Richard P. Smith

Richard P. Smith is an award winning outdoor writer and photographer living in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) of Michigan who has been hunting whitetail deer and black bear for more than 50 years. The author/photographer is a recognized expert on whitetail deer and black bear behavior and biology as well as hunting these popular big game animals. He has interviewed the top bear biologists in the country and accompanied them in the field on their research. A number of the books he's written and DVDs he's produced have been about deer and black bear.

One of the reasons Smith knows so much about whitetail deer and black bear is he has fostered the trust of a number of the animals to the point he is able to walk with them as they go about their daily routines, so he can capture unique photos and video of their behavior while he learns as much as he can about the animals directly from them. He's spent more time photographing and studying these animals than most state and federal wildlife biologists. While doing so, he's seen and photographed some things that few others have witnessed.

Two of Richard’s books,the 4th Edition of Deer Hunting and the 2nd edition of Black Bear Hunting, won first place awards in the book division during different years from the Michigan Outdoor Writers Association (MOWA). Smith has also won numerous awards from MOWA and the Outdoor Writers Association of America for his newspaper and magazine articles and photographs.

One of his more prestigious honors was receipt of the coveted Ben East Prize from the Michigan United Conservation Clubs for conservation journalism about bear management. He also received the Outdoor Journalist of the Year Award from the Flint, Michigan Chapter of Safari Club International the same year.

Smith is a nationally recognized writer, photographer and speaker who has written 31 books and thousands of magazine articles, specializing in all types of wildlife, but especially whitetail deer and black bear. He contributes regularly to a monthly Michigan outdoor publication titled Woods-N-Water News and Michigan Outdoor News. His writing and photography appear regularly in national magazines including Deer & Deer Hunting, Buckmasters, Rack, North American Whitetail, Outdoor Life, Bowhunter and National Wildlife.

Smith is also an expert in identifying animal tracks and sign and produced a guidebook on that subject.

During recent years, the videographer has completed two popular DVDs. One is titled Field Judging Black Bears, a subject he's an expert on, and the second is Walking With Whitetails, both of which are available from Amazon.

During the spring of 2002, Richard bagged a huge black bear in Saskatchewan with a .45 caliber Knight Super Disc Muzzleloader that is the second highest scoring black bear for North America in national muzzleloading records maintained by the Longhunter Society. The bruin's skull officially measures 21 14/16, also qualifying for a spot in Boone and Crockett Records. He was hunting out of Lone Wolf Camp operated by Brian and Shelly MacDonald when he got the trophy bear. A full mount of the animal is on display at a Cabela's Store in Hamburg, Pennsylvania that opened in 2003.

Richard's biggest whitetail bucks have been bagged in Saskatchewan, too, while hunting with Proudfoot Creek Outfitters. He shot a 13-point nontypical that had a gross score of 171 3/8 while hunting out of that camp during the fall of 2010.

He is the second person in Michigan to collect a CBM Grand Slam. To complete such a feat, a hunter must shoot deer, bear, elk and turkey that qualify for listing in state records maintained by Commemorative Bucks of Michigan (CBM). It took Smith a lifetime of hunting in the state to achieve the goal. His slam was completed on November 3, 2000 when he bagged a turkey that qualified for CBM records.

The head mount of a snarling black bear that Smith shot with bow and arrow during 1974 plays a prominent role in the movie "Escanaba In Da Moonlight." The movie was filmed in and near Escanaba, Michigan during 2000 and began showing in Michigan theaters during February of 2001 and is now available on DVD and video. A screen-filling image of the bear head appears near the beginning of the movie as well as in a number of later scenes as it hangs on the hunting camp wall depicted in the film.