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View Full Version : Hunting School-would you pay for a hunting course...?????



Sourdough
03-11-2009, 01:01 AM
Every man is a great lover, great high speed driver, and drives tacks at 100 yards, and there must be more every man is a master at.

However, every once in a while someone on the forum states that they are clueless about hunting skills, or field dressing game skills, or the extraction from the field, and butchering of game.

There are survival courses, there are self defense shooting courses, But would anyone really pay money to learn how to hunt wild game...???

doug1980
03-11-2009, 01:10 AM
Well I'm sure that if someone really wanted to learn these skills they could tag alone with a friend or family member who would show them. But I am sure there are some that would pay for this type of training.

Gray Wolf
03-11-2009, 01:27 AM
Or, Just take hopeak With you, He gets 3/4 of the meat of his choice, plus you can a lot from him as a bonus! :thumbs_up: :cool:

Nativedude
03-11-2009, 01:28 AM
Hopeak wrote: "Every man is a great lover, great high speed driver, and drives tacks at 100 yards, and there must be more every man is a master at.

However, every once in a while someone on the forum states that they are clueless about hunting skills, or field dressing game skills, or the extraction from the field, and butchering of game.

There are survival courses, there are self defense shooting courses, But would anyone really pay money to learn how to hunt wild game...???

Well Hopeak, At one time I did have a bowhunting school. . .for 8 years. Started in 1984. While it was very popular, most of the guys that went through it were mostly interested in using compound bows. I have shot compounds, but, as most of you know, my passion is for all things primitive. Now I teach primitive bow & arrow and arrowhead making in my Primitive Living Skills courses. Along with gutting, packing-out, butchering and even cooking the game.

So, I decided to sell the business to a friend of mine. He ran it until last year when he had a stroke.* All the years he ran it the courses were full. 6 courses in the summer and early fall.

*He can no longer pull a bow back, but he does still shoot a cross bow (with some help).

DOGMAN
03-11-2009, 02:48 AM
Interesting. I think it could be an awesome offering.

Honestly, there are alot of lousy and lazy hunters out there, and tagging along with a friend could teach a person how to become a jagermeister, or it could just teach you how to cruise the roads and shoot the first whitetail that stumbles into your crosshairs.

A good course could be very beneficial to those who really want to learn to hunt- and a good public relations tool for hunting in general. I think there is alot to teach people about hunting...even alot of people who classify themselves as hunters don't know much about wildlife biology, tracking, ideal weapon and ammo choice, shot placement, field dressing, meat prep, etc... I think it would be great to raise the bar for hunters in general.

However, I don't know if their are alot of people that would pay for the school...but, the first people that wanted to teach primitive skills were probably told they same thing- now look at how many schools there are that teach those things.

I would like to develop this idea further

DOGMAN
03-11-2009, 02:50 AM
But, to answer the original question...No, I would not personally pay for a hunting course.

skunkkiller
03-11-2009, 09:36 AM
I would not pay for hunting course but Ithink alot of city folk would and I'm sure they have.

Rick
03-11-2009, 09:48 AM
If I were interested in hunting larger game, sure. It's like anything else in life. I consider myself a pretty handy guy around the house but I still stop in Lowes and Home Depot and watch the demos. I learn some trick or two just about every time.

I think the same would be true of a "hunting" course. I've done a lot of squirrel and rabbit hunting but I read through the posts and often learn something in the process.

If I were interested in hunting larger game then I'd probably sign up. I'm sure I'd learn a lot. I'd change the name, however. Based on your explanation, you are teaching far more than just hunting although all those skills are used in hunting. As long as the customer feels they are getting their monies worth they'll sign up. You just want to convey the breadth of the class is beyond just hunting and that starts with the "name".

Perhaps something like Alaskan Wilderness Hunting Skills or something similar. You get the picture.

Pict
03-11-2009, 09:54 AM
Unless it is a specific skill being taught like calling or rattling I don't think a course would teach much more than a good video would. Most people learn to hunt by hunting with a hunter for a season or two. Aside from the typical hunters safety course it just takes time and experience. I don't think you can rush the process in a course. Mac

gryffynklm
03-11-2009, 10:49 AM
I have friends that will take me out and teach me, how well?? They are kind enough to give me freezer over flow. So I assume they are skilled. Other skills like wild edibles, maybe, depends on how much and who is there. The best part about the courses I usually attend is the other people who attend. Old friends new friends doesn't matter. Just as much learning goes on after hours in camp. Hunting Maybe, still a cost and who thing for me.

