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Matt Millbauer and Andrew Wayment introduce Breaking Cover and explore two classic books on pheasant hunting—Pheasants of the Mind and Pheasant Hunter’s Harvest. A conversation about upland literature, sporting tradition, memorable writing, and why some books stay with us long after the season ends.

Main books discussed:

• Pheasants of the Mind, Datus C. Proper
• Pheasant Hunter’s Harvest, Steve Grooms

Other books mentioned:

• Modern Pheasant Hunting, by Steve Grooms
• The Education of Pretty Boy, by Havilah Babcock 
• Jaybirds Go to Hell on Fridays, by Havilah Babcock 
• I Don’t Want to Shoot an Elephant, by Havilah Babcock 
• Tales of Quails ‘n Such, Havilah Babcock
• My Health is Better in November, Havilah Babcock 
• Hunting and Home in the Southern Heartland, Archibald Rutledge 
• Bird Dog Days and Wingshooting Ways, Archibald Rutledge 
• Drummer in the Woods, Burton Spiller
• Twenty Years at the Shamrock Gun Club, James Dalton
• A Fall of Woodcock, Tom Huggler
• Grouse of North America: A Cross-Continental Hunting Guide, Tom Huggler
• Idaho Upland Days: Reflections on Bird Dogs, Banner Days & Other Roadside Revelations, Andrew M. Wayment
• Idaho Ruffed Grouse Hunting: The Heartbeat of the Woods, Andrew M. Wayment
• Idaho Grouse Fever: An Obsession for All Things Grouse, Andrew M. Wayment
• Upland Days, William G. Tapply
• Upland Autumn, William G. Tapply

Poems mentioned:

• Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, Robert Frost

Breaking Cover is a monthly podcast exploring the literature and culture of upland hunting. Hosted by Andy Wayment and Matt Millbauer

Like what you hear? Breaking Cover is listener supported and wouldn’t liable without supporters like you. Help support Breaking Cover with a monthly or one-time donation. As a monthly donor, you can submit books, authors, and topics that can help us curate a future conversation on the show.

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In this short preview episode, hosts Andy Wayment and Matt Millbauer introduce a new monthly podcast exploring the literature, stories, and ideas that surround upland hunting.

Each episode will dive into a book, an author, or a theme connected to the sporting life—examining the writers who have shaped our traditions and the stories that connect us to bird dogs, wild places, conservation, family, and time spent afield.

This is a podcast about more than the hunt itself. It is about the words, memories, and experiences that stay with us long after we leave the field.

The first full episode of Breaking Cover arrives next July 17, 2026.