I want to be Chris Dorsey. And honestly, who could blame me? The well-known writer, TV producer and filmmaker has traveled the globe chasing just about every furred, feathered and scaled critter imaginable. He’s hunted and fished with television personalities, military generals and some of the biggest names in the conservation world. And he’s chronicled his adventures in magazine articles, books and on film.
Now Dorsey has come out with a book-and-companion-film set titled Call Time that is focused on his true passion: wingshooting. The material pulls from 30 years’ worth of adventuring during which Dorsey’s production teams have amassed more than 150,000 hours of HD footage and nearly 100,000 photographs.
The large-format book is divided into three parts—“The Uplands,” “A Calling for Wildfowl” and a section on driven shooting titled “Incoming!”—and documents 18 excursions on four continents. Quarry includes everything from pheasants, bobwhite quail and ruffed grouse to Canada geese, greywing francolin, red-legged partridge and perdiz.
The imagery is expectedly stunning, with photographs by not only Dorsey but also well-knowns like Gary Kramer, Lee Kjos, Aaron Davis and Dusan Smetana. The writing, however, is all Dorsey’s and, as you would imagine from the former editor-in-chief of Sports Afield and Ducks Unlimited magazines, the man knows how to turn a phrase. Like this from the chapter on Wisconsin grouse hunting: “A first kiss in a bench-seated pickup, pirated beers around a bonfire in the middle of a secluded gravel pit and the first time you flush a ruffed grouse. Some things you never forget.” His chops as a biologist come through in his knowledge of the birds and habitat and his emphasis on conservation.
The companion DVD is 2½ hours long and brings 14 of the book chapters to life. Each episode was shot on location and features Dorsey as host along with a cast of famous and not-so-famous characters. It is a unique experience being able to read about a hunt and then watch the details unfold in high-def video.
And did I mention that Dorsey has a certain star quality, with Hollywood-perfect hair and an A-list smile? And that he’s a helluva shot? Not fair.
Call Time—the 300-page book and companion DVD—is available as a hardcover Collector’s Edition ($75) or a leather-bound Deluxe Edition ($125) from sportingclassicsstore.com.
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