Classic Carmichel: Stories from the Field

by
posted on July 31, 2016
carmichel_book.jpg

Jim Carmichel succeeded Jack O’Connor as shooting editor for Outdoor Life, and held the position for 38 years. Think about that for a moment, and it’s easy to understand why Carmichel is regarded by many in publishing as not only a dean among gun writers but an individual whose prose defined a fascinating era of international big-game hunting and wingshooting. Indeed, his indelible style and inimitable wit formed the epicenter of the period encompassed by his career.

Classic Carmichel: Stories from the Field showcases some of the author’s most amazing tales and includes many never-before-published photographs.

The hardback collector’s edition is divided into three sections: “Africa and Around the World”; “North America”; and “Guns and Shooting.” If the subdivisions don’t hook you, perhaps Chapter 1 will: It’s titled “When a Lion Comes to Kill You.” There, Carmichel relates a tale of hunting eland in the Central African Empire, with a Mauser chambered for such, when a lion charges from the bush intent on ending his life. “We closed on each other and I fired again,” he writes. “Twenty yards—no effect. One shell left. … As the bolt locked on my last cartridge, another form moved in the brush from where the lion had come. A second lion! Not charging yet, but nervously flicking his tail and studying me with his cold, yellow eyes. ‘This,’ I said to myself, ‘is about to get interesting.’”

Such deft storytelling is on display elsewhere, too: when a “dead” crocodile comes back to life—twice—on Zimbabwe’s “river of death”; amid the intrigue of a Moscow hotel room full of rubles during a $100,000-hunt for Russian stag; and when, 3 miles high in pursuit of the Mystery Deer of the Andes, Carmichel admits, “Death on high mountains can take several forms.”

Before he retired, I shared only one camp with Jim Carmichel. Such is my loss. My gain—and yours, too—is the collection of stories he shares with us in this book.

Latest

LEDE Marlin Dark
LEDE Marlin Dark

Hardware Review: Marlin Model 1895 Dark

If you think lever-action rifles should only have walnut stocks and a blued-metal finish, then the new Marlin Dark series with its polymer buttstock and aluminum AR-esque handguard probably won’t be your thing. That’s a shame, because this recent offering in Marlin’s line of modernized, capable lever-action rifles has a lot going for it in terms of performance, functionality and fun.

ATN Shipping TICO LTV Thermal Clip-On

This thermal clip-on device is a huge night-time gear multiplier for hunters and observers, transforming any daytime scope into a thermal sight.

MidwayUSA Named Official Sponsor of the 2025 NRA Annual Meetings

Glock, Inc. is the Presenting Sponsor of the Freedom Experience on Saturday, April 26th

First Look: Montana Rifle Company Marshall Hunting Rifle

Montana Rifle Company (MRC) has announced its Marshall Hunting Rifle—a rifle the company bills as being 10,000 rounds in the making.

Spring Gobbler Gear Roundup

Mike Roux lays out his winter's turkey gear discoveries, just in time for spring gobbler season.

National 4-H Shooting Sports Signs on as Official +ONE Partner

The National 4-H Shooting Sports program has joined the +ONE Movement, a national mentorship initiative led by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) that encourages peer-to-peer mentorship in the hunting and shooting sports.

Interests



Get the best of American Hunter delivered to your inbox.