Book recommendations for a new adult hunter

[MinnesotaHunter]

Recently, I have gotten involved in a program here in MN to help create new adult hunters. It is a program that is spearheaded by one of the co-chairs of MN BHA and a gentleman from the MN DNR. It is definitely focused on the food aspect of hunting, to the extent that it is based out of a food co-op in south Minneapolis; which is about as urban as it gets in MN. The best part of which are the inroads you make with the whole community there, through the new hunters sharing their kill.

There is obviously a lot of cool parts to this, but one of them is that as a mentor you get paired with one new hunter that you work with through out the summer-fall, and you personally get to take them on their first hunt. You are really working with a blank slate not only from the perspective of the craft, but also the perceptions and attitude the hunter will gain through the process.

So, to the point of the post. I am planning to purchase some books on hunting and conservation to give to the aspiring hunter I will be mentoring, to try and get off on the right foot. So far I am planning on buying copies of: A Sand County Almanac, "Hunt, Gather, Cook: The Forgotten Feast", and Rinella's Complete Guide........Big Game. I might substitute Hank Shaws "Buck, Buck, Moose" if it is available, given the first hunt will be for whitetails, and it would be a good tool to help them enjoy their first game meat.

I would be interested to hear what some others think might be other good books for a beginning hunter with a focus on conservation or basic skills.

 

[Jamen]

I don't have a hard cover or paper back cover book but I do have a suggestion. For me growing up in deer camp ever since I can remember the one thing I took for granted was the old timers telling stories of the first time they saw a deer. Or there was a blizzard so bad that the pheasants that roosted in trees faced their heads wrong in the wind and the snow and ice formed over their heads and they suffocated. To only be picked up by these now old timers when they were a kid.

I think some of the best books are the living history we see everyday. Maybe if you could gather a group of people from all age ranges and have a fall "wild game feed" everyone brings their favorite dish. Get the conversations rolling I think there is a lot they could learn.

Jamen

 

[----]

Beyond Fair Chase- Jim Posewitz.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Beyond Fair Chase- Jim Posewitz.

For your purpose I would might add American Buffalo or Meat Eater both by Steven Rinella as they discuss environmental history, which in my opinion really helps one to cultivate a hunting ethic. I think Sand County Almanac is a great pick as well.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

Jamen,

I probably should have mentioned that their first hunt will be a hunting camp, with all of the students and mentors staying together to replicate this exact dynamic. They also try and get people together to gut deer as well to ensure that everyone gets a chance to see the process.

Thanks, Randy, that is a good one.

 

[kansasdad]

Volume two to Rinella's work Small Game is as good or better than his Big Game. And for young/new hunters they may be more easily introduced to birds or other small game than a big ol Minnesota whitetail.

 

[1_pointer]

A Hunter's Heart by David Petersen might be a good one to pair with Leopold.

http://www.amazon.com/Hunters-Heart-Honest-Essays-Blood/dp/0805055304

 

[putm2sleep]

How about xnay the book idea, and take him fishing and talk hunting!
Let him hear all about your experiences! and find out what he wants out of hunting, then he can narrow to a book maybe?
Never have read a hunting book per say myself, I need to read one on reloading, but mostly only slobbered over magazines : dwight and chuck and zumbo.
Have him join HT and podcast.

 

[What Map]

I used this book when I taught about hunter-conservationists at Montana State University:

Roosevelt: "The Wilderness Warrior" by David Brinkley who did a very fair analysis, including Roosevelt as a hunter:'

http://www.amazon.com/The-Wilderness-Warrior-Theodore-Roosevelt/dp/0060565314

 

[cedahm]

For your purpose I would might add American Buffalo...by Steven Rinella

I love this book - have already re-read it multiple times. He does an excellent job of interweaving the history of a species that is very familiar to most Americans with the fabric of a (very difficult) hunt for the animal.

All the others mentioned are excellent, as well.

To add 1 - Call of the Mild: Learning to Hunt My Own Dinner by Lilly Raff McCaulou is a good perspective from a non-hunter who became a hunter.

 

[jzeck2]

Aldo Leopold

I think "A Sand County Almanac" by Aldo Leopold should be required reading for all hunters especially beginners. I re-read mine every couple years.

I also really like Rinella's books:

"Meat Eater: Adventures From The Life Of An American Hunter"
"American Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon"
"The Scavenger’s Guide to Haute Cuisine"

“I am glad I will not be young in a future without wilderness.”
― Aldo Leopold

 

[Gerald Martin]

Cool deal. Way to get involved. I've often thought it would be neat to help out with a program like this.

 

[Steve Anderson]

How Sportsman Saved the World by Don Thomas.
All 3 books by Jim Posewitz