How important is "supplemental" knowledge?

[formerbowhunter1023]

I'd don't think there is better teacher to a bowhunter than mother nature herself. There is no replacement for seat time. However I do feel there is a need for supplemental learning via books, magazines, online resources, and forums. How important do you feel this type of information is to the development to a young hunter? And how has this type of information made you a better hunter? Has it hurt you in any way as a hunter?

 

[1hornwilly]

As a big fan of all the magazines, books, articles, forums...blah, blah, blah... I found only one thing that falls in the supplemental category that trumps seat time. Well, at least it's been as important to me as I have learned. Being out with somebody who knows what is what and has learned a ton and is willing to share. For a young hunter, seat time is awesome, but most of them (us) don't know what they are looking at when they see it. They need someone to show them the outline of a bedded deer the first time so they can see it without help the next time. Same with deer behavior...if someone isn't telling you why a deer is or isn't doing something, then it's much harder to figure out what he will or won't do next. I've been fortunate to have some great hunters in my life to share their knowledge with me. While I am by no means the greatest hunter in the world, what I do know and have confidence in is the stuff that I learned through those who I have hunted with. All that other stuff is good, but it's gravy.

 

[Dannmann801]

Absolutely critical- a new hunter with no knowledge and no training may have some "luck", but would be doomed to repeated failure if not "shown the ropes" either by other hunters or by learning as much as he could thru reading and self-study. Hell, I've picked up a lot of crucial info or understanding of how things work just by reading threads of other guys talking about their hunts. Don't think we can rely solely on our instincts.

 

[formerbowhunter1023]

I have to agree with that Willy 100%. If I had to list my skills in order of best to worst, tracking would be near the top of the list. I owe that to my uncle and a close family friend. Those two showed me the ropes on some doozy blood trails over a decade ago and they are lessons that stuck with me. Getting more and more involved in hunting over the past few years has given me the ability to track more deer and each tracking job is something to learn from. I know several guys that will track a trail even when they see the deer fall. I do the same because there is always something you can pull from that and commit to memory. If my uncle and our buddy had not taken the time to slow down and point out some of the subtleties to me, I'd be no where near the tracker I am today. That type of guidence is priceless...

 

[rrr]

As someone who's doing it...

1) Seat time
2) Mentors
3) Forum
4) Videos (I've watched a ton of bow hunting vids this fall)

 

[Kaiser878]

I have learned a lot of great things from a lot of great people. My unlcle and cousin are who got me into hunting. My dad has never really been much of a hunter until I got into it pretty seriously, then he started doing it a bit. My unlce and cousin are who showed me the ropes and the basics.

I owe a lot to my good friend Vince who shot pro for Hoyt a few years ago. HE has helped me tons with my shooting/form/mechanics with a bow. If it wasnt for him I Would still be a miserable shot.

I have always read a lot of hunting articleson various topics and read forums. You can quickly learn on an internet forum who you can and cannot trust what they say. \

Although, I spend some of the most time in a tree stand after I kill my buck. THats when I feel as if I learn the most about what deer do and why they do it. THye are on much of the same types of patterns that they are on in the early season, only there is one difference. THere is no foliage on the trees and you can watch them from a distance and make moves accordingling. Every year I learn something new in the late season that I didnt know before!

 

[hickslawns]

Seat time is Number One! However, as someone "self taught" the key ingredients to me were learning from others that hunt, reading books (Eberhart), watching videos (all of them although Eberhart is at the top), reading forums, and magazines/TV shows are necessary to shorten the learning curve. No particular order to these things. Learn what you can from each, and then the hard part is having the ability to implement what you have learned into your seat time. I think the hardest part to learn is how to get into and out of stands in order to have the seat time. This is one of those skills which might never be mastered. You just never seem to know when the deer are there or where they are. Of course there are times when they are more predictable, but during the gun seasons or in heavier pressured area I think it is almost a guess sometimes. This is where seat time is critical.

 

[Ohiosam]

The magazines etc are good after you have a basic understanding of woodscraft, knowledge of the critters you are hunting and proficiency with your weapon of choice. You need to understand the basics to weed out the BS.

As with most things the more I learn about deer the more I realize how little I know.

 

[rgecko23]

I learned alot from my old man, but the knowledge and help I have received from my friends here has been priceless..

 

[uglykat26]

im pretty much self taught , my grandpa got me into it and hunted with me a few times and my mom hunted with me some , but the rest of the time im on my own , so i read as much as i can , and watch as much as i can , and in the woods as much as i can

 

[jagermeister]

I agree with pretty much all that has been said here so far.

IMO, "supplemental" knowledge is just as important as seat time... at least for me it is. Obviously some people have different ways of learning than others. For me, I do learn a lot of things by just being out there. However, my mind really hangs on to things I read that are of interest to me. If I try to read a book about political science, I zone out and start daydreaming... because it doesn't interest me. But put a book in my hands that talks about deer or the outdoors, and I'm glued to it. These ideas really stick. Where this becomes extremely beneficial is when I'm out in the woods. This "new" knowledge I've gained by reading allows me to "look" for things in the woods that I normally wouldn't look for. So really I think the two go hand in hand... I can become a good hunter by just hunting, or I can become a great hunter by stacking the deck before I venture out.

 

[Mike]

Seat time is Number One! However, as someone "self taught" the key ingredients to me were learning from others that hunt, reading books (Eberhart), watching videos (all of them although Eberhart is at the top), reading forums, and magazines/TV shows are necessary to shorten the learning curve. No particular order to these things. Learn what you can from each, and then the hard part is having the ability to implement what you have learned into your seat time. I think the hardest part to learn is how to get into and out of stands in order to have the seat time. This is one of those skills which might never be mastered. You just never seem to know when the deer are there or where they are. Of course there are times when they are more predictable, but during the gun seasons or in heavier pressured area I think it is almost a guess sometimes. This is where seat time is critical.

100% ditto.

 

[Diablo54]

I wouldn't be as far as i am today without my fathers help.

 

[Tree Monkey]

1.Experience is the number one teacher!!
2.Failure is the next best teacher !
3.Read ,Read, and Read
4. Sit,watch, and shut up and listen
5. Challenge yourself and set up realistic goals

 

[Milo]

if you really read some books from the big boys of huntin'....not them TV bitches.....you will laugh at how different each one approaches deer hunting. They do so crazy things and swear by them..The one thing i have gotten from them is how cunning the mature whitetail is and i use their basic background experiences to relate to what i am experiencing. the one thing most bowhunters do not BS about is their experiences....it opened my eyes to how awesome the whitetail deer is to hunt and how primal these creatures are. I have done a complete 180 from what i used to do 3 years ago.