Mostly Tailfeathers: Stories About Guns and Dogs and Birds and Other Odds and Ends

by Gene Hill

"This book is about hunting and fishing, but its more than that. Its about the animals and objects, the people, the attitudes, and emotions that make hunting and fishing important. Readers will identify themselves and friends in the delightful pages." -Western Outdoors

Genres: Outdoors

173 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[Fanugee · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite authors. It is like rreading letters from an old friend.

[Drew Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I struggled to rate this one. I really enjoyed some of the stories, “Putting Thing Away” and “After Dark” in particular, but I found others underwhelming and many painfully outdated. If you struggle to appreciate a book within the era it was written this probably isn’t for you. If you can look past the worn out repetition of stories about wives and how many guns the protagonist is trying to sneak past them, a recurring theme in many of Hill’s essays, you’ll do alright with this one. Gene Hill writes strong prose though and paints an engaging picture of his era of onion sandwiches, pipe tobacco, and “women’s work”.

[Allan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gene Hill wrote a column for "Sports Afeld" magazine for a number of years. This book, his second, contains stories about gun dogs, field guns and birds that I enjoyed. My long appreciation for outdoor/hunting sports writings is evident in many of my choices. I find better writing in this area than in many others I have perused. I include Hill in this grouping.

[Harry Patrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I've had this book for close to 40 years & re-read it every couple of years. Gene Hill wrote a column for Sports Afield way back in time & I do remember some of his columns which are in this book. There's a lot of humor, insight & nostalgia here. What could be better than sitting around a campfire with Gene Hill, trading stories & sharing a hip flask of good bourbon?

[J.J. Bruce]

No one in the world ever wrote a dead dog story like Gene Hill. I defy you to read one and not cry.

[Jeffrey Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

light read, preferred the old duck hunters by MacQuarrie. More of essays than stories

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Gene Hill has a way with words that makes you feel like you’re sharing hunting stories with a friend! Easy read,while still evoking emotion and the consideration to the greater purpose behind time in a blind, a good dog, or around a campfire. Some stories resonated with me more than others, and the chapters detailing guns specifically were lost unto me, only because I can’t grasp the appreciation for firearms like he or my dad can. True classic for the sporting shelf.

[Robert Paulson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book in September of 1984 as a birthday present. It is good book with a lot of nice hunting stories. I have probably only read it a dozen times. But it nice on those cold winter days by the fire.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

gene hill and a goodfire how can you go wrong

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Humorous stories about the outdoors as written for outdoor magazines. Easy to read and very enjoyable with an emphasis on human quirks.

[Casey Snider · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love Gene Hill, just not my favorite of his books.