Falcons, boomerangs, spears. . . In the mid-twentieth century, hunters of all shapes and sizes were in favor of giving their quarry a fighting chance. A revival of ancient sporting techniques was taking the hunting world by storm. The old ways required more skill and were, therefore, a greater challenge. They also brought people closer to nature.

Among those embracing this philosophy was author Daniel P. Mannix, who was more interested in learning an antique skill than shooting a new gun. In these pages, he delves into the history of hunting and gives readers firsthand accounts of his attempts at bagging pigeons with a feral cat (an ocelot named Tiba), using a blowgun with poisoned darts for deer in Mexico, teaching an otter to retrieve downed ducks, tracking—and trapping—humans, and other odd, old-school techniques.