Good/Benefiicial New Book

[Huntin_GI]

So, I will start this off by saying I am not an avid reader by any means. With that being said, I do make efforts to learn as much as I can about things that I am interested in. My next thought is who in this forum knows it all? None of us with possibly the exception of BIGFIN.

How do we overcome the learning curve associated with taking on new big game challenges? Friends? Forums? Various websites? What if I told you a massive amount of this info has been compiled in an incredibly easy read well illustrated book? What if it was only $11 bucks (kindle version)? Would you be interested?

I am sure many of you are familiar with the Randy Newberg Unfiltered Podcast. After picking up BigFINS podcast I began listening to Steve Rinella from the TV show MEATEATER. Well Steve just released a book titled A Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Big Game.

Now I know what you are thinking. I too was hesitant about getting some guide thinking everything would be too elementary. You couldn't be more wrong. It has loads of information that makes you go WOW why didn't I think of that?

Give it a whirl I and do not think you will be disappointed. The ereader version is $11 and the coffee table version is $15. I have wasted more money on hunting items that didnt last one trip. A $1000 gun and $1000 optics aren't worth .50 cents if you aren't using them to their potential. Knowledge is more valuable than your favorite gun.

I attached the link below. Hopefully you guys find the book as helpful as I did and maybe the tips and tricks yall pickup Will help you land that big bull then you can post here on HUNT TALK and I can live vicariously through the stories you post.

Best of luck out there boys!

Http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Hunting-Butchering-Cooking/dp/081299406X

P.S. BigFIN even went on Steve's podcast and seemed throughly impressed!

 

[Huntin_GI]

I watch this post drop like rock while watching others remain stationary at the top. With all due respect to the guy look for a bino harness for his 1000$ binos that thread garners view after view post after post but how many people is it applicable to.

I'm not talking any position against that post but making an observation. Talk about purchases, critter pictures, or anew guy asking for a spot and watch the traction a post gets.

Mention book in a title and it as if the post has leparcy and no one wants to be seen with it.

Rant over.

 

[NoWiser]

I ordered the book and have enjoyed flipping through the pages. Most of the stuff I'm pretty familiar with, but everyone can learn something and I've definitely picked up some bits of information that will help me. I think it was money well spent.

A book I've enjoyed even more is American Buffalo, that Steve wrote. I'm about 75% through reading it and he has a great way of telling a story while teaching you the history of the bison. Steve is as good or better of an author as he is a TV host. That's saying a lot as his show is one of only two I bother watching. The other being Fresh Tracks.

 

[mgiuliani]

I bought the book. It's loaded with great information and insights. I really respect how Rinella consumes all parts of the animal he harvests, not just the choice cuts like most of us. I've made it a goal of mine with future kills. Just stay away from elk liver... not edible in my opinion.

 

[RobG]

I watch this post drop like rock while watching others remain stationary at the top. With all due respect to the guy look for a bino harness for his 1000$ binos that thread garners view after view post after post but how many people is it applicable to.

I'm not talking any position against that post but making an observation. Talk about purchases, critter pictures, or anew guy asking for a spot and watch the traction a post gets.

Mention book in a title and it as if the post has leparcy and no one wants to be seen with it.

Rant over.

I know what you mean. Don't take it personally. It gets a little silly around here with the regulars who dominate mid-day. 1700+ views on Ben's underwear thread. Bear in mind that this is mostly the day crowd who are a bunch of screw offs wasting time at work.

A more specific title and description on your thread might generate more interest. The topic isn't immediately obvious with a quick read.

Rinella's "Complete guide to hunting, butchering, and cooking wild game" has been on my mind since Randy was talking it up on his podcast, but to be honest I get along pretty good as is. What does it add for the guy who has been doing this for 35 years?

 

[smarandr]

What does it add for the guy who has been doing this for 35 years?

I found a few nice nuggets in the "Big Game Species and Methods" section. But, you've got about a decade's worth of experience on me--maybe you've already got it all figured out.

