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Dr Sheppard: Whitetail. What next? I read this book and I loved it. Is there another one out there that I should read?
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Dr Sheppard: Whitetail. What next?
- Thread starter CooterBrown
- Start date
Quit while you're ahead. Sheppard is awesome about not filling your head with BS and overanalyzing, anthropomorphizing, or glorifying a simple, smooth-brained prey species. If anything, I'd say read Leonard Lee Rue's book on whitetail biology and then try and tune out the noise.
briand60
Member
nutterbuster is spot on. Two of the best books I have ever read.
Agree with Nick, stop reading the hunting books (and watching videos)!
The rest of this will rub some the wrong way, but it is a try what I say, not what I did, response, so read on if you can handle it!
I'm being brutally honest and this is the advice I would tell my younger self back in the day, if I could. I miss my dad dearly and he helped instill the love of hunting in me, but my very best skills as a hunter were really self-taught by trial and error with many hours and years spent roaming the woods, way more than actually learning from others. The problem with most, but not all, mentors and experienced hunters (yes, even your dad or grandfather) is they were taught myths and old wives tales by their mentors, so they keep getting passed down without much questioning, and they have just enough success with them to keep believing (scent control, hunt very high, don't stare at a deer, camo, deer have a 6th sense, don't use flashlights, etc...)
All the books, articles, and VHS tapes (I'm old) about hunting (not talking about true biology/ecology types - those help understand the real creatures and their lives) I viewed over the years just misguided me way more than they helped, and delayed my growth as a hunter. Watch hunting videos and TV shows for entertainment value only! I hate to break the news, but Dan I., John E., Lee & T., etc, are not deer gods, just folks that found THEIR own systems and tactics that work great for THEM in the areas they hunt, good for them.
Get in the woods as much as possible in and out of season and learn all you can by bumping and killing deer, find YOUR own style and tactics, and then feel good about what you learn and do. Rack size and quantity killed only matter if you want them to. The only competition in hunting is the one you create, or the one those trying to sell you things want you to participate in for their benefit.
If you really want to shortcut the hunting growth curve and learn as fast as possible, spend the most of your time locating and gaining access to prime land with lots of deer in general, and/or bucks. You can't learn much very quickly when they aren't many there!
Once you've got YOUR own system down and are more successful, then talk with others with more experience to fine tune and validate some things, but you really need that base to ask the right questions and see through the myths.
jmo
The rest of this will rub some the wrong way, but it is a try what I say, not what I did, response, so read on if you can handle it!
I'm being brutally honest and this is the advice I would tell my younger self back in the day, if I could. I miss my dad dearly and he helped instill the love of hunting in me, but my very best skills as a hunter were really self-taught by trial and error with many hours and years spent roaming the woods, way more than actually learning from others. The problem with most, but not all, mentors and experienced hunters (yes, even your dad or grandfather) is they were taught myths and old wives tales by their mentors, so they keep getting passed down without much questioning, and they have just enough success with them to keep believing (scent control, hunt very high, don't stare at a deer, camo, deer have a 6th sense, don't use flashlights, etc...)
All the books, articles, and VHS tapes (I'm old) about hunting (not talking about true biology/ecology types - those help understand the real creatures and their lives) I viewed over the years just misguided me way more than they helped, and delayed my growth as a hunter. Watch hunting videos and TV shows for entertainment value only! I hate to break the news, but Dan I., John E., Lee & T., etc, are not deer gods, just folks that found THEIR own systems and tactics that work great for THEM in the areas they hunt, good for them.
Get in the woods as much as possible in and out of season and learn all you can by bumping and killing deer, find YOUR own style and tactics, and then feel good about what you learn and do. Rack size and quantity killed only matter if you want them to. The only competition in hunting is the one you create, or the one those trying to sell you things want you to participate in for their benefit.
If you really want to shortcut the hunting growth curve and learn as fast as possible, spend the most of your time locating and gaining access to prime land with lots of deer in general, and/or bucks. You can't learn much very quickly when they aren't many there!
Once you've got YOUR own system down and are more successful, then talk with others with more experience to fine tune and validate some things, but you really need that base to ask the right questions and see through the myths.
jmo
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2020
- Messages
- 787
Really good advice.
Ive read a few books with very outdated and misdirected advice around scents / stand placement , gear, scrapes/ rubs and on & on...
If anything use the reading to evaluate things in your own control & area you hunt = whats working not working. Scrapes and rubs still mess me up.
Ive also been invited to hunt with and once paid to hunt in OH- with hunters that are their own worst enemy.
Access to really good land/ herd density just tips the scale in regards to "experts".
* there is some good tactic reading on here
Ive read a few books with very outdated and misdirected advice around scents / stand placement , gear, scrapes/ rubs and on & on...
If anything use the reading to evaluate things in your own control & area you hunt = whats working not working. Scrapes and rubs still mess me up.
Ive also been invited to hunt with and once paid to hunt in OH- with hunters that are their own worst enemy.
Access to really good land/ herd density just tips the scale in regards to "experts".
* there is some good tactic reading on here
I have learned more in one trip to really good habitat than in a decade hunting poor habitat. Mainly, what an area that will offer you a high-odds hunt looks like at first blush. You're spot-on.
I'll back-pedal a slight amount.
