Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 34

Thread: Hunting School-would you pay for a hunting course...?????

  1. #1
    Banned
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Chugach National Forest
    Posts
    9,795
    Blog Entries
    10

    Default Hunting School-would you pay for a hunting course...?????

    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...???
    Last edited by Sourdough; 04-24-2009 at 11:01 AM.


  2. #2
    Senior Member doug1980's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    North Florida
    Posts
    1,653

    Default

    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.

  3. #3
    Loner Gray Wolf's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Within My Mind
    Posts
    1,999

    Default

    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!
    "A person is not finished when they are defeated.
    A person is finished when they quit."

  4. #4

    Default

    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).
    Everything I have posted is pure fantasy. I have not done any of the things that I have claimed to have done in my posts. I actually live in Detroit.

  5. #5
    Neo-Numptie DOGMAN's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    cyber space
    Posts
    2,030

    Default

    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
    The way of the canoe is the way of the wilderness and of a freedom almost forgotten- Sigurd Olson

    Give me winter, give me dogs... you can keep the rest- Knud Rasmussen

  6. #6
    Neo-Numptie DOGMAN's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    cyber space
    Posts
    2,030

    Default

    But, to answer the original question...No, I would not personally pay for a hunting course.
    The way of the canoe is the way of the wilderness and of a freedom almost forgotten- Sigurd Olson

    Give me winter, give me dogs... you can keep the rest- Knud Rasmussen

  7. #7
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    south centeral wisconsin
    Posts
    347

    Default

    I would not pay for hunting course but Ithink alot of city folk would and I'm sure they have.
    If i don't get some whiskey soon i'm going to die!!!!!! didn't put eough dirt down saw it right off...

  8. #8
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Central Indiana
    Posts
    58,832

    Default

    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.
    Last edited by Rick; 03-11-2009 at 09:51 AM.
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Pict's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Belo Horizonte Brazil
    Posts
    906

    Default

    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
    The Colhane Channel TV for guys like me.

  10. #10
    Senior Member gryffynklm's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    West Virginia
    Posts
    2,084

    Default

    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.
    Karl

    The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion the the effort he puts into whatever field of endeavor he chooses. Vincent T Lombardi

    A wise man profits from the wisdom of others.

  11. #11
    Neo-Numptie DOGMAN's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    cyber space
    Posts
    2,030

    Default

    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.
    The way of the canoe is the way of the wilderness and of a freedom almost forgotten- Sigurd Olson

    Give me winter, give me dogs... you can keep the rest- Knud Rasmussen

  12. #12
    Coming through klkak's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Alaska
    Posts
    3,013
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    I could see myself taking a course on a specific type of hunting or hunting a specific animal I have no experience with.
    1. If it's in your kit and you don't know how to use it....It's useless.
    2. If you can't reach your kit when you need it....Its useless.

    Alaska Backcountry Adventure Tours
    www.youralaskavacation.com
    Tell them Kevin sent you!!

  13. #13
    Senior Member gryffynklm's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    West Virginia
    Posts
    2,084

    Default

    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.
    Karl

    The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion the the effort he puts into whatever field of endeavor he chooses. Vincent T Lombardi

    A wise man profits from the wisdom of others.

  14. #14
    Neo-Numptie DOGMAN's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    cyber space
    Posts
    2,030

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by gryffynklm View Post
    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.
    The way of the canoe is the way of the wilderness and of a freedom almost forgotten- Sigurd Olson

    Give me winter, give me dogs... you can keep the rest- Knud Rasmussen

  15. #15
    Coming through klkak's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
    Location
    Alaska
    Posts
    3,013
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Jason_Montana View Post
    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.
    1. If it's in your kit and you don't know how to use it....It's useless.
    2. If you can't reach your kit when you need it....Its useless.

    Alaska Backcountry Adventure Tours
    www.youralaskavacation.com
    Tell them Kevin sent you!!

  16. #16
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    North Georgia Mountains
    Posts
    2,222
    Blog Entries
    9

    Default

    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?

  17. #17

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by hopeak View Post
    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

  18. #18
    Senior Member Ole WV Coot's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Southern WV , raised in Eastern KY up a holler
    Posts
    2,668

    Default

    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.
    Don't pick a fight with an old man. If he's too old
    to fight... he'll just kill you.

  19. #19

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Ole WV Coot View Post
    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.
    If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.
    Samuel Adams
    Dogs are not my whole life, but they make my life whole.

  20. #20
    Neo-Numptie DOGMAN's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    cyber space
    Posts
    2,030

    Default

    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
    The way of the canoe is the way of the wilderness and of a freedom almost forgotten- Sigurd Olson

    Give me winter, give me dogs... you can keep the rest- Knud Rasmussen

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •