Patrick McManus
Contributors to this thread:General Topic
From: 12yards
13-Apr-18
Not sure he was a bowhunter, but what a great writer. Always read his articles in Field and Stream/Outdoor Life. Hilarious. Died today I guess.
From: drycreek
13-Apr-18
Sad. He was always one of my favorites.
From: Treeline
13-Apr-18
That is sad news. Loved his columns - they were the first ones that I would read in Outdoor Life and Field and Stream as a boy. I can distinctly remember laughing out loud reading some of his wild yarns.
God Speed Patrick, you will be missed.
From: Blue Buck
13-Apr-18
Hilarious stories. RIP Pat.
From: Robear
13-Apr-18
long live Rancid Crabtree!!!! Here is one of Pat's Quotes.
12. “It is best not to use a sleeping bag on your first attempt to sleep outside alone in the dark. Sleeping bags are not ?made for running.” —Risk Assessment, April 2009
From: Brotsky
13-Apr-18
RIP Pat...I also loved to read his stories in Field and Stream. We're losing too many good ones lately :(
From: Bou'bound
13-Apr-18
You guess he died?
From: Bozz
13-Apr-18
he was the best. you could always relate to his stories, and characters. RIP Pat
From: smarba
13-Apr-18
We're all going someday, but sad news to hear.
"Poof no eyebrows" - if that phrase doesn't bring tears of laughter to your eyes you're too young...
From: midwest
13-Apr-18
midwest's Link
RIP, Patrick.
From: cnelk
13-Apr-18
Dang. A classic writer for sure.
I remember back in the 70s, reading his OL columns in the HS library trying not to get in trouble by laughing out loud
I also have every book he wrote.
From: Woods Walker
13-Apr-18
He follows in the path of another great one, Ed Zern. The "back page" of F&S was the best part of the magazine! RIP Pat.
From: JRABQ
13-Apr-18
Sad to hear the news, I also have every book he wrote, funny stuff. Usually keep a few of his books in my trailer and camper, read a story or two before going to sleep. "Muldoon in Love" is one of my favorites, and of course the classic "Deer on a Bicycle". He will be missed, RIP Pat.
From: nvgoat
13-Apr-18
I reread a couple of his books not long ago. Always hilarious. I laugh out loud every time I read "The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw". "Poof No Eyebrows" was a classic. My 30 something kids and I still kid around with various lines from his stories which they read when they were young.
From: HDE
13-Apr-18
Some of the best reading you can do in a treestand, groundblind, or any other time you spend all day out in the woods.
From: Predeter
13-Apr-18
Sad to hear. Love his writing!
South Cox has been reading chapters from Patrick's books on his Western Bowhunter podcast the last few weeks. I hadn't read any of his stuff in a while and South's podcasts reminded me if how hilarious it is.
From: bentshaft
13-Apr-18
RIP. A great writer indeed.
From: LKH
13-Apr-18
Wife would ask me why I was laughing uncontrollably. Then say, "Oh, you're reading McManus". He will be missed.
From: scentman
13-Apr-18
Yes he was a character allright... i enjoyed the illustrations just as much. RIP Sir.
From: Bownarrow
13-Apr-18
I'm his biggest fan. RIP Patrick M. Many great, eloquent, funny short stories. His wit is a loss for all of us. Kelly
From: DL
13-Apr-18
Have some of his books. He was funny indeed but also had some truth to some of his humor. I liked his explanation of fly fishing. He said it has nothing to do with catching fish. If it was fly fisherman would use worms, worms rule.
From: Vids
13-Apr-18
Great writer, I always enjoyed his articles. RIP
From: Tilzbow
13-Apr-18
I would never read one of his books when sitting in a blind or stand as suggested above. Way too funny for that and all the game within miles would either be running away or lying on their backs cracking up. He was a true American classic!
From: Knight Archer
13-Apr-18
Used to turn to the back page to read Pat first, then I read OL cover to cover.
From: wooddamon1
13-Apr-18
Bummer, my favorite author by far. I had a dog like Strange and a bike like the one he describes as having ruined "the image I was trying to cultivate of a dashing, carefree playboy." I'll be re-reading all his books again this year. Love the guy. RIP, Pat. Thanks for all the laughs.
From: BSBD
13-Apr-18
I’ve always loved Pat McManus. The man could make you laugh out loud sitting in a room by yourself.
I always tell my family “the two best times for fishing are when it’s raining and when it ain’t”.
From: Inshart
13-Apr-18
Agree with all that's been said. RIP
From: Treeline
14-Apr-18
No way I could read McManus on a tree stand! I would probably fall out laughing all the way to the ground!
Been ruminating about Mr. McManus’s yarns all day. Holding back full on laughing fits with a tear in my eye.
From: HDE
14-Apr-18
What makes his stories funny is how easy they are to relate with.
From: Lever Action
14-Apr-18
My Favorite Author. I have all of his books I do believe.
From: Greg Kush
14-Apr-18
Pat was also my favorite author. We had to write our major senior english paper in high school (1985) on an author and I picked Pat McManus. I was a bit leery at first since everyone else was picking the big name authors, but you usually do your best work sticking with what you really know. This redneck knew Pat McManus' humor much better than the classics. :-) Thankfully, my teacher ended up really liking my paper even though he had never heard of Pat. He actually ended up becoming quite a fan of Pat's work and listened to McManus a whole bunch years later as he and his son drove many hours for his son's medical treatments. (My teacher's son turned out to be quite an outdoorsman.) I reconnected with my english teacher in recent years and he thanked me for introducing him to Pat McManus because those drives while sharing belly laughs with his son at the antics of Crazy Eddie Muldoon, Retch Sweeney, etc., are some of his fondest memories of his son (who died in his early twenties).