 

[nuevo_eph]

I think it's useful for the group of new or newish hunters (like me!). I've devoured info all over the Net and through books and this sums a lot of it up or cuts to the chase and gives the author's opinion succinctly. I guess you can say it would have saved me some time, but I've enjoyed the journey over the past few years. Now if my long game of getting my kids really into hunting pans out (and so far so good) they will LOVE this book.

That said, I'm looking forward to the small game volume 2 that comes out in about a month. It will be a bunch of new info for me and I'm pretty sure I'll appreciate a lot of it.

 

[idahofishnhunt]

I got this as well, but have not cracked it open...if it is as good as the raves are for it I'll be having the kids read it too.

 

[FAIR CHASE]

I watch this post drop like rock while watching others remain stationary at the top. With all due respect to the guy look for a bino harness for his 1000$ binos that thread garners view after view post after post but how many people is it applicable to.

I'm not talking any position against that post but making an observation. Talk about purchases, critter pictures, or anew guy asking for a spot and watch the traction a post gets.

Mention book in a title and it as if the post has leparcy and no one wants to be seen with it.

Rant over.

Don't forget it's just the internet. It's not like you were sitting at a table with a group of fellow hunters and you were ignored. I'm sure the book is great and a few will probably order the book. Thanks for the link.

 

[RobG]

I found a few nice nuggets in the "Big Game Species and Methods" section. But, you've got about a decade's worth of experience on me--maybe you've already got it all figured out.

Hardly, but there are only so many ways you can cut up a deer and be happy with the results!... Maybe the hunting sections are worth browsing, I'm sure I've been doing stuff poorly for a long time.

 

[RobG]

I glanced at the kindle preview it looks like there's a lot of good stuff in there.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

Its also a bad time of year because some guys are on hunts, getting ready for hunts, or catching up. The users change a lot so you did the right thing by bringing it to the top again. Good post and suggestion, I'll check it out.

 

[Huntin_GI]

Lol. I re-read my post as I sit here on the john and thought "Wow, you are some idiot beating your chest like a hot headed teen."
With that in mind, I will attempt to save some dignity and address a few of the questions that have been posed.

I've been doing this a while, what can it teach me?

I consider myself rather versed in the outdoors with hunting being the linchpin around which I have developed my outdoor skills. I have learned many a thing from outdoor life tips, my ol man, and a personal learning adventure with plenty of wrong turns along the way.

Consider this book a culmination of the more appropriate tips and techniques that you may have missed along the way. Or maybe ones you learned but over the years have forgotten to employ but with a little refresher may have a positive impact on your hunt.

By all means if you don't have a need or feel a need to review tips and techniques don't consider reading this. I just feel that at the price it is, the amount of consolidated quality information it has, and what I stand to learn from it, it is a quality investment.

I think Steve said something along the lines of " I feel the Hunter should be the weakest link in a hunt and never his gear." We spend A LOT of time discussing gear and hunts and post hunts but why not say "Hey, here's something that may help everyone out pre hunt. No it's not the GPS coordinates to my favorite spot but here is a tip for evaluating maps prior to your hunt that may help you get on animals."

The hunting community as a whole has a tendency to over analyze gear, post hunt success, and Then reover analyze our gear but fail to evaluate what can really have the most impact on our success. Prehunt and hunt tips for finding, evaluating, and harvesting the animals we chase.

Sorry if I came off as a little whiny ass at first Lol.

 

[JDMCO]

I purchased it a few weeks ago to get tips & insights on Antelope hunting. I have scanned a few pages so far however I really haven’t had the time to fully engage yet as I’m prepping for my elk hunt + family commitments + work. After the elk hunt I will dig into it. Thanks for the other tip on the bison book, it sounds very interesting. When I lived up north I put in for that tag every year but never drew.

I know his book is a “how to” but in case you haven’t already read “The green hills of Africa” by Hemingway you ought to, it’s by far the best hunting book I’ve read.

