Hunting for Cheap Old School Knowledge

Expanding your hunting, fishing and gathering knowledge can be an overwhelming task for someone new to the natural way humans obtained food for short and long-term survival.  As someone that has been distant from hunting for most of my adult life and only having an occasional recreational fishing trip that wasn’t meant for food gathering, as I made a conscious decision to switch to wild game as a primary protein source, I realized there was a lot I needed to learn.

For hunting large game, if you have land to hunt on you have a leg up but if you don’t, public land or a is your other option if you want DIY satisfaction and a continued free source of protein.

Once you have that, its time to hunt, but what do you need, how do you put yourself in the best place and what are you going to do once you fill a tag?

Being the digital age, videos and advice are abundant on the web, which is great, I have succeeded numerous times and in numerous things by the generosity of Vloggers and Bloggers.  I have even given back to the cyber world to say thanks when I have something useful to share. (as I am doing now).  However, there is something about books and how you retain information from them that seems superior to the digital world. I have also found that books from a generation or two back, when technology didn’t play a major hand in our world, seem to give you a firmer understanding of the basics that you can't match with our new fast tracked digital world of information and hunting tools.

So, where does one find these books?

If you are hunting and fishing, you are most likely traveling and when you travel, you pass through small towns and major cities along the way.  In those places, you will find books stores that sell recycled books for 25 cents to a a few bucks a piece.  Along the way to one of my trout fishing rivers, I have such a place that is worth a stop.  It is run by an older couple that when asked about hunting and fishing topics, they can direct you to some good old books worth thumbing through for a fraction of the cost of a new book.  Search for used books stores along your route.  It is a good travel break and can be a great refresher for re-energizing on trips that can extend into the night.

Another great book hunting spot is Goodwill.  Goodwill has been a source for many of my hunting and fishing book finds over the last few years along with some other useful finds related to hunting and fishing that I will get into later.  Goodwill's are on almost any route you may take and like hunting and fishing, you will often come up empty handed but when you score, you can score big and be excited about your find.

I wanted to highlight a number of the books I have found that have been great tools for my adventures.  These books have been found from the east coast, through the Midwest and into the Rockies.

The Deer of North America by Leonard Lee Rue III -1978

The second one I found!

Probably the most thorough book on understanding deer behavior I have found while frugally hunting for knowledge is The Deer or North America by Leonard Lee Rue III. If you are not familiar with Mr. Rue’s work you should spend some time with this book. Leonard has spend so much time in the woods observing and photographing deer that his book almost comes off as though it was written by a biologist. He discusses deer from every angle from its physical attributes to its activities to its habitat and more. I read this one from cover to cover and use it as a reference book. It was written in 1978 and since then I have found and purchased additional books written by Mr. Rue knowing I will get a quality cache of information. The funny thing is that while writing this, I found another copy of this book floating out there at another goodwill book section. Be on the look out!

Memorable Moment of Use: Last year I picked up a recently killed doe from the side of the road and butchered her.  I found a fetus in the doe and used Leonard's book to determine the age of the fetus.


Venison: From Field to Table by John Weiss - 1984

John Weiss's book Venison: From Field to Table is an excellent book that focuses on selecting quaintly deer and keeping that quality all the way to the table.  The techniques John describes are time tested and will help you make sure your kill is preserved for the trip home.  This was another cover to cover read that I reference from time to time for advice in preservation when a time of rotoplast sealed coolers were not the norm. The author weaves stories of transporting a harvested elk from the Rockies through 90 degree weather in the Midwest with proper care techniques to help you achieve the same tasks.
Guiding you through butchering, aging and cooking venison, John Weiss will give you skills to help guide you to quality meals.

Memorable Use: I always use John's method of defrosting my wild game in the refrigerator with a damp cloth over it to prevent the meat from drying out.

Reconciling Man with the Environment by Eric Ashby - 1978

Sir Eric Ashby was an English scientist who's career started as professor of  botany at the University of Sydney and grew to become the president and chancellor of Queen's University in Belfast.

This book is a a series of lectures Sir Ashby gave at the University of Stanford concerning the complex balance of politics, natural science, popular opinion and economics that shapes the decisions made about our natural resources.  This book was published in 1978 and as you can tell from the previous sentence, the problems with making a decision that makes all sides of the equation happy isn't new. The book contains detailed examples of how decisions were shaped based on how politicians charged with making responsible choices for us received information. He discussed the fight to prevent a reservoir to be built at Cows Green that included a battle to save the Teedale Sandwart that lost yet the Teedale Sandwart survived, a fight to prevent a dam on the Delaware River that won and other battles that were won and lost.

It is a good short book to help understand that compromises have to be made in some cases and how strict absolute NO's must be stood for in others.



