Hunting For The Perfect Gift?

Game Commission selling two new books, and loads of collectibles to please any holiday budget.

          While hunting is often challenging, bagging the perfect gift for the hunters in your life is as easy as placing a phone call or logging onto the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s website.

          Among other gifts available this holiday season, the Game Commission is offering two new books that already are selling briskly and being met with rave reviews.

          Pennsylvania Deer Hunting, Through the Pages of Game News is a collection of classic deer-hunting stories that have been published over the years in Pennsylvania Game News magazine. The 174-page collection was compiled by Pennsylvania outdoor writer Tyler Frantz and sells for $15.50.

          Also available is the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s new Game Cookbook, a collection of big-game, small-game and wild fowl recipes submitted by camp cooks from across Pennsylvania. The spiral-bound 108-page cookbook is priced at $9.43.

          The books are among many gifts available either through The Outdoor Shop at the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.state.pa.us, or by calling toll free to 1-888-888-3459.

          Also popular this holiday season is the 2014 edition of the Pennsylvania Big Game Records Book, which this year is printed in color and contains photos of many of the new entries. And hardcover and soft-cover editions of “Gone for Another Day,” the recent sequel to the classic Ned Smith compilation, are available, as well. 

          There are many new collectible patches, including the nine-patch Youth Hunt series, the 2014 Elk Hunt patch, the 2015 Field Notes patch and the 2015 Working Together for Wildlife patch featuring a groundhog.  

          The Working Together for Wildlife groundhog print also is being offered. 

          And, as always, the latest version of the Game Commission’s wildlife calendar, gift subscriptions to Pennsylvania Game News magazine and a host of other merchandise are available at the website and might just make for the perfect gift.

          There’s something for everybody and something in everybody’s price range.

          The new books will surely bring smiles to the faces of those hunters who might find them beneath the tree.

          Pennsylvania Deer Hunting, Through the Pages of Game News contains some of the best deer-hunting stories ever to be published in Pennsylvania Game News magazine. 

          Each chapter represents a different deer-hunting decade, and for each decade, there are three or four different stories, all of which work along the same theme. Frantz, who combed through 960 back issues of Game News to compile the collection, presents these themes to readers at the start of each chapter.

          And as readers turn the pages, they’re treated to a virtual trip through time by stories presented in their original layouts. 

          While some of those layouts are black and white, the book is printed in full color and on high-gloss paper.

          Meanwhile, the Game Cookbook revives a classic publication readers have been clamoring for since the printing of the first edition, published in 1979.  

          A handful of popular recipes from the original cookbook are republished in the second edition, but for the most part, the new Game Cookbook represents a whole new batch of tasty recipes. From groundhog meatballs to pheasant cordon bleu casserole to nearly 70 venison recipes, the Game Cookbook offers tried and true insight into some of the best ways to prepare Pennsylvania’s abundant wild game.

          The cookbook also features color illustrations on how to clean and prepare wild game

for cooking, as well captivating artwork by wildlife artist Doug Pifer. The spiral binding and high-gloss paper create a cookbook that can be used with ease in the kitchen for years to come. 

          Some materials may be available for purchase at the Game Commission’s Harrisburg headquarters, 2001 Elmerton Ave., or at region offices. All orders placed online and by phone are subject to shipping and handling charges, and Pennsylvania sales tax.

          Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough said that, during this season of giving, the agency is pleased to give shoppers plenty of choices that are certain to please.

          “Searching for the perfect gift is a lot like hunting,” Hough said. “You know that what you’re looking for is out there, but the real trick is figuring out where to find it.

          “I urge anyone shopping for hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts to check out what the Game Commission has to offer this holiday season,” Hough said. “I know many of these items would top my wish list, and it makes me feel good to think how happy they will make all who receive them as gifts.”