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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 .
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 .
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.