DOGMAN
03-11-2009, 12:10 PM
People take courses on skiing, kayaking, climbing...all kinds of outdoor sports. But, not hunting- odd. Its funny really- someone owns a gun and shoots one deer they consider themselves a "hunter". Its a shame really because they are selling themselves short.

A real hunter is a full-time predator, and even when its not in season, as they travel they are spotting sign, or spotting game, and thinking about what their prey is doing- actively participating in the natural world around them.

Anyone can pull the trigger and get lucky on occassion...but truly being a hunter is another matter. Passing on those skills to future generations would be a real legacy.

klkak
03-11-2009, 12:46 PM
I could see myself taking a course on a specific type of hunting or hunting a specific animal I have no experience with.

gryffynklm
03-11-2009, 12:52 PM
Jason, I agree with you. Unfortunately for me and a fixed income getting shorter every month, I have to start with friends. Like I said in my post How well. From there I would probably have enough saved by next fall to consider taking a course. I haven't found anything for Randolph county WV yet then again I haven't been looking very long.

DOGMAN
03-11-2009, 01:22 PM
Jason, I agree with you. Unfortunately for me and a fixed income getting shorter every month, I have to start with friends. Like I said in my post How well. From there I would probably have enough saved by next fall to consider taking a course. I haven't found anything for Randolph county WV yet then again I haven't been looking very long.

No worries...I am not saying there is anything wrong with learning from friends. Much of what I've learned, I learned from either my father, his friends..or a few of my own friends. That is the traditional way.

But, there are alot of people out there that don't have friends that hunt...or they have friends that are poor hunters and thus are poor mentors. And, in my eyes just having a freezer full of meat doesn't make a person a good hunter. In much of the USA a person could fill a freezer with venison while smoking a cigarette, drinking a beer and without ever walking more than a few feet from their truck. That's just being a killer- not a hunter. A true hunter has ethics, intimate knowledge of their prey, and a respect for both the tradition of hunting and the animals harvested.

klkak
03-11-2009, 03:07 PM
A true hunter has ethics, intimate knowledge of their prey, and a respect for both the tradition of hunting and the animals harvested.

Jason I remember when I took on the responsibility to provide meat for my mom and siblings. I just nine years old and the only gun I had a single shot .22 long rifle. It took months of stumbling around it the woods trying and failing. I also lost several deer because I wasn't placing the bullet in the right spot. One day without even realizing it. It all came together. I made my first kill. By this time I knew all the trails, bedding areas, feeding areas. Where the deer would be at any given time of the day and how weather affected them. I had also become an unbelievable shot with that little .22. Don't ask me why but my shot of choice was the left eye. Those first couple of years I cried every time I killed a deer. I hunted all year round to feed my family and only once did I kill a pregnant doe. From the time I made my first kill I have been a true hunter. I still hunt but no longer for the same reasons. I hunt now so that I can pass along the tradition to my grandson.

FVR
03-11-2009, 06:21 PM
Nativedude......Do I know you?

We have had to cross paths somewhere. I have yet to make it to Mojam, but have made my share of hatchet bows.

I've been building bows and arrows since 95 and have spoken with many fellow bowyers on many of the major boards.

Do you know me? Do I know you?

danmc
04-23-2009, 09:59 PM
Every man is a great lover, great high speed driver, and drives tacks at 100 yards, and there must be more every man is a master at.

However, every once in a while someone on the forum states that they are clueless about hunting skills, or field dressing game skills, or the extraction from the field, and butchering of game.

There are survival courses, there are self defense shooting courses, But would anyone really pay money to learn how to hunt wild game...???

One could argue that a lot of guides get paid to teach someone how to hunt wild game. I have only killed small game and I'll admit that I've considered going on a guided hog hunt as much as anything to have someone experienced around to help me learn how to clean a pig. Never quite gotten around to it though. There are clearly fishing classes that people take (fly fishing in particular).


I have paid for archery lessons which were worth every penny of it. I learned some good technique and good habits before committing bad habits to muscle memory. I have also paid for some shooting (clay targets) instruction and again, besides it being a fun afternoon I felt like it was worth it to get a few fundamentals of style and form down right rather than having to unlearn marginal technique later.

