Buying old turkey hunting books

Unique, Rare and Hard-to-Find books are what Scoop’s Books deals in: looking for and For Sale. Contact us today to Buy or Sell.
photos by Dave Richey

I spent just enough time outdoors today to go to the doctor, say hello to my neighbor and bask in the warming breezes. I’m trying to work some nasty knots out of my back, and it’s not working very well.

At 45 degrees, the weather seems almost balmy. I spent some time arranging and rearranging books that will be for sale on my Scoop’s Books website. Some titles are once-in-a-lifetime acquisitions for any sportsmen and some are moderately priced. I may have a new address for my new book website soon. I hope to have 1,000 or more fishing and hunting books up very soon.

These fishing and hunting books are meant to provide two specific things for book buyers: education and information.

I also am placing some books on eBay for auction purposes. Feel free to check them out.

I want to buy your old turkey hunting & duck decoy books

It's obvious that not all sportsmen like to read books, and that is OK. They just don't know what they are missing. There are so many fine fishing and hunting books available and listed on Scoop's Books. Find a book cover that interests you, and email me at the above email address to see if the book is still available.

A hunter might ask: why buy a book on deer hunting? I already know how to deer hunt. Good question but a poor answer. Anyone who doesn't study deer regularly will know something about hunting these animals, but won't know enough about how to hunt them when the going gets tough.

It's the same with turkey hunting books. I buy as money as I can afford for my collection, and still need some others. If you have any turkey titles, and might consider selling them, send me a list of the book titles and the author's name, and I'll get with you soon.

Lots of people can cast a fly, but there are countless books available that can help with casting more accurately but also can teach us how to read the river, determine which insect is hatching, and which patterns will help fool the fish. Nothing is ever guaranteed except paying taxes until you die, but reading can broaden your horizons and help people learn new skills.

I'm constantly looking for fishing or hunting books to buy. I need to buy books in order to sell books, and I'm picky about condition but pay fair prices. So just what am I looking for and hope to buy from you?

I'm primarily interested in turkey hunting titles now. The scarcer they are, the better. Common turkey hunting books I don't need.
The easiest answer is for you to tell me the author's name, the title of the book, and whether it is a paperback or hard-bound book with a dust jacket. From that tiny bit of information, I can usually determine whether I may be or am not interested in buying that title.

Contrary to popular belief, all fishing and hunting books are not scarce. Most also are not worth big money. Many books I turn down are not worth $5, and I have no need for them. But for you, the potential seller, I will pay within reason what it takes to buy books in good shape that I want for resale.

Books with damaged covers, childish scribbles, underlined passages, highlighted sentences, damp-stained covers or those with other faults are not worth offering. I never buy musty, mildewed or ex-library books because they usually aren't worth owning.

Anything noted immediately above is what I don't want

So, c'mon Richey, what exactly are you interested in? I seldom buy new titles. I never buy Readers Digest or condensed books. I prefer books that state 1st edition or 1st printing on the copyright page. I absolutely will not buy print-on-demand books.

Topics of interest to me include Atlantic salmon, muskie, brook trout, tarpon, fly tying, bamboo rod building and other types of fishing books work for me. I crave good books on hunting ruffed grouse, deer, ducks, geese, upland game, wild turkey, woodcock and other hunting books. I have a mild interest in African hunting books but am picky about what I buy. I do pick up books on duck decoys.

Some hunting authors that I'm collecting. Please save this list. There are certain authors I collect.

Robert Austin	Fred Bear	Havilah Babcock	Larry Benoit	Wayne Bledsoe
Stewart Bristol	Bob Brunner	Nash Buckingham	Doug Camp	Thomas C. Chubback Burns
Peter Hathaway Capstick (first editions only)	Russell Chatham	Wally Chodak	Thomas C. Chubb	Malcomb Commer
Wingbone Cryer	Eugene Connett	Ralf Coykendall	Paul Dalke	Henry Davis
Jack Dudley	John Duff	George Bird Evans	J. Wayne Fears	Bill Harper
William Harnden Foster	Percy Haver	Marv Heeler	Vic Jansen	John Knapp
Dana Lamb	Homer LeBlanc	J. Stockley Ligon	Doyle Loadholtz	John Lowther
Thomas McGuane	John Minor	Art Moraski	Richard Nissley	Jack O'Connor
Hoffman Phiilip	W. H. Purser	John Pusztay	Larry Ramsell	George Richey
Robert Ruark	Ernest Schwiebert	Louie Spray	Bob Swineheart	Robert Traver
Jack L. Turner	Ted Vogel	Alfred Weed

and many more.

I'm always interested in any books written by Michigan turkey hunters like Denny Geurink. State published turkey hunting, management, ecology, roosting habits, food habits, etc. are needed.

People have nothing invested in offering me books for possible purchase. If I can't or won't buy your books, I'll be happy to explain why. If I do buy, know that I will give you the highest possible price, and hope then to be able to resell the books for a modest profit but that doesn't always happen.

I've never cheated anyone, and don't plan on starting now. My reputation is excellent, and I sell books off my website and some by mail order sales. It's in my best interest to pay the highest possible price, and still realize a potential profit.

I grade books fairly, charge a fair price and pay a fair price when I buy. I've been buying and selling books for 43 years, and one doesn't stay in this kind of business for long by cheating people.

Give me a try. The nasty winter weather is behind us, but late spring rains may stall your outdoor activities.  Take a bit of that time to dig through that pile of fishing and hunting books stashed in the attic, barn, basement, cellar, closet, garage or wherever, write down the author's name, the book title, and whether paperback or hardcover with dust jacket. If you can read this, you can certainly email me and tell me what you have for sale.

It's that easy. And who knows? The book you sell could be valuable or not, but the payment may allow you to purchase some fishing or hunting equipment. Try me and let's see what happens.