Hunting book review thread. (Update 05/07 Whitetail Advantage)

I would like to know the last book you read and a short review of what you thought about it.

The last book I read I purchased late last summer. I picked up "Trophy Bucks In Any Weather" by Dan Carlson. I saw the title while browsing through the outdoors section at the local Borders book store and had to have it based solely on the title.



Pros

-He is a meteorologist and does a decent job describing what is actually happening in our environment during a few different weather patterns.

-Some nice photography in the book.

Negatives...

-The title is "trophy bucks in any weather" but claims he is not a trophy hunter in the book.... Seemed odd... In a way a rip off... I purchased the book based on the title, but yet he has next to no experience hunting "trophy" bucks and offers nothing toward mature bucks in the book.

-He does not hunt from elevated treestands, most of his book is geared toward still hunting with firearms, this does not apply to any of my hunting strategies.

Overall
I would give it a 4/10 rating. It is worth the read if a buddy lends you a copy but not worth the 25 bills Borders got me for.

Although if you hunt from the ground "stalking" a lot this may be a good book to read.

 

The last book I read was Fred Bear's Field Notes. A pretty amazing book about one of the greats in the world of bowhunting. The hunts he went on make mine look like a field trip to the local candy store! He hunted months at a time in some of the roughest country is there hunting animals that I dream about!

All Pro's and no Con's....

My next book is I Remember Papa Bear.

 

Sorry to hear that 'Trophy Bucks.. in any weather' wasn't so great. I've seen it in store many times but always just pass it by.

It's been a solid year since my last hunting book read.. which I think was a re-read of an old Jim Roy book on whitetail behavior. I give it 10/10. Although much of it is out-dated it still holds true on many instances and causes one to think about whitetail in a whole-nother way. Good stuff.

I do own the newest Eberhart book and will get to it soon.. even post a review up here if you want it Scott.

But you'll have to give me a month or so.. I have a 2 books ahead of that one.. neither has anything to do with hunting.

 

Not a big book reader usually all the popular mags is all I read. However my Mapping Trophy Whitetails came in the mail today and yesterday at the library I picked up Giant Whitetails A lifetime of Lessons By Mark and Terry Drury it's a huge book. I am 1 chapter in so far it seems okay they go into detail of all the big buck hunts they were successful on and have still images from the dvd hunts and the field photos of the recovery. Too early to tell if it is a great book but it was free!

 

"Precision Bowhunting" by John and Chris Eberhart

and "Wildlife and Woodlot Management" by Monte Burch, not so much a hunting book

 

Are you referring to the Whitetail Access book?

I look forward to the review when you do it.

 

"I Remember Papa Bear" was the last book I read that was related to hunting.

I did not enjoy it at all. 3/10 rating

First of all, it was not what I expected. It is simply a history of the archery industry taking off in America, and it is all about D.ick Lattimer bragging about all the money he raised for Bear Archery. It's just a bunch of statistics about the committes Lattimer was on and the annual amount of money he raised. He basically takes credit for starting the archery industry in the US. I found it difficult to even finish.

It does have a couple cool hunting stories and lots of cool old pictures though.

 

I've never been a book reader when It comes to hunting. The one book that I've done some reading on as of late Is called "A Traditional Journey". Excellent Info on hunting with Traditional bows and history of Traditional and Primitive bows. This book Is written by a few Traditional bowhunters that belong to the P&Y club. It's also published by the P&Y Club. A great book for any Traditional hunter to read. This book also contains all of the Traditional only kills that qualify for the P&Y Records book that have been entered.

 

I don't think I've ever read a book pertaining strictly to hunting whitetails. Back in the day I read TONS of books regarding whitetail biology & behavior.
I do have Bowhunting pressured whitetails sitting on my coffee table and fully intend to read it. I chose to read the fly fishing book I bought at the same time instead, since its fishing season.
I'll let you know what I think once I read it.

 

I also bought a copy after GMMAT's rave about it on another thread (see GMMAT I do like reading some of your posts)

http://www.bigwoodsbucks.com/
By Hal Blood, registered Master Maine Guide.

Similar techniques as the Benoits, mostly tracking, reading PROPER Buck sign, etc...
I would give it an 8.5 out of 10, I also bought the DVD, which is mostly tutorial and wasn't as good as the book.

I would recommend it and if anyone wants to swap books, let me know...??
NOW there's a new thread to start, "LIBRARY SWAP"???

 

Hunting pressured Whitetails for the 2nd time and Highly recommend this read.

 

Giant Whitetails, A Lifetime of Lessons.