In my 20's I wouldn't have paid for something like archery or shooting instruction. Luckily with age I have come to appreciate more the value of learning from someone with top notch skills and can admit that I have a lot to learn in many areas.

-Dan

Ole WV Coot
04-23-2009, 10:19 PM
Would I pay no. For a once in a lifetime hunt, yes. Game I know little about, would absolutely pay. I would be a lost ball in tall weeds in an AK bear hunt. I am dumb but not stupid and I admit I have hunted most all my life and lots of animals I don't know squat about so I would pay. I believe there is more to hunting than most people realize and it takes years to learn. Personal opinion, or maybe a slow learner.

Alpine_Sapper
04-24-2009, 08:33 AM
Would I pay no. For a once in a lifetime hunt, yes. Game I know little about, would absolutely pay. I would be a lost ball in tall weeds in an AK bear hunt. I am dumb but not stupid and I admit I have hunted most all my life and lots of animals I don't know squat about so I would pay. I believe there is more to hunting than most people realize and it takes years to learn. Personal opinion, or maybe a slow learner.

For a hunting course around here? Nah, nadda chance. There are to many good ol' boys around here more than willing to crack a brew and show you how to bait hogs... :) But yeah, I totally agree about stuff I've never hunted before, bear or moose, something like that.

DOGMAN
04-24-2009, 10:00 AM
Sapper- i never noticed that last line on your signature. That may be good for an additional discount when you come out next winter. LOL... I may borrow that quote myself

Sourdough
04-24-2009, 11:09 AM
every once in a while someone on the forum states that they are clueless about hunting skills, or field dressing game skills, or the extraction from the field, and butchering of game.

There are survival courses, there are self defense shooting courses, But would anyone really pay money to learn how to hunt wild game...???


My thought was this would NOT be geared for hunter's to expand skills. It would be designed for people who have never hunted.

trax
04-24-2009, 11:27 AM
Well, I'm not going to pay for a hunting course. There's nothing that I want to hunt that I don't know how to hunt and the last time I checked, I was pretty ok at it. And, there's a few guys on here I figure could sell a hunting course, a real one, teaching those skills that go beyond baiting and shooting, and if some of your fellas want to go for it --good luck. My concern is, if I was to offer to teach someone to hunt for money, what kind of jackasses might show up and I've made a commitment to teach them.

I'm very selective about who I am willing to hunt with now. I guess if you get the right clients it's a good thing because you're putting hunters in the field who have some know-how

Runs With Beer
04-24-2009, 10:58 PM
Feed me a fish, Feed me for a day. Teach me to fish, feed me everyday:art:

Nativedude
04-24-2009, 10:59 PM
FVR wrote: "Nativedude......Do I know you?

We have had to cross paths somewhere. I have yet to make it to Mojam, but have made my share of hatchet bows.

I've been building bows and arrows since 95 and have spoken with many fellow bowyers on many of the major boards.

Do you know me? Do I know you?"

FVR, we don't know each other, not that I know of. I have never been to MOJAM. I did have a hunting TV show in the past on the outdoor channel.

Nativedude
04-24-2009, 11:05 PM
Trax wrote: ". . .My concern is, if I was to offer to teach someone to hunt for money, what kind of jackasses might show up and I've made a commitment to teach them.

I'm very selective about who I am willing to hunt with now. I guess if you get the right clients it's a good thing because you're putting hunters in the field who have some know-how."

When I had my bow hunting school I had my share of wackos show up. Guess what. . .they got a refund and were told to leave.

When you own a business you have the right to refuse service to anyone you choose. And if I felt someone was there for the wrong reason(s) I did not accept them!

It is the same for my survival & primitive living courses!

trax
04-25-2009, 10:52 AM
No disagreement here ND, but I'm thinking more of situations where I really don't know what I can or can't teach a person just on first impressions. Idiocy, unfortunately, is rampant. The other thing I'm thinking is, how much information over what time frame at what cost? If someone here (and I know we've got people here who could make a go of it, you included) want to give it a shot, more power to them. But personally, it took me a long time to learn the things I've learned and I'm still learning. I suppose you could give folks the basics, personally I'd rather just grab my rifle and gear and go hunting.

mountain mama
04-25-2009, 11:01 AM
My daddy had a hunting & guide service and taxidermy shop when I was growing up. I am sure many of his clients had very limited hunting skills/knowledge. I think if you are going to train others, part of that training is keeping them in check and giving them a respect for the wilderness. If they aren't capable, then they get the boot.

red lake
04-25-2009, 11:30 AM
Yes, even if I thought myself an expert in a discipline, to think you can learn nothing from somebody else is foolish.

