Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I've been shooting for several years, but only got my MA hunting permit last fall, and want to hunt deer this year. I picked up this book, and found it pretty interesting, but the title of the book seems to promise an overview, or encyclopedic coverage, and on that score I found it a bit lacking.
An index would have been quite helpful.
A bibliography or "further reading" section would have been nice.
Some discussion on shot placement, and minimum calibers for taking shots from different angles and ranges would have been nice. There is a chapter entirely dedicated to firearms and bowes, but no unified treatment of caliber and ammunition. There are a few anecdotes about what friends use, but what I'd really like to see is a table, showing common calibers, energy levels, suitability, etc.
Some discussion on optics would be nice. Scopes and iron sightes are mentioned in passing, but what are the author's recomendations on appropriate power levels for optics in various terrains?
The chapter on dressing a kill was decent, but I was hoping for more. The black and white photos were as clear as one might expect, but color photos that more crisply show the distinction between fur, organs, and meat would be nice...or better yet, color diagrams! (There is not a single diagram in the book, nor a single table, although there are lots of B&W photos).
There is a fair amount of information on removing organs, but the section on quartering is quite brief. A seasoned deer hunter knows all about this, I'm sure, but a neophyte could use a lot more information on what tools are recommended (hunting knife? small axe? saw? What brands? What should I look for?), and detail on exactly where to cut. Here is the complete information on removing hind legs:
"Hind legs, or hams, can be removed by cutting the hip joint. You can locate this joint by moving the leg back and forth a few times."
That's it.
When (if?) I'm face-to-face with my first ever deer carcass, and I have to quarter it to get it out of the woods, I'd prefer to have a lot more information than "move the joint back and forth and cut it".
Diagrams of the various bones would be nice. Telling me where to start cutting would be nice. Telling me what tool to use to cut would be nice.
Disposal of viscera is a topic that should be touched on. From the MA hunter's ed course, I know that one should either bury or pack out viscera (at least here in MA). Is this universally true?
One or more suggested equipment lists (as found in _The Complete Walker III_) would be nice. Maybe checklists for various permutations of single hunter/ two hunters, season, and weapon.
Some discussion of game laws and tags would be nice. I know a bit because of the hunter's ed course, but a refresher would be nice.
Anyway, in conclusion: this is a decent book, easy to read, by an author who clearly knows his business, but there are vast areas that it could cover and doesn't, and the organization and lack of diagrams/bibliography/checklists, etc. is a deep flaw. The discussions of the politics around high fence hunting preserves seem a bit out of place. The discussion of deer species is interesting, but should not come at the expense of a discussion of applied deer anatomy.
I'd love to see a fourth edition with 600 pages instead of 300, a good index, equipment checklists, some information on marksmanship, contact information, suggested reading, more on quartering an animal, much more on tools and brands, info on hunting regulations, diagrams, info on shot placement, info on scopes, etc., etc., etc.
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Deer Hunting: 4th EditionRevised and expanded, including five all-new chapters and color photos throughout
Includes chapters on preseason scouting, stand hunting, stillhunting, drives, and tracking
Advice on weapons, clothing, calls, cameras, and other equipment
How to butcher a deer and remove the hide and antlers
The latest information on chronic wasting disease, bovine TB, and other diseases that affect deer
An experienced hunter's take on different methods of deer management
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