo centered on the cover. It is a book that any archery deer hunter would be proud to own.
He thanks people for their patience. This book, from beginning to end, has been a labor of love. Both books are lovely to look at, delightful to hold, and the hunters who buy them for Christmas presents will be giving a gift that keeps on giving great hunting stories and first-class bow hunting information.
It is my pick of the litter among this year’s crop of hunting books. Sportsmen won’t be disappointed with this book. It’s a dandy!