Jason has the right idea, to shoot a deer does not make one a hunter.

The only real hunters are the predatory animals that live in the wilderness, if only they ran a hunting class!

Alpine_Sapper
04-25-2009, 11:38 AM
I may borrow that quote myself

anytime. :)

Alpine_Sapper
04-25-2009, 11:52 AM
Jason has the right idea, to shoot a deer does not make one a hunter.

The only real hunters are the predatory animals that live in the wilderness!

While I agree that killing an animal does not a hunter make, I disagree that the only true hunters are predatory animals. Unless you consider some of the old bushrats I've met predatory animals. And while some of them seem that way, they are just guys that have spent their lives in the field doing what they enjoy doing...tracking,stalking,and just generally getting in tune with nature. You know, the 60 year old man that not only seems to know the 150 acre strip of land like it's his bedroom, seems to have an almost empathic bond with his prey...

DOGMAN
04-25-2009, 12:04 PM
I think a school that combined general hunting skills, and primitive skills/bushcraft and a reverance for nature/wildlife would be cool.

There are people in the cities and suburbs that are literally dying inside, because they have no connection to the natural world. Just teaching them basic hunting skills is not enough. They need to FEEL the connection.

I am not surprised that most of us here would not pay for such a course- we are already feeling the connection- we understand that to truly participate in the cycle of nature we need to think beyond the aisles of the supermarket and learn what it takes to harvest our own meat....and, to know what that meat is made of (what the animal ate), etc... and to realize that WE are predators, and a part of nature- not observers...but participants in the world around us.

oly
04-25-2009, 02:19 PM
I wouldn't want to be the instructor for people that has never been hunting or handled a gun.
I taught my kids when they were toddlers with dart guns and nagged nagged and nagged at them to keep that gun pointed in a safe direction. Then they was upgraded to a BB gun at about 6 y/o and I nagged nagged and nagged at them to keep that gun pointed in a safe direction and then I nagged nagged and nagged at them that the BB will go through the paper target and keep going, so you better look beyond the target to see what else it might hit.
Never had a broken window incident.

trax
04-25-2009, 02:53 PM
Maybe I'm just approaching this based on the "where" of where I do my thing, but I can't do what Mountain Mama suggested and 'just give someone the boot' if we're 20 or 30 miles up a river in northern Manitoba. I've guided people a very few times in the past and that's why I gave it up. There's just too many dum-dums out there for me. I agree with the notion of the hunter being a predatory being. Predators have been known to have that empathetic relationship with their prey (I know there's going to be some arguments against that, but empathetic isn't sympathetic and the predator will be in finality, pragmatic) I also believe that a lot of what needs to be learned with hunting involves that feel for the environment, for the hunt, for the prey, for the process. That's why I said what I did about the years of learning. What I'm suggesting is that in a hunting course, all one could really hope to impart are the basics, even the basics involves a lot, but that it would be up to the post-graduate participant to learn about that feel.

Even with the basics, I wouldn't take anyone who couldn't prove to me that they had basic firearms/archery safety training before starting out. Make them field prove their shooting capabilities. Then beat into their skulls the absolute paramount importance of the clean kill. Teach them some tracking, stalking, field dressing the kill. In the course of that, they should learn some things (if they don't, they're screwed anyway) about the habits and habitat of the animals, the effects of weather patterns on game behavior and on shooting opportunities.

So again, I say it's do-able, but would take someone with a lot more tolerance and patience than I have for my fellow man. If you're one of the people contemplating teaching such a course, I recommend making it very, very expensive, to make it worth your while.

Just a wee qualifier: some evidence of empathetic relationships between mammalian predators and prey. other than that I don't know.

Ole WV Coot
04-25-2009, 10:33 PM
I have hunted almost 55yrs now and I still prefer to go alone in an area I know and after game I have hunted. I have seen dumb moves by seasoned hunters with plenty of time in the woods so I just plain don't trust many people. I know better shots than me, always do well but I don't know how safe they are. I trust me and the men who taught me, most long gone now so I go it alone.