I have found Warren Womack to be immensely helpful. Dan Infalt less so. Why? Because Mr. Womack lives in my wo and feedrld. River bottom swamps, palmetto flats, timber land with monocultures, SMZs, and cutovers, etc. Dan lives in a completely different world. Different habitat, different weather, different pressure, different subspecies of deer. The little nuanced aspects of deer behavior that are dependent on these variables are shared by my deer and Warren's deer, but not so much by Infalt's deer and mine. Big picture, all deer behave the same. Sheppard is pretty good at the big picture (deer hide, eat, and breed) and while he does have an Alabama bias, he doesn't really try to delve into details.
I would say that once you have spent some time really engraining the hide, eat, breed truth into your head and don't have to think about it, and you have internalized hunting where the deer are, it makes sense to start looking for "local legends" in your area. But you need to be at the point where you aren't baffled by BS and can point at what allowed them to get to that status. Usually unordinary amounts of free time and money, and proximity to good habitat. If they have those things, and are willing to talk, and hunt your area, they most likely are going to be very valuable to you. Pay attention to local magazines and feed supply counter talk, and when you get a chance to talk to them realize they put pants on one leg at a time like you and will most likely believe some kooky stuff as well as really good truths about how deer react throughout the season in your area.
I have found Warren Womack to be immensely helpful. Dan Infalt less so. Why? Because Mr. Womack lives in my wo and feedrld. River bottom swamps, palmetto flats, timber land with monocultures, SMZs, and cutovers, etc. Dan lives in a completely different world. Different habitat, different weather, different pressure, different subspecies of deer. The little nuanced aspects of deer behavior that are dependent on these variables are shared by my deer and Warren's deer, but not so much by Infalt's deer and mine. Big picture, all deer behave the same. Sheppard is pretty good at the big picture (deer hide, eat, and breed) and while he does have an Alabama bias, he doesn't really try to delve into details.
I would say that once you have spent some time really engraining the hide, eat, breed truth into your head and don't have to think about it, and you have internalized hunting where the deer are, it makes sense to start looking for "local legends" in your area. But you need to be at the point where you aren't baffled by BS and can point at what allowed them to get to that status. Usually unordinary amounts of free time and money, and proximity to good habitat. If they have those things, and are willing to talk, and hunt your area, they most likely are going to be very valuable to you. Pay attention to local magazines and feed supply counter talk, and when you get a chance to talk to them realize they put pants on one leg at a time like you and will most likely believe some kooky stuff as well as really good truths about how deer react throughout the season in your area.
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How did you learn from Mr. Womack? In person, books, youtube?
briand60
Member
Authors on whitetail behavior and hunting that I really enjoyed:
A. Robert Sheppard
Leonard lee Rue
Charles J. Alsheimer
Tony Peterson
Steve Bartylla
John and Chris Eberhart
I am an information sponge. I also enjoy reading. Nothing can replace boots on the ground / real world experience but there is some very good information out there.
A. Robert Sheppard
Leonard lee Rue
Charles J. Alsheimer
Tony Peterson
Steve Bartylla
John and Chris Eberhart
I am an information sponge. I also enjoy reading. Nothing can replace boots on the ground / real world experience but there is some very good information out there.
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2020
- Messages
- 1,978
I enjoy reading when I cant be in the woods also.
- Joined
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- 787
My Style of Hunting By Mr. Warren Womack
For all you folks new to mobile climbing methods, or those of us that have tinkered with our system enough to be dangerous.... "Not only is it good practice but it's also a good conditioning program for climbing. I try to shoot every day and climb up to shoot and down to retrieve arrows, about...
saddlehunter.com
Twenty Up
Active Member
Good stuff y’all.
Biggest thing I’ll add is how often does the person you’re “learning from” Hunt a season?
How many deer are they killing and passing, with what weapon platform?
A lot of the guys writing these books and making these videos either hunt for a living or are close to it. Realistically, most guys aren’t hunting 50-100+ hunts per season. I’m sure if we all could hunt 50-100+ sits a year we’d all have more success, but that’s not a reality.
The one time in my life I was able to devote a lot of time to hunt and killing a specific deer, I did. There’s not a doubt in my mind that any other persistent and passionate hunter could be successful at it as well. Biggest thing is having time.
Don’t buy into all the hype and fancy terms. Just folks trying to over complicate things and sound smart.
Biggest thing I’ll add is how often does the person you’re “learning from” Hunt a season?
How many deer are they killing and passing, with what weapon platform?
A lot of the guys writing these books and making these videos either hunt for a living or are close to it. Realistically, most guys aren’t hunting 50-100+ hunts per season. I’m sure if we all could hunt 50-100+ sits a year we’d all have more success, but that’s not a reality.
The one time in my life I was able to devote a lot of time to hunt and killing a specific deer, I did. There’s not a doubt in my mind that any other persistent and passionate hunter could be successful at it as well. Biggest thing is having time.
Don’t buy into all the hype and fancy terms. Just folks trying to over complicate things and sound smart.
I will add that I am a terrible teacher or mentor, so I only suggest things based on what I've done wrong more than what I've done right in most cases. I'm probably the king of messing things up before I get them right!
five
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2019
- Messages
- 459
I really enjoyed this book for learning how to move through the woods:
I haven't incorporated everything or finished the book. But I mainly focused on the movement chapters and it has seemed to help thus far. It was late in the season when I got the book, past when I usually see any deer and I saw deer each time I concentrated on following the book's movement suggestions.
Stalking & Still-Hunting
asbellwool.com
I haven't incorporated everything or finished the book. But I mainly focused on the movement chapters and it has seemed to help thus far. It was late in the season when I got the book, past when I usually see any deer and I saw deer each time I concentrated on following the book's movement suggestions.