The North American model of wildlife conservation is unique, and it has restored wildlife abundance to an entire continent. While courts defined a public-trust relationship with fish and wildlife, sport hunters developed a philosophy and initiated programs that resurrected waterfowl, upland birds, and big game from the ashes of commercial exploitation and habitat desecration. Today, against all odds, we enjoy a wildlife abundance that is the envy of the world.Rifle in Hand traces the evolution of our society's relationship with the animals that share this continent. It introduces the reader to a few of the heroes who made it all happen, people who, whilde passing through history, left a conservation legacy and hunting heritage for all to enjoy, including Theodore Roosevelt, D'ing Darling, Aldo Leopold and others.