vadeer

A friend of mine, who does not hunt, asked me to mentor his two sons ages 16 & 22 in the sport of deer hunting. To get started, I want to recommend a book(s) and other resources (in addition to this site) for them to read and begin to understand the sport of deer hunting. Any ideas for beginners?

Mottz

It didn't take a book for me to get started. It took someone to just say lets go out and give it a shot. On our day out he told me his experiences, gave me a few pointers and the rest was history. Try to give them a little time, even if its in the off-season and walk around some land and point out deer sign and what not. That might be all it takes.

Lightsout

yeah, thats basically what my dad did with me. took me out one day. showed me what to look for when we went scouting, where to set up, and what to do in the woods.

isatarak

Do they know how to safely handle guns? That's where I would start.

gregrn43

My dad never hunted, his uncle took me when i was 15 and placed me on a stand on opening day that year. A little 5pt came by and i shot him with a 30-30, I was hooked for life after that. My great uncle show me some things about deer hunting. Two after that day he passed away from a heart attack. I was 17 and still green and a gord on deer hunting. I read ever article or book that I could find about hunting them, but alot of what I learned was trial and error.

garry_3000

A freind of minetold me about two books . A to Z Guide to WhiteTailed Deer and Deer Hunting. Also, Whitetail Advantage- Understand Deer Behavior For Hunting Success. I found them on shop.com hope they help.

TreeStalker

GO WITH THEM TO A HUNTER SAFTY CLASS, WHERE THEY LEARN & TAKE THE TEST TO GET THERE HUNTING CARD. AND ALSO JUST BEING OUT IN THE WOODS WILL HELP ALOT AS WELL. GOOD LUCK & STAY SAFE ON THE FIELD.....

virginiashadow

VA, I commend you on mentoring those two boys. I think we always underestimate how fast people can learn things and begin their entrance into whatever they pursue using watered down teaching tactics. Get them a good book on deer hunting and see if they can process the information. I recommend any book that talks about heavily hunted areas. Why? Because any technique you use succesfully in a heavily hunted area can be used in a less pressured area, but the same cannot be said if the situation was reversed.

Here are some good authors who I believe in: John Eberhart (Bowhunting Pressured Whitetails) and Greg Miller(many books). I especially like Eberhart's books. Also, maybe their dad could buy them a subscription to a hunting magazine.I started off deer hunting at 17. I had noone to show me how to hunt at all. I just read magazines and books and hunted on heavily pressured public hunting spots. I failed many times, probably more than most. I can tell you one thing, if a guy like you had offered me some mentoring on deer hunting I would have jumped at the chance. Again, I give you big praise on working with those two boys.

crokit

Howard Hill's " Hunting the hard way ".