Endless October: Short stories from a traveling bird hunter

by Randy Schultz

For a traveling bird hunter, October is heaven on Earth. Randy is a story-teller, dog trainer, wingshooter, and wandering bird dog man. Every fall, he turns his truck north and west to match wits with grouse, pheasant, quail, and Chukar. He takes us through the years and the dogs. He tells the stories of coveys flushing, roosters cackling, quail running, shotguns, family, and even one unlucky yard chicken. He will take you west to Montana, Idaho, and Arizona, north to Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, and south to Georgia. You can feel the wind, hear the exploding flush, smell the prairie, see the sunset, and taste sweet victory in the win. The journey isn't without a few bumps in the road, as Randy learns as much from his dogs as they do from him. From season to season, puppies grow up, dogs hit their prime, and old dogs die, but through it all, the yearning and the restlessness aren't satisfied until that glorious month of October.

141 pages, Paperback

Published April 15, 2019

Reviews

[Patrick Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

2022-03-14 Finished this last night. Fun read. Brought back some great memories for me in hunting:
- partridge (ruffed grouse) and woodcock with my Dad, uncles, brothers, cousins, wife and friends in Michigan
- Pheasant in IL and CA

The main focus of the book is the amazing hunting dogs the author has owned and hunted with. To see a great bird dog hunt is truly an amazing thing. The author does a very good job of conveying some of that amazement.

My hunting memories, mainly in Michigan, do not recall so many birds as the author recounts on his various stories. .. not nearly so many. But the disappointment of not seeing or shooting birds fades, with the pleasure of being just out in the great woods, and fields, during that glorious month of October. Such memories for me as:
- that pungent air with the so distinctive smell of wet and rotting but not unpleasant leaves,
- the incredible bright colors of the maple leaves still on the trees,
- finding and tasting little wintergreen berries underneath (not in the book),
- the almost insane excitement of the dogs to be let go to find the scent of the birds,
- the astounding energy and diligence the dogs displayed in searching at breakneck speed all the territory we had to cover....
and many more came back to mind or was covered in the pages of this very pleasant little book.

Neat pics of the author and his dogs and some of the birds they found too.

Recommended for bird hunters for sure, or those who might want to check out the woods and fields in October for such delights.

[Andrew Wayment · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book on a Friday night in one sitting. Randy tells a good story. I love the diversity of the birds and the cover that Randy describes, grouse in the Great Lakes states, sharpies and Huns in Montana, scaled quail in Texas and New Mexico. My favorite chapter was about Bo, the English Setter, in the Quail Unlimited Field Trial. You gotta love a dog that doesn’t have no in his heart! I also loved reading about Randy taking a generous limit of ruffs over his Brittany’s points. Oh, and I laughed out loud reading about Randy’s $200 guns. This book is a great read! I highly recommend it.

[Michael Morrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

First an admission: I'm a very sedentary person. I read a lot but don't do much outdoors. (There are health reasons.)
But reading "Endless October" made me want to get out, follow the dogs -- which I would have to borrow -- and see, smell, and feel the great outdoors where all the different kinds of birds are.
I've been in all the states Randy Schultz writes about, but his book makes me want to go visit them again.
Even beyond what Randy Schultz writes, how he writes is also inviting. I was and am very impressed by his style.
And I was and am impressed by some lovely photos. Not only the subjects, but the framing and other technical aspects help make his images as important to his books as the words and stories.
Notice I said "books": It turns out that his electronic version of "Endless October" has more photos than the paperback version. And in the e-book, they're in color.
Randy Schultz is highly regarded in bird-hunting circles. He gets invited to give speeches, for example, and he has both a blog and a podcast on the subject.
So anybody interested in the subjects of birds, bird dogs, bird-hunting, or even just in a pleasant book on the subject, nicely written and illustrated, will be doing himself a big favor to read this book, in either format.
Finally, another admission: Yes, I am his editor. I'm not trying to hide that fact. But I mean every word I say in this review.

[Michael Powers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book on upland bird hunting. Randy is a down-to-earth guy that I could relate to. If you like the outdoors, hunting and dogs, you will love this book!

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, enjoyable read. I bought this book by accident. I had meant to get a different book, but I decided to read this rather than return it and was glad I did. It's a bit short, but easy to read. You can tell the author is a real dog person. I'm considering getting the author's second book as well.

[Keenan Bartlett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully touching compilation of stories. Brought back some incredible memories of time spent with my dad and dogs out in nature. An easy read, but be prepared for some very emotional images.