They Shoot Canoes, Don't They?

by Patrick F. McManus

With tongue pressed firmly in cheek and a gentle but penetrating eye for human foibles, Patrick F. McManus celebrates the hidden pleasures, unappreciated lore, and opportunities for disaster to be found in the recreations of camping, hunting, and fishing in his hilarious collection They Shoot Canoes, Don’t They ?

Gathered here for the reader’s edification are such treasures as the true but little known story of the discovery of the efficacy of live bait by Genghis Khan’s chef, an examination of the precarious and perhaps fanatical expertise required for ice fishing, and a consideration of the circumstances that can cause a deer to ride a bicycle.

Among additional topics explored are The Crouch Hop and Other Useful Outdoor Steps, The Sensuous Angler, and Psychic Powers for Outdoorsmen. Included, too, is The Hunter’s Dictionary, an invaluable lexicon that helps the novice sportsman understand such arcane terminology as “Ooooooeee-ah-ah-ah! (If there’s one thing I hate, it’s putting on cold, wet pants in the morning)” and “Baff mast pime ig bead feas mid miff pife! (That’s the last time I try to eat peas in the dark with my hunting knife!)”

The author’s appreciation of outdoor life began in his early boyhood, when he absorbed a wealth of improbable information imparted by the old woodsman Rancid Crabtree, “who bathed only on leap years.” Young McManus also enjoyed special adventures with his ill-remembered sidekick, Retch Sweeney, and another boon companion of days gone by, the loquacious family dog, Strange, whose exploits as a hunter were limited to assaulting stray chickens and on one memorable occasion a skunk.

“McManus here follows up A Fine and Pleasant Misery with a collection of sketches that launches him into the front ranks of outdoor humorists.”― Library Journal

Genres: Humor, Fiction, Comedy, Short Stories, Outdoors, Adventure, Nature

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Patrick F. McManus is an American outdoor humor writer. A humor columnist for Outdoor Life and other magazines, his columns have been collected in several books.

Reviews

[Caleb CW · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, I love these books. This shit gets funnier and funnier with every new essay. I highly recommend all of these. McManus got it right every time with his outdoor stories. This guy was truly a gem. 10 out of 10 will read again.

There it is and there you have it.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Huntin' and fishin' humor. My first try at McManus, and likely the last. I've read or skimmed a third of this slender collection, and really haven't liked any of them, though there are moments.

I'll let it sit a few days & try again. Maybe.

Or not. It came due; No loss, SFAICT.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I grew up listening to my Dad and brothers read McManus stories aloud to the family. I didn't always get the jokes, but I loved all the silly antics. As an adult, I married into a family that has a lot of outdoors men in it. I was surprised to find that none of them had read any McManus, although I guess part of the reason is that none of them are big into reading at all.
Anyway, I started looking around, trying to find some of the books to give to these men as gifts. That was when I discovered that McManus books can be difficult to find, except used from places like Amazon.
As such, whenever I have found a copy of one at a thrift store I've snatched it up just in case.
That is how I acquired this book, and even though I'm not super big into hunting or fishing myself, I do love camping and decided I'd read through it until the occasion arrived when I might give it away.
It definitely gave me a good chuckle and brought back many memories.
It was kind of funny to read them from an adult perspective and be able to get all the jokes.
I would highly recommend them to any outdoors man.

[Jim Corn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great bedside read if you get one of his books you will be hooked and want them all. This man is funny with great stories of his childhood hunting fishing and the great outdoors.

[Connie Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that Lee has had for many years. Jackson loved it so I decided to venture outside my normal reading selections. It was like Erma Bombeck for dudes. I did laugh out loud a few times.

