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Not a bad read, could use a little more editing...
Whitetail Wisdom book, by Daniel E. Schmidt
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Whitetail Wisdom book by Daniel E. Schmidt

From Russ Chastain,
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Guide Rating - rating

The Bottom Line

Whitetail Wisdom calls itself "A Proven 12-step Guide to Scouting Less and Hunting More." It's an interesting way to present the info, and there's a lot of good stuff in this book. Will it help you scout less and hunt more? That depends on how much you scout now... but the potential is there.
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Pros
  • Contains lots of good info, presented in a down-to-earth way.
  • Written by a guy who hunts public land as well as private - he's no elitist.
  • Author has a lot of deer hunting experience, and knows how to glean lessons from it.
  • This book will likely have some useful info for every deer hunter in the USA.
Cons
  • Could have used a little more editing/proofing.
  • Two-page "sidebar" tips break up the text of the book too often.

Description

  • Whitetail Wisdom book by Daniel E. Schmidt
  • Subtitle: "A Proven 12-step Guide to Scouting Less and Hunting More"
  • Soft Cover, 6" x 9", 224 pages.
  • ISBN 0-87349-946-8
  • Contains a lot of common-sense information gleaned from years of experience - and from other deer hunters.
  • Presented in a down-to-earth way that's clear but not dumbed-down.
  • Chapters include: Become a Student; Scout Less, Hunt More; Think Like a Deer; Play Above the Competition;
  • Simplify Your Approach; Get Private out in Public; Break Down the Big Woods; Match Wits With a Matriarch;
  • Become a Buck Hunter; Shoot Like a Pro; Join the Utilitarian Movement; Stay on Track; Take Time to Reflect.
  • Includes an index.

Guide Review - Whitetail Wisdom book by Daniel E. Schmidt

Whitetail Wisdom was an interesting book for me. The first thing I read was the author's Acknowledgements, which began with a contradictory statement:

"Although I had always dreamed about writing a deer-hunting book, the thought never crossed my mind..."

Hmmm.

I believe the author's intentions are clear, i.e. that he had never believed that writing a book on deer hunting was a realistic goal for him, though it had long been a dream of his. Unfortunately, that's not what he said, and as editor of a well-known magazine (Deer & Deer Hunting) I expected better from him. Ah well.

From such questionable beginnings, the book grew on me more and more as I read. I appreciate the author's roots in public-land hunting, and I envy his access to multiple pieces of prime hunting land.

Schmidt has done an admirable job of putting his info into a very readable form, although one quirk bothered me. I'd be happily reading along and reach the end of a page, then turn the page and find a lovely two-page photo with some kind of quick tip/sidebar info... which invariably distracted me from what I had been reading.

At such times, I had to turn back to the last page, pick up the thread again, and turn two pages to complete the paragraph or section... and then back-track to read the tip. Not a huge thing, but an aggravation for which there is no good excuse.

The text is good, and so are the tips, and the photography (mostly black-and-white in this book) is top-notch. But the flow of text should never have been so rudely interrupted by intrusive two-page spreads. It's aggravating, and if I want that kind of aggravation in my reading, I'll pick up a magazine, not a book.

This is still a good book, which I enjoyed quite well, and will likely find myself re-reading as deer season approaches.

- Russ Chastain

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The Quest and the Quarry

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