Bow Hunting Legend M.R. James book signing this weekend

by Special from the Ferdinand News

Somewhere outside of Adyeville — where rolling farmland meets the Hoosier National Forest — there lives a hunter, author, editor, television personality and grandfather who has made his way in this world doing all but the later.

His name is M.R. James and among those things he holds dear — that “turn his crank,” so to speak — is a love and passion for bow hunting and all things archery.

First and foremost, James has written a new book, his 8th to be exact.

“Hunting the Dream,” is a memoir detailing the writer’s roots growing up in Wabash County, Illinois, to his adventures in the office and in the field as a founding father (and long-time editor) of Bowhunter magazine.

James ‘started bow hunting before compounds,’ and has since hunted all 29 big game species in North America, taking a good percentage (over 20, to be approximate) of those animals. He has, in fact, hunted all over the continent.

After spending 17 years on their ranch in Montana, M.R. and high school sweetheart, wife Janet, moved back to Indiana to be closer to family, most notably, six of their grandkids.

“We are from the Midwest and we are, really, Hoosiers,” says James, who attended college in Evansville, then Oakland City, taught, wrote and edited around the state and then founded his magazine in Fort Wayne in 1971.

The walls of M.R.’s Perry County home are adorned with hunting memorabilia and trophy animals. A stack of Bowhunter magazines and of course Fancy, the family dog occupy the living room. Most all those animals — bears, elk, goats, sheep, mountain lion, trophy bucks and more — have fascinating stories behind them as do a plethora of antique and custom bows, signed books, awards, pictures with celebrities, artwork and a number of other treasures.

“One of the things all hunters like is to share stories; that’s my business,” explains James of the inspirations behind his book, many of which go far beyond bow hunting. For example, From the Rubble, details the account of Will Jimeno, a Port Authority police officer trapped in the destruction of 9/11, who happened to be an avid bow hunter. James not only interviewed him for the magazine, but arranged for and accommodated him on a hunt in Colorado that rewarded Jimeno with his first trophy buck.

M.R.’s detailed narrative of Jimeno’s experience would help the film crew of Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center,” re-tell his story on the big screen.

“This book was what I pictured about my life that would be of interest to a lot of people,” says James. “Occasionally, I have ‘attacks of philosophy’ and this is my way of putting these things on paper.”

Many of those ‘attacks’ are inspirational, some bittersweet, others sad, lots are humorous.

One such story details the Jameses showing of their Montana home. The perspective buyer was a model who had done some work for the organization, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). In the chapter, Christy Looks Different with Her Clothes On, Christy Turlington’s “I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur” PETA billboard had Janet and M.R. quite nervous — what would she think of his memory room chock full of furry mounts? How comfortable could an anti-fur advocate really be around someone who makes a living in the sport of hunting?

They needn’t have worried.

Things turned out for the better, however, as the couple experienced first hand just how down to earth international supermodels can be.

M.R.’s bow hunting endeavors and his sharing of it are not limited to 9/11 heroes or his buddy, Ted Nugent (check out the chapter, Hangin’ with the Nuge). He has taken his young Perry County neighbor hunting, who bagged his first doe one year and his first buck the next.

A member of the Archery Hall of Fame, James’ love of the sport is somewhat contagious and he is quick to point out that almost everyone in the world has shot a bow and arrow of some form or fashion — even if it was made of plastic with suction cup-tipped arrows.

M.R. James with be at The Great Outdoors in Jasper on July 13, from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. (EDT) to sign his new book and share hunting stories.