[Stephanie R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of very funny stories about "outdoorsie" things that happened to the author. Not only do they provide you with helpful hunting/fishing/camping advice, but they also provide insight into what it was like growing up in the 1970's, when a pair of "Tenner shoes" was 95 cents and that was very expensive. The author favors running gags and brick jokes, making it hard to pick out funny lines to quote. So, here are some of my favorite anecdotes:

=The description of how a hunter's first deer grows in size, number of points, intelligence, and personality over time.
=Explanation of why men go fishing in the winter
=Tenner shoes (tennis shoes) and why they were so great
=When the author built his own canoe but modified the design to make it easier to build by giving it a flat bottom and two square ends, so it ended up looking like a coffin for a snake.
=The list of bad gifts bought by well-meaning people who want to get something "outdoorsie" such as "sleeping bag warmers for backpackers" which are actually bricks.
=Terrible camp cooking, like the stew that contained pipe tobacco because the author was cooking in the dark
=How Mr. Sneed the game warden sneaked up on people in humorous ways to catch them poaching.
=Going backpacking in order to make it rain
=When the author shot his first deer and tied it onto the back of his bicycle to take it home but it wasn't really dead and it woke up and tried to get away

[Omar · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say, Patrick McManus is awesome!

[Mitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost wrote this only halfway into the book itself, so confident was I that Mr. McManus would stay consistently funny until the very end...and he didn't let me down.

He writes about his outdoors woodsman experiences, many of which he recalled with considerable inaccuracy, from his childhood.

He's hilarious.

I'm not a camper, hunter or fisherman. This should be credentials enough to prove that the subject matter is not near and deer to my hart, but I still enjoyed Mr. McManus' comedic capabilities immensely.

I am, however, a guy. I'm fairly certain you need to have at least one of these traits going for you to enjoy this book.

If you qualify, go dig it up somewheres and head on out to a mountain stream where you can read it uninterruptedly while not doing all that annoying camping, fishing, etc. What an ideal spot for reading!

[Sarah Piper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seriously cracks me up. There were a couple good stories (The Green Box, the B Western, Tenner Shoes) but Journal of an Expedition was Freaking Hilarious. Hip flask, snow shoes, a toboggan and three friends on a winter hike ... what a wonderful combination!!!

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you know McManus, this is him. Nothing unexpected.* Always entertaining.

*Now that I think about it this might be the first time I recall him ever using the word S-E-X. It was just the once, but still.

[Alan Tomkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moderately funny in places, but not nearly as good as the author's first collection of stories, A Fine and Pleasant Misery.

[Sarah Dallair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laughing out loud, tears streaming down your face, raw organic belly laughter.

[Marfita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny as ever - especially the story about the first deer, which has a Wodehouse flavor to it. I had read this before, but some of it was still fresh. I don't agree with the comment that McManus writes the same story over and over and I was on the alert for this. You could say that about Wodehouse as well, but it's the way the story is told, not the story itself. McManus careens between self-aggrandizing and self-deprecation as he tells stories of life in the outdoors and of his brief love affair with someone from the office whose husband is supposed to be out of town. He gives "fileting" a whole new meaning ... that is totally undeserved.

[Janet Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite collection of Mcmanus stories. Used "My first deer and welcome to it," as a kick off to hyperbole writing assignment for my 11th grade students back in the day. For many years I read it just prior to the local deer hunt, and it helped produce some of the best writing I ever got from the football players! Every experience in high school is foder for exaggeration, and this story is the best. Also used "The Rifle" and the title story for good examples of hyperbole.
Love these!

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dad read this to me when I was younger on our camping trips. Now whenever we go camping it comes along. The paperback I have is tattered and worn and still smells like wood smoke. One of our favorite books to read together.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading McManus' column in Field and Stream was something that my Dad turned me on to many, many years ago. I still appreciate cornball humor from time to time.

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not my style of humor. This author just did not clik for me.

[Jerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great treasury of stories...and the fish tales get bigger....

[Sharon C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written and hilarious!

[Cordell Lucas · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay but I don't think that i would recommend it to anybody. It was a little weird.

[Cj Zawacki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can remember those days when I entered the barbershop on my own as a young lad. I always would page through the LOOK and LIFE magazines first. Those gave the news of the world events in pictures and short explanations. If you were lucky, the shop may have had some old National Geographic ( they were always the old ones, funny,) and if the barber was too busy to notice you peaking, nudies! But you couldn't look too long.