Whitetail Strategies by Peter Fiduccia - 2003

The tagline for this book reads "A No-Nonsense Approach to Successful Deer Hunting"and it does deliver.  Peter Fiduccia breaks down whitetail deer in a simple to read format that isn't like a textbook and is more like a conversion with your relative. (if that relative was a successful whitetail hunter and author)  His explanation of the deer senses, actions and abilities will help you improve your own hunting tactics.  Mr. Fiduccia is an accomplished "rattler" and tells stories of successes that include having a buck jump into his blind to accost what it determined was deer fighting in his territory only to find Peter staring back at him. I can only imagine both the deer and Peter scrambling to make heads up of the pandemonium that took place.

It is reader friendly and a great book to take along as a reference.

Peter also makes a deer attractant out of a tanned deer whitetail, which I intend to try with the whitetail I tanned next to the book in the photo.


Book Excitement

Each time I find these books I am excited to spend time with them, some of them I thumb through and others I read from cover to cover depending on how they are written and grab my interest while trying absorb as much as I can from the author. I am also grateful to the anonymous donor that once found this book as fascinating or useful as I now do. 

To be expected, as with hunting wild game, hunting these types of books is not a sure thing, many times I find myself looking over books for people trying to get ahead in their career, improving the self confidence, looking for a purpose in life or trying to educated themselves in one of the millions upon millions of things you can invest your time in these days.

Go out, go hunting for knowledge from books passed down from a like minded person.  If you don't find anything, look again later or try a new spot or maybe I beat you to it.

The photo of the shelf is not all that I have purchased from Goodwill and other thrift stores and I yes, on occasion do I purchase a new book but that just doesn't seem as fun and satisfying.  I will list out the books on the shelf with a small reason for the purchase.

From Left to Right these are the books in the top photo of this article:


Venison: From Field to Table - John Weiss - 1984
Described Above

Reconciling Man with the Environment by Eric Ashby - 1978
Described Above

The Deer of North America by Leonard Lee Rue III -1978
Described Above

Shotgunning for Deer - Henderson - 2003
Just in case the Rifle is in the Shop!  I do know of a hunter that prefers this method.

At The Water's Edge: The Secret Life of a Lake & Stream - Stephen Dalton- 1991
This book has beautiful photographs of life at the waters edge.  As someone who fishes, I enjoy the education value of Mr. Dalton's explanations of various stream and lake habitats.

The Freshwater Fisherman's Bible - Vlad Evanoff - 1964 R. 1980
The original cover price for this book was $4.95 in 1980 since I found the reprint.  It has a wealth of fresh-water fishing knowledge that i use as reference when attempting to pursue a fish I don't know the ins and out of. (which honestly is zero fish)

Idaho by John Gottenberg - 2001
History and Guide to the state.  It is a state I once lived in and one I wish to travel back to visit and hunt.  A good reference.

You get the idea so I will list others I have found that are on that shelf, some will have a description:

Fly Fishing For Dummies by Peter Kaminsky 1998
Where Elk Roam  by Bruce Smith, PHD 2012
Montana by Norma Tirrell 1999
Fundamentals of Bow Hunting by Swight Schuh 1991
Buying and Selling Softwood Lumber by Dave Leckey 1998 - You might ask way this book, well, if you want to hunt property that is a tree farm, you may want to brush up on some language that may help you talk with the land owner to get permission to hunt the property.
Hidden Arizona - Richard Harris 2005 reprint - I got this because a Couse Deer hunt is in my future.
Montana Fly Fishing Guide West by John Holt 1995 - I have fly fished on a portion of the Madison river but that is all in Montana, maybe one day, more flyfishing adventures are to come and this will help.
Whitetail Strategies by Peter Fiduccia - 2003 - Described Above
Complete book of Hunting by Clyde Ormond 1962
The Complete Guide of Deer Hunting by Byron W. Dalrymple - 1973 Because you can't have enough complete guides.
KISS Guide to Fishing by Robert Roth 2001 - The KISS books are Keep It Simple Series books similar to the Dummy Guide books.  Good to have around.
The Deer Hunter Encyclopedia - Leonard Rue III 2000 - Mr. Rue printed this book with more that 200 Q and A's that help answer many questions a new and seasoned deer hunter can have.
L.L. Bean Fly-Fishing Handbook - Dave Whitlock - 2006 Reprint - Great reference book for the Fly Fisherman
Stocking Up III by Carol Hupping 1986 - I got this for canning purposes but there is so much more that is useful for food preservation.
A Sand County Almanac - Aldo Leopold - Yes! I found this in goodwill but honestly, I already had it, but it was out there.  I left it on the shelf for someone else to enjoy the writing of the father of conservation.
Forest, A Natural Guide to Trees and Forest Ecology - Laurence C. Walker 1990 - It is good to understand the place where the animals you hunt live.
Best of Colorado - John Fielder - 2002 - I do find myself in Colorado from time to time.
Environmental Science Towards a Sustainable Future - by Richard T. Wright 2008 Reprint - This text book is a great reference tool for helping you understand what is going on in the world and what is being done to combat human advancement and how it affects the natural world.
Fall Color and Woodland Harvest by C. Ritchie Bell & Anne H. Lindsey 1990 - It is good to know how to identify plants and trees in the forest during hunting season!