An outdoor writer and pioneer conservationist, “Mr. Buck” wrote nine books and hundreds of magazine articles. His home-spun style of storytelling bestowed legions of American hunters with humanity, humor and deep respect for animals during his career that spanned most of the 20th century until his passing in 1971 at 91 years old.
Mr. Buckingham’s book “De Shootinest Gent’man” published in 1934 by Derrydale Press featured a collection of stories that bestowed waterfowling with an entertaining Southern voice that resonated with American sportsmen. The title story, written in 1916, helped establish his reputation as an iconic outdoor writer.
If ever there lived a natural-born duck hunter, Mr. Buckingham easily claimed that distinction. His father, Memphis banker Miles Sherman Buckingham, achieved prominence as a founding member of the Beaver Dam Club in Tunica, Mississippi. Chartered in 1883, the defunct hunt club had been recognized as one of the oldest in North America. By the late 1800s, the young boy hunted with Southerners who lingered in his heart as fanciful influences.
During the 1900s, Mr. Buckingham rode the train two hours from his hometown of Memphis to Evansville — the jumping off point for reaching Beaver Dam Lake. His published tales of duck hunting immortalized the flyway honey hole and its roust-about cast of locals.
By some accounts, Mr. Buckingham’s writing may have been surpassed by his marksmanship. He reveled in mastering extremely high shots with the 10-pound, 12-gauge Super Fox nicknamed Bo Whoop after its hollow eruptions.
Courtesy of Shotgunlife.com
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