This one was alright. There is a chapter covering the moon phases and talks to the early afternoon moon rise which is my favorite time to hunt. Lots of talk on scent control and good info on entering and exiting your stand to preserve the sacred ground that deer bed in. Wasn't that impressed with their talk on expandable broadheads but found some tips that I took to the woods. It was a decent read but didn't leave me with much new information.

 

this was the last book I read:



Good book with some very good gold nuggets.

This was the book I read before that one:



Another good book with some very good gold nuggets.

 

Whitetail Advantage

 

A couple of you guys were pretty skimpy with yor reviews

I ordered "Whitetail Advantage" by David Samuel and Robert Zaglin Monday evening, I also ordered the only Greg Miller book I don't have "Bowhunting Deep Forests and Woods".

I will review them once I read them. I will read and review the Whitetail Advantage first.

 

I would have given you the Greg Miller had I known. I just finished it and believe it will help me. My hunt club is on 2200 acres of mostly woods. The book gave me a better understanding of the woods I hunt. Previous to being on this land all I hunted was cattle land which was mostly pasture with some woodlots. It was a good read and I recommend it to anyone that hunts woods larger than 700-800 acres.
Who wants it next? I'll be happy to loan it out. I'm getting started on Whitetail Autumn by John Ozoma soon.

 

The last book I read was Elk Hunting the West, the Eastman way. This was a solid intoductory book into Elk hunting and touched on some tactics and gear. Book also had a lot of information on how to plan your hunt. It was a good read. The only con I can think of is that it wasn't directed more towards archery elk hunting, but it was mentioned in the book. I plan to read Bowhunting Elk the Eastman way next.

 

The last book I read was Elk Hunting the West, the Eastman way. This was a solid intoductory book into Elk hunting and touched on some tactics and gear. Book also had a lot of information on how to plan your hunt. It was a good read. The only con I can think of is that it wasn't directed more towards archery elk hunting, but it was mentioned in the book. I plan to read Bowhunting Elk the Eastman way next.

 

When that book came out something like 10+ years ago, it was an excellent read. He was one of the first (if not the first) to bring rubline tactics to the masses.

While a lot of things (such as the understanding of whitetail behavior) have changed in that span, he was one of the pioneers bringing that tactic to everyone.

For the record, I have never hunted rub lines. But, I did enjoy the read back then.

 

My reading centers more around research for traveling trips I intend to take within the next 5-7 years, so I can better understand the game I have never even laid eyes on, before I set foot hunting them.



This book is so-so. It taught me alot of biological and behavioral information about the Himalayan Tahr and Chamois, two animals I knew nothing about but have a bowhunt in the works for them. I'd give it a 7/10 for anyone interested in this type of hunt, pretty unique set of information, but largely geared towards the rifle hunting mentality of 400 yds is close enough.



I will be out in AZ either this coming January or the next doing a rut bowhunt for these little ghostly whitetail, and I wanted to learn the terrain and techniques of hunting them BESIDES sitting water holes or rifle hunting. Good info on the deer, plenty of stories of others hunts, good glasssing techniques covered, few pictures, too large of an equipment section which was largely useless. I was hoping for a book more specifically geared towards spot and stalk (how this author hunts exclusively), but instead he took a wider broad outlook on things and tried to tell a little about everything, rather than a lot about a few things. still enjoyed the read, 7/10.



Mule deer may be a little farther down the road for me than the prior two hunts, at least this style mule deer hunt, but still will happen within 7 years as I am already building points in multiple states for it. It was an older publication in its third printing. Good basic info, too many stories for my liking, too much talk about how to practice bowhunting, what equipment to use bowhunting, etc. Few good stalking tips and general areas mentioned. Gave it a more simplistic outlook, and focused mainly on spot/stalk, which I really liked...more of a slow read, KNOWING the info was largely outdated being so old, so 5/10.



This gives GREAT newer information on the record book side of things broken down by states, and even within states. Only refers to B&C rather than P&Y, which limits the number of entries tremendously. I thought it was good for researching WHERE to start a hunt, but was largely a rifle hunter read, and besides the backpacking/camping gear section, little could be transferred over into bowhunting related material. I am glad I own it to reference for future research into areas, but won't reference it for hunting tips. 5/10.

I bought most in a large 7-8 book lot on Ebay for like $30, so the money was right for the books I got. I bought the New Zealand book separately, but was happy with that purchase as well. I still have 3-4 more books covering mule deer to nose through, but am not as anxious about these. I plan to pick up Cameron Hanes two books, Backcountry Bowhunting and Bowhunting Trophy Blacktails. I REALLY wish someone would publish western hunting techniques and strategy book geared towards bowhunting only...not that I am against rifle hunting, just that a lot of the information doesn't apply when you switch to having a bow in hand.


I have never been able to read through an entire book on hunting whitetail, I get too bored. I own a few, but couldn't read them without falling asleep.