Whitetail Nation: My Season in Pursuit of the Monster Buck - Hardcover

Peter Bodo

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0618969969 ISBN 13: 9780618969968

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010

Synopsis

â You canâ t go wrong with Pete Bodoâ s new book Whitetail Nation: My Season in Pursuit of the Monster Buck . . . Bodo writes with humor and insight. The result is a book that is entertaining, educational and a fun read.â â Orlando Sentinel

Whitetail Nation is the uproarious story of the season Pete Bodo set out to kill the big buck. From the rolling hills of upstate New York to the vast and unforgiving land of the Big Sky to the Texas ranches that feature high fences, deer feeders, and money-back guarantees, Bodo traverses deep into the heart of a lively, growing subculture that draws powerfully on durable American valuesâ the love of the frontier, the importance of self-reliance, the camaraderie of men in adventure, the quest for sustained youth, and, yes, the capitalistâ s right to amass every high tech hunting gadget this industryâ s exploding commerce has to offer.

Gradually, Bodo closes in on his targetâ that elusive monster buckâ and with each day spent perched in a deer stand or crawling stealthily in high grass (praying the rattlesnakes are gone) or shivering through the night in a drafty cabin (flannel, polar fleece and whiskey be damned), readers are treated to a hilarious and unforgettable tour through a landscape that ranges from the exalted to the absurd. Along the way Bodo deftly captures the spirit and passion of this rich American pursuit, tracing its history back to the days of Lewis and Clark and examining that age-old questionâ why do men hunt?

About this title

Review

Every autumn, millions of men and women across the country don their camo, stock up on doe urine, and undertake a quintessential American tradition – deer hunting. The pinnacle of a hunter’s quest is killing a buck with antlers that "score" highly enough to qualify in the Boone and Crockett record book. But in all his seasons on the trail, Pete Bodo, an avid outdoorsman and student of the hunt, had never reached that milestone. Sadly, he had to admit it -- he was a nimrod.

Whitetail Nation is the uproarious story of the season Pete Bodo set out to kill the big buck. From the rolling hills of upstate New York to the vast and unforgiving land of the Big Sky to the Texas ranches that feature high fences, deer feeders, and money-back guarantees, Bodo traverses deep into the heart of a lively, growing subculture that draws powerfully on durable American values– the love of the frontier, the importance of self reliance, the camaraderie of men in adventure, the quest for sustained youth, and yes, the capitalist’s right to amass every high tech hunting gadget this industry’s exploding commerce has to offer.

Gradually, Bodo closes in on his target – that elusive monster buck -- and with each day spent perched in a deer stand or crawling stealthily in high grass (praying the rattlesnakes are gone) or shivering through the night in a drafty cabin (flannel, polar fleece and whiskey bedamned), readers are treated with a hilarious and unforgettable tour through a landscape that ranges from the exalted to the absurd. Along the way Bodo deftly captures the spirit and passion of this rich American pursuit, tracing its history back to the days of Lewis and Clark and examining that age old question – "why do men hunt?"

Two Top Five Lists from the Author of Whitetail Nation

The Five Most Useless Deer Hunting Accessories:

1) Electric socks. For some reason, these socks that contain wires that are "heated" by a puny, rectangular 9-volt battery in a cheap orange vinyl holster still appear on shelves and store racks (albeit mostly in out of the way "general store"-type establishments), and they still do nothing to keep your feet warm.

2) Knives and other tools with a camo finish . Drop your knife in the woods. It has a camo finish. Retrace your steps, looking for said knife. Any questions?

3) Rechargeable cordless spotlights. They work great, but the energy burn rate is so high that your million candlepower spotlight does a fair impersonation of that old-fashioned war club that used a conga line of four D-cell batteries to create a pale yellow glow in about, oh, two-and-a-half minutes.

4) Facemasks. Sure, the idea of a mask with cutouts for the eyes, nose and mouth is a good way to deal with bitter cold. But when deer hunting, you're supposed to have peripheral vision and decent hearing. Either cowboy up and deal with the cold or stay in front of the woodstove and watch football.

5) Laser Rangefinders. I may be in a minority here, but in my experience if you can't tell how far away a deer is, you shouldn't even think of taking a whack at it. And the specific qualities a potential target must have to return an easily acquired, accurate reading are such that you can miss the opportunity to take even an absurd, Hail Mary shot because you spend so much time trying to get a lock on that little speck of brown among the trees in the distance.

The Top Five Pieces of Great Gear:

1) A five foot length of rope with a Prussic knot attached. Look this one up, folks, if you hunt out of a tree stand and are concerned with your safety. The typical nylon safety belt has plastic buckles and/or metal D-rings, which amount to a fair amount of weight and a lot of noise. A simple, thick, nylon rope with a sliding Prussic knot, usually of a smaller-diameter cord, is the most versatile safety belt you can have; it weighs next to nothing, and makes no noise.

2) Portable tree stand umbrellas. These neat little devices screw into the tree above your stand, and spread out much like a regular umbrella to provide a canopy in case of rain. They may look silly in the catalogs, but they actually work, and can save you a fair amount of misery if you're determined to stick out a passing shower.

3) The Claw rifle slings. I imagine others are also making this type of sling now, but anyone who's ever had to deal with a rifle sliding around on his shoulder will appreciate the way this sling, made of some sort of rubber/plastic, actually clings to your shoulder. I'm not sure why it's so much better than the nylon, neoprene, or leather slings, but it is.

4) Bushnell Backtrack GPS. The problem for most hunters is that their time in the field is limited. Therefore, they don't use your typical hand-held GPS frequently enough to remember how to operate the danged thing. If you've ever gone into the woods with copies of a GPS user's manual's relevant pages in your pack, you know what I mean. Bushnell has simplified the concept with a very small, very light GPS unit that will save and get you back to any of five places you choose to mark.

5) Bow sling. If it takes you any amount of time to get to your tree stand, or if you like to poke around the woods, setting up on the ground in a variety of places, you know what a pain it can be to carry a compound bow with attached quiver by hand. The simple, cheap bow slings made by various companies enables you to carry the bow the way you do a rifle, and as snap shots while bow hunting are rare, you'll appreciate the convenience without having to worry about lost opportunities.

About the Author

Pete Bodo has written about the outdoors for theNew York Times,Play!,Sport,Gray's Sporting Journal,Cigar Aficionadoand others. A senior editor atTennismagazine, he is the author of several books, includingA Champion's Mind(with Pete Sampras). He divides his time between New York City and upstate New York, where he hunts with bow and gun. "

About this edition

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0618969969
• ISBN 13: 9780618969968
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 306