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S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 2 0 0 Money will buy a fine dog, but only love can make it wag its tail. Richard Freedman, Chicken Soup for the Soul, 2005. Submitted by John E. Reesor of Shakopee, Minnesota. I shall now confess to you that none of these three trout had to be beheaded, or folded double, to fit their casket. What was big was not the trout, but the chance. What was full was not my creel, but my memory. Like the whitethroats, I had forgotten it would ever again be aught but morning on the Fork. Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, 1966. Submitted by Duane Harpster of Boulder Junction, Wisconsin. As long as there is such a thing as a wild goose, I leave you the meaning of freedom. As long as there is such a thing as a hunting dog, I leave you the meaning of loyalty. As long as there is such a thing as having your own gun and a place to walk free with it, I leave you the feeling of responsibility. This is part of what I give you when I give you your first gun. Gene Hill, Hill Country, 1978. Submitted by Danny Barrett of Fruit Cove, Florida. Even that cynic Mark Twain said that in heaven, all the dogs we have ever owned will come running toward us. I would agree, especially if they are bird dogs. Most Native Americans had a belief in some sort of happy hunting ground where the deer and buffalo were abundance. Me, I tend to believe that whatever hope we have lies just beyond the light of the campfire, in that unseen night where wild animals live their secret lives and everybody we have truly known watches over our shoulder as the flames live and die. John Barsness, Born to Hunt, 2011. Submitted by Bob Whitehead of Cloverdale, California. I love pheasants. I love the way they look. The forward half of a rooster, with its riot of improbable colors— the iridescent purple and green, pure scarlet, stark white, and shimmering cop p e r—is a p e rfe ct reflection of the brassy, cocky side of the bird's personality. And yet the rear half—with the muted tans, the surprisingly effective camouflage barring, and that whimsical touch of effeminate blue—reflects the elusive side of the pheasant's nature. Steve Grooms, Modern Pheasant Hunting, 1982. Submitted by Nick Balzano of Nazareth, Pennsylvania. Send us your favorite quotes from sporting literature and receive one free gift subscription for every quote that is published. Include the author, title of book and date of publication. Send to: Quotes, Sporting Classics, PO Box 23707, Columbia, SC 29224 Reader Favorites u o t e s O l I am only a reasonable quail shot but the men with me were excellent, their dogs were professional, keen, hard and hard- working. No quail. But there's one nice thing about hunting. Even with no birds, you'd rather go than not. John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley, 1962. Submitted by Louis A. Komjathy, II of Avery, Texas. "Oh I know he's moth-eaten and tattered, but I keep him out of sentiment; he ate my first wife." By BILL WARD fOR Men'S mAgAzIne 1962 – COuRteSy heRItAge AuCtIOnS/hA.COm