Thanks, Mr. McManus, for giving so many of us many hours of enjoyment during our lives.
From: Greg Kush
14-Apr-18
There is a guy who acts out Pat McManus' stories and he is very good. You might get a kick out it. Below is a good example. Just watched it again and the dog was wondering what the hell I kept laughing at.
From: SB
14-Apr-18
I heard that he died some time ago!
From: Paul@thefort
14-Apr-18
died 4 11 18 at age 84
From: 12yards
14-Apr-18
Patrick was one of my favorites. He along with Gordon Macquarrie, Gene Hill, and Robert Traver (John Voelker) provided me with many hours of entertainment back when I was beginning my love for the outdoors. Great reading!
Sorry Bou'bound, didn't mean it to be disrespectful if it was. "Guess" was a bad choice of words. Sorry.
From: ACB
14-Apr-18
Just now read this , sad to hear . I not sure how many of his books I have , but I love them all . He was truly and American great. I have a Cousin who says all great stories come from rural America. Pat backs this up .
From: ACB
14-Apr-18
Just now read this , sad to hear . I not sure how many of his books I have , but I love them all . He was truly and American great. I have a Cousin who says all great stories come from rural America. Pat backs this up .
From: wkochevar
14-Apr-18
He and Cam Ghostkeeper are to 2 of the funniest outdoor satirists you'll ever read. RIP!
From: pa10point
14-Apr-18
I remember laying on living room floor and my parents wondering why i was laughing hysterically while reading a hunting magazine. After explaining and retelling pats story,ended up having to fight to be the first one to read all future stories. Pat was a genius at making an everyday event for a young rural boy into a classic story. RIP.
From: pa10point
14-Apr-18
12YARDS do you remember nina in all of pats stories.
From: Muddyboots
14-Apr-18
He could make a funny story out of most any event. Easily his column was the best part of every magazine. RIP, Sir.
From: Scott Alaniz
15-Apr-18
Irreplaceable. One of my favorites...RIP
From: rallison
15-Apr-18
He was an avid bowhunter. Back in the day, he came to our archery club banquet twice. Awesome guy...the most down to earth imaginable. I got to know him pretty well and we stayed in touch for a long time.
His characters in the "Dumb Bunch" were real people...Rotten Randy was his brother-in-law. They went on a lot of hunting trips, and he told me a few hilarious stories from a western diamondback in North Dakota to what he did to Randy in Alaska.
His is a real loss!
From: Boreal
15-Apr-18
The " Dumb Bunch" was from Maggie McGee.
From: rallison
15-Apr-18
Oh...duh! Well, its early...yeah that was Maggie, who died last year!
I hadn't heard about Pat! I think I have every one of his books, dating way back.
I did once ask Maggie what he thought of Pat...he said, he was his hero and idol. Both guys will be missed.
From: rallison
15-Apr-18
Oh...duh! Well, its early...yeah that was Maggie, who died last year!
I hadn't heard about Pat! I think I have every one of his books, dating way back.
I did once ask Maggie what he thought of Pat...he said, he was his hero and idol. Both guys will be missed.
From: Cheesehead Mike
16-Apr-18
always loved his stories. One that sticks in my mind is "A Hunker is Not a Squat"
From: smarba
16-Apr-18
I echo Treeline's post: no way could I read McManus sitting in a stand. Besides laughing too loud I'd have so many tears in my eyes I'd miss any deaf deer that did walk by. Reading some his stories are probably THE hardest I've laughed in all my life. Good stuff.
From: Dwitt2n
16-Apr-18
Pat McManus is the one writer who could get me laughing so hard I would have tears in my eyes. Thanks you for sharing your gift Mr. McManus. You will be missed indeed.
From: Bowriter
16-Apr-18
I have been trying for years to get permission to hunt Rancid Crabtree's place. Pat was a great guy, good friend. Miss him. he lived like a lot of wish we could.
From: NoWiser
16-Apr-18
I was thinking about McManus last night and I realized that I can remember the exact day I read my first story of his. It was 22 years ago and I was in 6th grade at the school's library. I was (and am) a fishing nut and came across a book called "Never Sniff a Gift Fish." It obviously caught my attention. I can remember the table I sat down at and which wall the book came off of. I also remember trying not to bust out laughing. I was hooked. For the next 6 years, until I left for college, I don't think I went anywhere without one of Pat's books. I've never read anything that could put my imagination into overdrive like him. I'm going to dust off "The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw" tonight and have myself a good chuckle in memory of an author that shaped my life more than any. RIP Pat. Gone but certainly never forgotten.
From: bud
16-Apr-18
When camping you have two kinds of fires. The smudge or the inferno....gone but not forgotten. Talented.
From: hogthief
17-Apr-18
they shoot canoes, don't they?
From: Boatman71
17-Apr-18
Now Im going to have to dig through my Field and Streams tonight to get another chuckle!
From: bow-hnt
18-Apr-18
I started ready Pat's books 25 years ago, and I still take them hunting and read them! Pat McManus you will be missed!
From: Shug
18-Apr-18
I vividly remember being shushed in my high school library for laughing out loud reading one of his stories.
FFG!!
From: grape
18-Apr-18
FBLP....Full Bore Linear Panic....makes me laugh whenever I think of his description of “panic”.
From: Katahdin
18-Apr-18
"there is no greater bond between two men than shared ignorance"