Before my flat top hair cut, the one magazine article writer I glanced for in all the backs of sport hunting mags was Patrick F. McManus. A very funny storyteller of trips in the wilds for camping, fishing, hunting, and all-around nature events a city/country boy ever dreamed of.

I enjoyed his book of old stories in " they Still Shoot Canoes, Don't They?" A great read for those times when I want a quick funny moment.

[Jay French · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m reading my way through Patrick McManus’ books of his articles from sporting magazines, and am nearing the end. “They Shoot Canoes, Don’t They?” is the one for today, and I say that I enjoyed this one quite a bit. There seem to be more of my favorite types of stories here, the ones from the author’s childhood, with his normal cast of characters, and with some new introductions, like the sporting goods store owner and Sneed, the fish and wildlife guy. Favorite of the bunch is a dog story, called Skunk Dog, of course about his dog Strange. McManus’ stories remind me not necessarily of what I and my friends did when we were young, but what we considered doing… Funny, one of his better ones.

[Will Dole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Pat McManus, so don’t read this review as in any way denying that I laughed most of the way through (again). His outdoor focused humor is my style; and I’ve been reading him my whole life, so it’s also a nostalgia hit for me.

This read through was with the kids, and aside from having to skip a couple stories and edit a couple more, it was fun to share a bit of my childhood with them.

If you like Twain-style humor but can tolerate a little less literary genius, you’ll laugh along with McManus. Or if you grew up in North Idaho and knew most of his characters by name. Anyway. “They Shoot Canoes, Don’t They?” was a good time.

[Lisa Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Patrick McManus is a outdoor/nature and hunting writer, and in this book he tells stories of his adventures outdoors in his early boyhood, as well as tales of his hunting and fishing as an adult, sprinkled with made up stories of how different outdoorsmen traditions came to be.

I am sure that someone who is a hunting and fishing enthusiast would find this book humorous and entertaining, but although I have some experience with both, I was bored and it dragged so much for me. I don't know what I thought the book was going to be, but I wonder why I added it to my "to read" list in the first place - oops.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG! I laughed so hard reading this book I almost wet my pants. I knew I was in for a treat when I read the first chapter & learned the history of bait. Then the difference between live bait & dead bait, including how one can become the other under certain conditions. The book reminded me of a combination of Duck Dynasty & The Red Green Show. Any one of the stories recounted in this book would make for a hilarious TV show.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants a lighthearted read to give them a break from more serious books.

[Andie Dole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was our Mommy's-sick-so-Dad's-going-to-read-a-different-book-tonight book.
If you're outdoorsy, you'll love it. If you're a yuppy, such as myself, most of this might go over your head. I fell asleep a lot due to lack of interest, but my kids liked it. It also helped me understand my outdoorsy husband's jokes better.

[xtine]

Another great collection from Patrick F. McManus. I really liked Skunk Dog; The Rifle; My First Deer, and Welcome To It; The Crouch Hop and Other Useful Outdoor Steps; The Education of a Sportsman; The Sensuous Angler; And Now Stay Tune For The Camp Chef; The Hunter's Dictionary; Tenner Shoes; The Fishing Lesson.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another collection of twenty-five short stories about the exploits of outdoor adventure as shared by the author as he tells of camping, fishing and hunting in a humorous way that only he can spin a yarn. A fun read, sure to bring a smile, if not a laugh out loud snort and giggle.

[Concerning Nonsense · Rating 5 out of 5]

I sadly must admit that I have never heard of McManus until now. I have gone woefully through life without his guiding wit. But after having now read this assortment of short stories, I must bow to his greatness. It is a shame that he isn't more widely appreciated.

[behsforensics]

Cutting is for Meanwhile, Back at the B
Western
By Patrick F. McManus

Another cutting is for My First Deer, and Welcome
to It
By Patrick F. McManus

Yet another cutting is for The Rifle
By Patrick F. McManus