 

[recon6036]

I've read two of Rinella's books so far.....Meateater and American Buffalo. I really enjoyed both. I'll be ordering the new one soon.

 

[deer_shooter]

I've had the book for a while. Good stuff

 

[idahofishnhunt]

I watch this post drop like rock while watching others remain stationary at the top. With all due respect to the guy look for a bino harness for his 1000$ binos that thread garners view after view post after post but how many people is it applicable to.

I'm not talking any position against that post but making an observation. Talk about purchases, critter pictures, or anew guy asking for a spot and watch the traction a post gets.

Mention book in a title and it as if the post has leparcy and no one wants to be seen with it.

Rant over.

I would take it with a grain of salt, as I'm sure you've noticed there are a few people that when they post on here they are glorified as being on a pedestal by their minions. You can tell just by the amount of views. Most of those I take a look and don't even comment anymore, Posts like this one are what I find more interest in anymore.

Anyways...turn that frown upside down buddy, you had a good post.

 

[charliebravo77]

If you've got 30+ years of hunting experience and are set in your ways, then The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game might not be worthwhile for you, though I guarantee you'll learn at least a couple things from it. For instance, did you know that caribou milk has the highest fat content of any member of the deer family, or that whitetail have been in existence for 4-6 million years?

When I started hunting 3 years ago, I knew exactly one person within 1000 miles who hunted and was willing to take me out and show me the ropes. I scoured the internet and bookstores looking for a step by step guide to fill in the prior 23 years of potential hunting education I had missed out on but only came up with incredibly specific texts dedicated to patterning trophy whitetails and the like. With no "dummies guide to hunting" available I decided that perhaps over the next couple years I could write my own so I started a website, wrote an outline (that is a pretty similar layout to Rinella's book) and began to write about my experiences in hopes of one day being able to put something together that might help out someone in my shoes.

Shortly after that I was introduced to Rinella's work, read through Meateater, American Buffalo, Scavenger's Guide to Haute Cuisine, and watched every available episode of MeatEater then hoped that he hadn't had the same idea I did, because I knew he'd knock it out of the park.

Turns out that he must have had the same idea about the same time I did, and I'm glad he did. It's exactly the kind of introduction and guide to hunting that needs to exist. From the ethics, tag acquisition, gear, and species breakdowns to the field care, processing and recipes it details so much information that had been a mystery to me and wasn't easily found in any concise source. Sure, all the contents of the book can be found through enough Google searches, but having it laid out and presented in a logical fashion makes it accessible to a lot of people that would otherwise be overwhelmed by the quantity of information that exists, let alone trying to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Even though I was beaten to the punch, I am completely and unequivocally a fan of this book, and am thankful that someone with more talent than me was able to put it together. If you hunt, or are even remotely interested in hunting go buy it! Even if you think there’s nothing else you could possibly learn, flip through the sample on Amazon, or check it out in a bookstore, I think you’ll be surprised.

 

[SofaKing]

I have been a member on here for years and have enjoyed all of the information, stories and pictures. I have never felt compelled to ever leave any of my own thoughts for whatever reason and have not even signed in to be able to post for years until now...

I have been reading this book to my two boys every night for a bedtime story, they are 6 and 4 and eat it up. It is fun to be able to hear what they have to say and what questions they come up with from night to night. I have read all of Rinella's books and while this one is certainly not my favorite one of them (only about 60 pages in) it is a great way to introduce several new ideas to young and upcoming hunters and I am always interested in gleaming a few nuggets from people who get to spend their lives doing the things I enjoy.

I would recommend each of his books to anyone who likes to hunt and or spend time outdoors. Also, as you all know his (Rinella's) and Randy's podcasts are in my opinion the best hunting podcasts out there and I look forward to each new episode, the only problem is they don't come often enough.

go find yours

 

[JohnCushman]

Just for the record..I don't screw off at work...I'm retired