Hunting Book Reviews

Successful Black Bear Hunting: Strategies for Bagging Your Trophy Bruin

Author: Bill Vaznis. Publication: Krause publication. Pages: 148

This is a well-written book with great pictures. The book offers something to everyone, from a novice to the veteran hunter. The book is slim and has some breathtaking pictures of black bears in their natural habitat. The techniques and strategies mentioned may not really excite the veteran but are surely good for beginners. Baiting has been dealt with in detail. However, it is short on other hunting techniques such as spot and stalking.

Bear populations and areas are given in detail and are useful to those preferring baiting, and photography. The author gives important and useful tips on dealing with guides and the piece on bear camp dynamics make an interesting read. Bears have probably the most well developed olfactory organs amongst the big game in North America and the discussion on the bear’s keen sense of smell and their behavioral traits is really informative.

Successful and unsuccessful hunting stories are riveting and will help the readers avoid mistakes more commonly made during hunting expedition. Especially useful is the information to bow hunters about the need to carry a large bore rifle and suitable bullets with adequate grains when hunting such large carnivores.

The book lacks in-depth information on bear calling techniques, food sources, the identification of bear signs etc.

Overall the book is useful for readers in states that allow baiting and beginners just getting into the sport of hunting.

The Complete Book of Elk Hunting: Tips and Tactics for All Weather and Habitat Conditions

Author: Sam Curtis. Publication: The Lyons Press. Pages: 296

Elk hunting is an expensive and physically demanding sport, a lot of money and effort is required and knowing what you are getting into from one of the finest woodsman, naturalist, and ace elk hunter is surely a good proposition. Sam Curtis has spent more than 30 years in successfully hunting elks and all his experience and knowledge of hunting one of North America’s most popular game animals is reflected in this book. Elk habits, behavior, techniques in spotting and stalking, tracking and hunting tips are dealt with in detail.

However, the book contains many repetitions, which could have been avoided. There is very little information on the hunting gear required, and on how to field judge an antler. Book readers will certainly not become ace hunters but will surely benefit from the information.

Hunting America's Bear: Tactics for Taking Our Most Exciting Big-Game Animal.

Author: Al Raychard. Publication: The Lyons Press. Pages: 288

The black bear one of the most feared carnivores in North America has staged a successful comeback after being hunted, trapped, and poached to almost extinction by the beginning of the 20^th century. Today more than one million black bears roam in its native habitats across United States and Canada.

The book is well written about the bear’s relationship with man in this part of the world. Specific chapters are devoted to the bear’s habitat and tips are offered on ways to locate bears. A great deal of useful information on recognizing bear signs is sure to help beginners as well as veteran hunters. Tips on selection of rifles, bows, arrows, and bullets are of high quality and helpful. Baiting techniques are also discussed along with different hunting methods.

The book falls on the tactics front and a lot of the pages dwell on gun selection and bear statistics. The book does improve your understanding of bear behavior, habitats, and the best methods to hunt your prized trophy. The most interesting subject the book covers is the interpretation of bear signs like tracks and scat. The book gives the reader a fair idea about the setting up of baiting stations, and baiting recipes. Your judgment of bear’s size and the ability to differentiate between a black and grizzly bears will definitely improve.

All in all this is a good book to have on your bookshelf

Posted by Justin Ott