Occasionally a writer comes along with a knack for putting into words aspects of the sporting experience that all hunters feel yet find difficult to describe or share with others. Gene Hill (1928-1997) was masterly in this regard. After growing up in New Jersey, graduating from Harvard, and working as an ad copywriter, he found his true métier as a sporting scribe. Occasional freelancing gave way to a full-time career in the profession and over the years he served as a columnist for several magazines.

Today he is best remembered for “Tail Feathers” in Sports Afield and “Hill Country” in Field & Stream. Although he wrote full-length features, Hill was unquestionably at his best when writing pithy columns. He took the simplest of subjects, such as an old hunting jacket or a session of winter armchair adventure beside a cheery fire, and handled them with wit, whimsy, and wisdom.