{"id":11415,"date":"2015-03-03T15:39:35","date_gmt":"2015-03-03T15:39:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/?p=11415"},"modified":"2015-10-24T03:22:28","modified_gmt":"2015-10-24T03:22:28","slug":"do-you-know-john-macnab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/do-you-know-john-macnab\/","title":{"rendered":"Do You Know John Macnab"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Macnab-3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir was a Scottish novelist, historian, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada. Buchan had a storied career in British politics but he was mostly a writer; a writer who penned one of the best hunting and fishing stories of all time.\u00a0This story has everything: adventure, love, and friendship, all wrapped around the personal struggles of a few men. Within this novel exists the single best tale of the pursuit of a big game animal and a fish I have ever read. Funny thing is, few have ever heard of this book.<\/p>\n

This is possibly because it was written in 1925 and also possibly because it was about poaching.<\/p>\n

Now, though I cannot swear I have followed every game law to the letter over my lifetime of hunting, I am not a poacher. But Buchan\u2019s story is about poaching of a gentleman like nature; illegal but honorable acts perpetuated by men who were, shall we say, suffering from\u00a0taedium vitae.<\/p>\n

Even though few are familiar with the book, John Macnab<\/a>,\u00a0it has inspired various sportsmen challenges throughout the world. In Scotland<\/a> where the story is set, the ”Macnab” consists of shooting a Red Deer, a brace of Grouse and catching a Salmon all within one day.\u00a0In New Zealand it\u2019s called the Big Three Challenge. There the sportsman must bag a deer, a trout and a game fish within 24 hours. You might be surprised to know that the great Ted Williams<\/a> accomplished this in 1970. With the help of guides, charter boats and a floatplane, he caught a thresher shark at Mayor Island, a trout at Lake Taupo and shot a deer in the nearby hills. The clock started when the game fish was hooked and he completed the Big Three in 10 hours and\u00a030 minutes. The New Zealand record by the way is four hours and 12 minutes!<\/p>\n

This sporting feat has even found its way to Africa where it has morphed into various pursuits to even include buffalo<\/a>. Regardless of the location or the game, appreciation of any form of the \u201cMacnab\u201d cannot be fully enjoyed unless you have read the book.<\/p>\n

\"Macnab-2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It is very likely that after you have enjoyed this story you will be inspired to create your own \u201cMacnab\u201d based on where you live, hunt and fish. This is a great endeavor for those who have, shall we say, been there done that. And, just as importantly, if you are suffering from your own form of taedium vitae, it is sure to offer some relief if not a complete cure.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve given this some thought and here in West Virginia the \u201cMacnab\u201d must be the catching of a small mouth bass and the killing of a whitetail deer within a 24 hour period. I was with a fellow, a local river guide who goes only by the name of \u201cRedneck,\u201d who completed this task in a little less than two hours. Granted, his smallmouth was, well, small, and his whitetail was a doe. Neither hardly lived up to the real, though fictional, John Macnab standards. So it would seem Redneck still has\u00a0a challenge ahead of him. And that\u2019s a good thing.<\/p>\n

The point of all this is two-fold. First, you should take the time to read John Macnab. And, you should consider devising your own Macnab because that\u2019s what sportsmen do. As a word to the wise, I\u2019d suggest you avoid the poaching aspect, regardless of how gentlemanly it might seem; you won’t be able to brag about your accomplishments in\u00a0mixed company unless that company is sharing the same cell as you.<\/p>\n

\"Macnab-1\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir was a Scottish novelist, historian, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada. Buchan had a storied career in British politics but he was mostly a writer; a writer who penned one of the best hunting and fishing stories of all time.\u00a0This story has everything: adventure, love, and friendship, all wrapped around the personal struggles …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2522,1],"tags":[2408,2342,2407,2406],"class_list":["post-11415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hunt","category-uncategorized","tag-fishing-books","tag-hunting-books","tag-john-macnab","tag-macnab-challenge"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5hujZ-2Y7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13844,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/the-ultimate-challenge-for-the-outdoor-gun-owning-kind-of-guy\/","url_meta":{"origin":11415,"position":0},"title":"The Ultimate Challenge for the Outdoor, Gun Owning, Kind of Guy","author":"gunwriter","date":"August 30, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"At dawn on the 2nd of September, on what I\u2019m thinking will be a cool and foggy Scottish morning; my first fall hunt of 2016 will begin. Only a few hours later, at sundown, it will end. One day \u2013 less than 24 hours \u2013 to catch a salmon, take\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "EDITORIAL"","block_context":{"text":"EDITORIAL","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SC","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/SC.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/SC.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/SC.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/SC.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14428,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/the-big-book-of-big-game-hunting\/","url_meta":{"origin":11415,"position":1},"title":"The Big Book of Big Game Hunting","author":"gunwriter","date":"September 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"If you were going to write a book about big game hunting \u2013 a big book about big game hunting \u2013 how would you know what to include? If you\u2019d hunted all over the world, for all sorts of big critters, with all sorts of rifles, you\u2019d have the experience\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "EDITORIAL"","block_context":{"text":"EDITORIAL","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"BGB-6","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/BGB-6.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/BGB-6.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/BGB-6.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/BGB-6.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15295,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/a-text-book-for-rifle-loonies\/","url_meta":{"origin":11415,"position":2},"title":"A Text Book for Rifle Loonies","author":"gunwriter","date":"November 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Back before Wal-Mart and big box sporting good stores ran the little guy out of business, you could walk into a real\u00a0gun shop and become educated. Often there was no one behind the counter; you\u2019d find several gents huddled around the wood stove pontificating on things like growing green beans\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Empty Cases Exclusive"","block_context":{"text":"Empty Cases Exclusive","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/empty-cases-exclusive\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/barsness.jpg?fit=868%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/barsness.jpg?fit=868%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/barsness.jpg?fit=868%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/barsness.jpg?fit=868%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8458,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/where-have-all-the-great-gun-writers-gone\/","url_meta":{"origin":11415,"position":3},"title":"Where have all the great gun writers gone?","author":"gunwriter","date":"March 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"There was a time, not all that long ago because I can remember it, when the profession of writing about guns and the outdoors was looked at in an entirely different light. There were men who penned words and there were readers who anxiously awaited their publication. Pulling a gun\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "HUNTING"","block_context":{"text":"HUNTING","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/hunt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Cooper","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Cooper-202x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10759,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/modern-hunting-optics\/","url_meta":{"origin":11415,"position":4},"title":"Modern Hunting Optics","author":"gunwriter","date":"December 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"In 1999 Safari Press published Optics for the Hunter. Timing could not have been better because hunters were just then getting serious about riflescope. They wanted to know about bright scopes, reliable scopes, eye relief, field of view and even how to properly mount a scope. They were also getting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "HUNTING"","block_context":{"text":"HUNTING","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/hunt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"JBOpticsFrontCover","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/JBOpticsFrontCover.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6963,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/hunting-with-fort-richmond-safaris\/","url_meta":{"origin":11415,"position":5},"title":"Hunting with Fort Richmond Safaris","author":"gunwriter","date":"May 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Outdoor writer Len Waldron talks with Fort Richmond Safaris' Geoffrey Wayland about his first safari. You might also like these posts:","rel":"","context":"In "HUNTING"","block_context":{"text":"HUNTING","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/hunt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Africa-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11415"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11415\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11424,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11415\/revisions\/11424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}