One night my wife rolled over in bed to me sitting up, reading McManus in (Field & Stream, maybe? Outdoor Life?) I was giggling and laughing like an absolute lunatic. I don’t remember which story- probably “Poof; No Eyebrows” or “The Night the Bear Ate Goombaw”.
When she realized I was laughing at the story, she stopped dialing 911 to have me picked up, gave me a disgusted look, and rolled over and went back to sleep.
Is “My First Deer” the one where he straps the deer to his bike and the deer revives and starts peddling the bike?
So, a friend who lives in Milwaukee shot a deer (a bunch of years ago). He leaned his rifle against a tree and straddled the deer to start field dressing. The buck revived and jumped up, taking Ed with sitting on his back. As the buck careened through the woods in terror, Ed repeatedly stabbed him in the chest and neck with his knife- which was already in his hand. The buck finally collapsed again, and died this time. Ed was a mess- all scratched up and whipped by the branches. I think I remember he never found his rifle.
I followed Pat for most of his career. I even have an autographed set of his books.
When I introduced my Dad to his work, I lent him the first book (A Fine and Pleasant Misery). Dad was in the habit of reading in bed a little before going to sleep each night, and when he started reading, he also started shaking the bed with his stifled laughter and it woke up Mom. She insisted he read out loud so she could know what was so funny. After that, he read them one story each night and they both howled. When he returned the book, he told me he wished there was more, so I handed him the second book and he was thrilled.
Two of my favorite stories are "The Outfit", and "Moutain Goats Never Say Cheese".