Question:
I am interested in getting started w/ deer hunting (in Virginia). I
have the gear (.270 rifle, etc.), but I don't know what to do once I
GET the deer. Are there any books out there that explain how to
dress, skin, the deer, etc?
Answer:
"White-tailed Deer" by Gary Clancy and Larry R Nelson
1991
Cy Delosse Inc.
128pp, 8.5"x11" (hardback)
ISBN 0-86573-036-9
Available from the NRA.
Comments in [square brackets] are mine. I'll list the contents together
with comments, and then give my general impressions of the book.
Contents
Introduction
Understanding white-tailed deer
Whitetail basics [distribution/range, how to recognise]
Weather [effects upon behaviour]
Whitetail habitat [requirements, habitat types, home ranges]
Food, Feeding & Digestion [dentition/digestion, good
diagrams]
Age, Growth & Antler Development [photographic explanation of
dentition
and antler development]
Senses [good discussion of scent, sound, sight]
Whitetail Communication [watch that tail!]
Breeding Behaviour [prerut, rubbing etc; scrapes, scent marking;
postrut]
Whitetail Conservation [history/background, provision of habitat,
hunting ethics]
Equipment
Rifles & Ammunition [fit; weight; sights; actions; calibres,
sensible &
humane advice on terminal ballistics]
Shotguns & Ammunition [barrels; sights; ammunition]
Muzzleloaders [actions; ammunition]
Handguns [actions; cartridges]
Archery equipment [biggest section of all weapons, good advice &
nifty
tips]
Clothing
Accessories [things to improve the hunting, make life easier, and
save
lives]
Preparing for the hunt
Gathering [advance] Information [where to go; special hunts; maps]
Scouting [when to scout; what to look out for; recording your
observations]
Sighting in Firearms [bore sighting, external ballistics]
Shooting Firearms [positions, aiming point, uphill/downhill]
Tuning & Shooting a Bow [lots of tips & advice on troubleshooting]
Shot Placement [excellent diagrams of vitals from all angles]
Safety [gun safety, high visibility clothing, high seats]
Hunting techniques
Stand hunting [selecting sites, types of stand, use of wind]
Still hunting [different tactics for different land types]
Driving [where to drive; safety; use the wind]
Stalking
Trailing Wounded Deer [reading the signs]
Field dressing Deer [good photographs]
Caping out your trophy [the American way!]
Techniques for special situations
Tactics for Opening Day [get away from the roads!]
Tracking [in snow & mud]
Rattling, Calling & Using Scents
Float hunting
Hunting the suburbs
Hunting Wetlands
Hunting in Standing Corn
Hunting with Dogs
Trophy Hunting
Whitetail Myths [shattered!]
Index
This is not an especially thick book, and there are numerous high
quality colour photographs and diagrams on just about every page.
Despite this, or rather, because of it, the book contains a huge amount
of advice and information. For example, the section on whitetail
habitats illustrates eight different types of "typical" habitat ranging
Mountains.
The discussion of the deer's senses is short but effective, and the full
page photograph of an alert buck with his erect head, wet nose, and one
ear pointing forwards with the other pointing backwards perfectly
illustrates what the stalker is up against. The discussion on deer
vision is especially convincing, especialy in the light of recent
discussions here: I may reproduce the text here if I find the time.
Breeding behaviour is covered in considerable detail. It contains much
that will be of use to anyone who hunts deer and is thus recommended to
novice and experienced stalker alike.
The section on equipment opens with a two page photograph of a modern
muzzleloader "making smoke". The discussion of rifle choice is
relatively short and yet complete. The various options open to the
stalker in terms of sights, actions, calibres and so forth are covered
sufficiently yet briefly. The author's do not push their personal
opinions on the reader except in respect of the selection of *effective*
calibres and cartridges where they feel that a minimum terminal energy
of 900 ft-lbs is required and recommend a from a range of medium bore
high velocity cartridges (e.g. 243Win to 7mmRM). The discussion on
shotguns and ammunition is equally sensible. Unfortunately, the
discussion of handguns for whitetail would not cover a postage stamp.
Archers fare much better with six whole pages devoted to archery
equipment. One nifty device which I have not seen mentioned in
rec.hunting is a "string tracker". This is a bright orange string which
attaches to the arrow and runs off like a fishing line when a struck
beast runs. Talk about making life easy for yourself!
There is advice for who intend to hunt new and unfamiliar ground, or who
are seeking new ground. This includes the finding suitable ground,
scouting it and the use of USGS and other maps, plus common sense advice
on recording your sightings in your own "shorthand" on your maps.
The authors are clearly in favour of hunters wearing blaze orange. That
may raise a few hackles here, but there's no arguing that a hunter
wearing the stuff is more visible *to a human eye* than one who is not
wearing it. (Compulsion to wear blaze orange is a hornet's nest which I
shall avoid. :)
Some of the nicest photographs in this book appear in the "hunting
techniques" discussion. For example, the bow hunter in dense woodland
who is not ten yards from a bedded doe and she hasn't a clue; the still
hunter sitting tight at the edge of wood, looking straight ahead through
his binoculars whilst a good buck standing in plain view 50 yards away
in the clearing looks at the hunter who hasn't a clue; to the two
hunters not twenty yards apart entering some brush to drive deer, and
the buck walking back out of the brush in the opposite direction,
unobserved, right between them.
The advice on tracking wounded beasts is thorough and well illustrated,
but incomplete. There is no mention of the use of dogs for tracking (I
realise that this is not lawful everywhere but it surely merits
mention), and whilst there is brief discussion of the beast's "reaction
to shot", some diagrams (such as those used by the British Deer Society)
would convey additional vital information. Otherwise, the coverage of
tracking and dressing the beast is excellent. Once again, a series of
pictures are worth thousands of words.
If memory serves me, the NRA charges $12 for this book, which is less
than the cost of a box of centrefire cartridges. It covers almost
everything that the novice needs to start hunting and much that will be
of help and interest to the old hand. It covers most aspects adequately
but, clearly, it cannot cover everything to much depth. And yet there
doesn't seem to be anything lacking. The book benefits greatly from the
excellent photography and diagrams - indeed it would be nothing without
them. In summary, this is an excellent book and anyone who has even the
faintest interest in hunting whitetails should read it.
Delosse Inc., 128pp, 8.5"x11"
