I am looking for books or videos that have advanced bow hunt techniques. Most of the books are not for advanced hunters. I have bow hunted for 34 years now and I still think I have a thing or two to learn. I like the out of the box thinking. Maybe you just have a technique that works well. I would really like to hear about what works for you or your theories. I think we should have a spot on the Forum for book reviews. I see many like the book 'Mapping Trophy Bucks'. I just order that one.
Man, I'd love to help you out but deer hunting honestly isn't that complex. I personally think that how much you get out of the book correlates directly to how you apply it. The meaning that a beginning bowhunter gives to an author's words will be extremely different than say yours (you do have lots of experience). I understand that you're getting at as far as advanced reading, but all deer do is eat, sleep, travel, and procreate. Even advanced bowhunting books are a different variation of those 4 activities. My feeling is that this is why you find so many books like "mapping trophy whitetails" because it has to do with those 4 activities. Good luck, and I'll let you know what I find.
Are you looking for books on strictly Bowhunting or books on deer behavior and hunting as well? Listed below are four of the best books you will ever find on deer behavioral characteristics and hunting. Read any or all of these books and you'll be in great shape come hunting season http://charliealsheimer.com/ca/book_sfw.html http://charliealsheimer.com/ca/book_moon.html http://charliealsheimer.com/ca/book_behavior.html http://www.rue.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=124
Books? No.. not really any that discuss in great detail a more advanced way of hunting. But.. the more books you do read.. it becomes apparent what works and what won't work. Which.. in its own right is half the battle. But I totally believe that there are many advanced topics and strategies out there.. you just have to ask the right questions... more importantly.. ask the right person. Which in lies the trick.. to ask someone and know they are telling it like it is... and giving you the good stuff. Then you.. knowing what the good stuff is. Unfortunately.. there are only 2 ways to get this.. through personal experience or personal intellect (comprehension). And comprehension usually comes with the reading part.. You have 32 years.. so you have experience. I would say the best way to get advanced strategies is to ask.. talk to dudes who are successful.. they always have something new to add.. I ask ALL THE TIME. And.. there are quite a few dudes on here who you sometimes can get to talk about a more advanced strategy.. you just have to ask the right question. However.. if I were to recommend any book.. it would be any book on whitetail behavior. I think the greatest problem some dudes have in the woods is perception. Someone will perceive one thing and think it's one way.. but it's really another.. it's just that they don't know what's really happening because they don't understand a whitetails behavior. They may know it.. but understanding it is completely different than knowing it. I say.. get back to behavior.. then ask dudes you meet stuff.. then begin to think "outside the box". Most of the incredible deer hunters I know have just an awesome way of thinking outside that box. A new way to perceive what's happening in front of you. Peace.
Here-here... I tell my friend, whom has shot quite a few deer in his time and whom comes across as a "special" deer hunter, that he can impress me if he shots a deer like the one he shot 4 years ago.... A beautiful 5 1/2 year old 11 pointer that taped out at 142" (his only one in 35+ years of hunting). Now I'm not saying he's any different than most of us hunters, which I believe to be good hunters. However, in my eyes there is a difference from me and him, being good hunters, and someone that consistently bags mature deer, like a handful of guys on these web sites. I too will impress myself once I can accomplish this task and may never reach it!!!!! So if your in the ranks of the folks that can bag mature bucks, say a 4 1/2+ year old deer every year, then I would agree that it would be "easier" for these true big buck hunters. Until then, YOU should think it's harder than you do and have a piece of humble pie!
Rut Junkie, best of luck to you. I like books b/c they open up my mind. I only have one hunting buddy and he is a very quiet guy, so talking about hunting is few and far between for me. I have learned a lot from books.
Books is the subject of this thread! so GOOD BOOKS: Anything by Eberhart: Bowhunting Pressured Whitetails, Precision Bowhunting, Whitetail Access Mapping Trophy Whitetails: already mentioned Alsheimer's stuff is great too.
All of the things here I feel is great Info. I am a self made bow hunter. I started when I was 16 and did not know anybody that bow hunted and my family did not hunt big game. So I learned from the school of hard knocks. I hunted in the river bottoms of Nebraska and learned how to hunt and kill bucks that were 3 1/2 years or older. In Nebraska only 20% of the 1 1/2 year old buck makes it through gun season. Shooting a 3 1/2 buck in Neb is an old deer. I shot 6 deer in Neb in 25 years that were 4 1/2 or older and that’s hunting an average of 95 day for deer every year. I moved to Illinois 9 years ago and the hunting is very different here. I would say that it has taken me 5 years to learn how to hunt older deer in this state. Not too many hunters here want to talk about how to hunt in Illinois, again the school of hard knocks to teach me. While I have been in Ill I have shot 4 buck that are 4 1/2 years old. And I still feel that I have more to learn about how to hunt old bucks in Illinois. Last year I shot a good buck that was 4 1/2 years. I shot the buck on my 18th day of hunting in Illinois. It was the fist week of Nov and I was on a 2 week hunting bender. I saw 7 more buck in that 2 week time that would score 150” or better but was not in the right spot for a shouting opportunity. I cannot help thinking that if I would have has more knowledge or a different method of hunting It would have put me in a place for a shot opportunity. I do know hunters that shoot older bucks all most every year have a method that works for them. Yes this method may work for them because of the ground they hunt and will not work some where else. Or it just may work better for them. I have a friend that rattles in more bucks that any body I know. I have watched him rattle and picked his brain. He also hunts on the next farm over from me so we hunt a lot of the same deer. This method does not work for me nearly as well as my friend. I am always looking to fill my bow hunting tool box up with all the knowledge I can. I think if you have lots of tools you can change and adapt to put you in the right spot or conditions to get more shooting opportunities.
I agree if your hunting just "deer" But I believe there are some very specific tactics and habits of mature bucks that can definitely give you an edge over other hunters... I hunt some of the most over hunted public land around and still manage to shoot mature bucks on a regular basis. I would like to believe that is because I think outside the box, and have learned a few things about the mature bucks behavior. Have any of you seen either of the DVD's I have produced? I would be willing to bet you come away with more than a few tactics that help your "mature" buck hunting....
I definitely encourage thinking outside the box, and have no doubt that having knowledge of mature buck behavior is important... I'll not argue that ever. But, EVERY SINGLE deer that is killed is either feeding/watering, bedding, attempting to procreate or somewhere in between the three. What else can deer do that doesn't involve food/water, bedding, breeding or traveling to do one of the three? Regardless of "which" deer you're hunting.
True... But knowing where they bed based on terrain and wind direction and when they will move where, can certainly give you the advantage. Mature bucks have areas they move in daylight, and areas they don't. Most hunters just seem to use rut tactics all year. I actually do my best on mature bucks in the early season. Yes, it involves food, bedding, etc... But there is certainly a lot more to being consistently successful than plopping in a tree over a food plot.
I thought the DVD was fantastic! I have thought about how the thermals and wind interact on ridges but the great info about how/why the bucks use these "wind tunnels" was worth the price of the DVD itself.
Yes, Swamp Marsh Bucks is the single best DVD that I could connect with. It was the reassurance of knowledge that I have accumulated over the years of hunting, but the gaps I created, where filled in with some very solid knowledge/info, through MY style of hunting. You said it perfectly about hunting the specific animal, "mature bucks", not just deer...