Hunting deer is the most inexpensive, environmentally friendly way to acquire organic, grass-fed meat. Even if you’ve never held a gun before, author Jackson Landers can show you how to supplement your food supply with venison taken near your home. He addresses everything a new hunter needs to know: how to choose the correct rifle and ammunition, how to hunt effectively and safely, and what to do if something goes wrong. He includes chapters on field dressing and butchering after the kill, recipes for using the meat, and a chapter on the politics and psychology of hunting. Whether you hunt to be more self-sufficient, to eat the safest and most nutritious meat possible, to protect the environment, or to save money, this book is the perfect guide.
The Beginner's Guide to Hunting Deer for Food
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From the Back Cover
A Complete Course in Hunting, Dressing, and Butchering
Even if you've never hunted before, you can acquire the skills you need to fill your freezer with local, healthful venison. Author Jackson Landers knows the challenges of taking up hunting as an adult and gives aspiring hunters the knowledge they need to safely and responsibly bag a whitetail -- good for 40 pounds or more of fresh venison.
Everything Beginners Need to Know:
* Learning your local regulations
* Choosing your weapon and ammunition
* Understanding whitetail anatomy so you can predict behavior
* Finding good places to hunt
* Shooting to kill and preparing for a possible follow-up shot
* Dressing, butchering, and packaging your deer
* Cooking with venison
Even if you've never hunted before, you can acquire the skills you need to fill your freezer with local, healthful venison. Author Jackson Landers knows the challenges of taking up hunting as an adult and gives aspiring hunters the knowledge they need to safely and responsibly bag a whitetail -- good for 40 pounds or more of fresh venison.
Everything Beginners Need to Know:
* Learning your local regulations
* Choosing your weapon and ammunition
* Understanding whitetail anatomy so you can predict behavior
* Finding good places to hunt
* Shooting to kill and preparing for a possible follow-up shot
* Dressing, butchering, and packaging your deer
* Cooking with venison
About the Author
Jackson Landers is the author of The Beginner’s Guide to Hunting Deer for Food. He teaches hunting workshops across the United States, has been featured in the Huffington Post and the New York Times, and is the subject of a documentary entitled Close to the Bone. He lives in Virginia.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
For a novice hunter, this book will serve as a pretty good introduction to the basics of deer hunting and understanding their behavior.
From what I've read about Mr. Landers' locavore deer hunting class, this seems to be a written version of that class -- heavy on the evolution, physiology, psychology, and behavior of deer, with some of his own experiences, which are somewhat helpful. The first three chapters are dedicated to understanding deer, their anatomy and biology, and deer evolution. The next few are on possible weapons and tactics for hunting, then on where to aim. The last are devoted to the kill and post-kill, including field dressing, butchering, and cooking your kill.
As far as some of the other items the book promises, it under-delivers. Specifically, you won't find specific information about "learning your local regulations" or "finding good places to hunt," other than advice to check your state's rules and regulations, then check out public parks, wildlife refuges, military bases, etc. for public hunting. Granted, the laws vary from state to state (including which weapons are permitted and when), but for a book that promises this, I think a few paragraphs for each state would have been helpful -- even if it was as an appendix.
Also, I think a few reviews (or recommendations) of specific guns or bows would have been helpful for a new hunter, rather than descriptions of the various kinds of weaponry that could be used in deer hunting.
Mr. Landers does offer a pretty good description of how to field dress a deer, but I think it would have been better to have this section equipped with step-by-step photographs, rather than the occasional drawing. In fact, there are only two drawings accompanying the field dress section: one showing where incisions should be made, the other showing where to cut around the deer's colon. There's a series of three drawings accompanying the butchering chapter, which are decent, but again -- you'll probably find yourself Googling actual photographs, or buying another book with more specifics on how to butcher your deer. I've seen better step-by-step drawings in free printouts that some states offer, so I was pretty disappointed that more detail wasn't shown to this section. After all, once you get past the reality of taking an animal's life, I think the biggest setback a potential hunter has is the difficult task of butchering his prey.
Lastly, as far as recipes, I only counted nine. For a book dedicated to "hunting deer for food," I was expecting there'd be a bit more than that. Plus, he confesses that he doesn't care much for offal, so no recipes are dedicated to cooking deer organ meet -- which, in my opinion, should have been included, regardless of his own preferences. Chef Fergus Henderson published a few good venison organ meat recipes in Field & Stream in 2004 (Google "adventures in venison") for venison heart, liver, and kidneys, so check that out if you'd rather not waste these tasty viscera.
Bottom line: if you're looking for some background on the species, and some introductory material on deer behavior, this book will serve as an excellent resource for that, but for more recipes, regulations, and hunting locales (which the book promises), you'll need to find a secondary source. Fortunately these secondary sources should be easy to find online for free, so you'll still probably consider the $11 or so you spent on the book money well spent.
From what I've read about Mr. Landers' locavore deer hunting class, this seems to be a written version of that class -- heavy on the evolution, physiology, psychology, and behavior of deer, with some of his own experiences, which are somewhat helpful. The first three chapters are dedicated to understanding deer, their anatomy and biology, and deer evolution. The next few are on possible weapons and tactics for hunting, then on where to aim. The last are devoted to the kill and post-kill, including field dressing, butchering, and cooking your kill.
As far as some of the other items the book promises, it under-delivers. Specifically, you won't find specific information about "learning your local regulations" or "finding good places to hunt," other than advice to check your state's rules and regulations, then check out public parks, wildlife refuges, military bases, etc. for public hunting. Granted, the laws vary from state to state (including which weapons are permitted and when), but for a book that promises this, I think a few paragraphs for each state would have been helpful -- even if it was as an appendix.
Also, I think a few reviews (or recommendations) of specific guns or bows would have been helpful for a new hunter, rather than descriptions of the various kinds of weaponry that could be used in deer hunting.
Mr. Landers does offer a pretty good description of how to field dress a deer, but I think it would have been better to have this section equipped with step-by-step photographs, rather than the occasional drawing. In fact, there are only two drawings accompanying the field dress section: one showing where incisions should be made, the other showing where to cut around the deer's colon. There's a series of three drawings accompanying the butchering chapter, which are decent, but again -- you'll probably find yourself Googling actual photographs, or buying another book with more specifics on how to butcher your deer. I've seen better step-by-step drawings in free printouts that some states offer, so I was pretty disappointed that more detail wasn't shown to this section. After all, once you get past the reality of taking an animal's life, I think the biggest setback a potential hunter has is the difficult task of butchering his prey.
Lastly, as far as recipes, I only counted nine. For a book dedicated to "hunting deer for food," I was expecting there'd be a bit more than that. Plus, he confesses that he doesn't care much for offal, so no recipes are dedicated to cooking deer organ meet -- which, in my opinion, should have been included, regardless of his own preferences. Chef Fergus Henderson published a few good venison organ meat recipes in Field & Stream in 2004 (Google "adventures in venison") for venison heart, liver, and kidneys, so check that out if you'd rather not waste these tasty viscera.
Bottom line: if you're looking for some background on the species, and some introductory material on deer behavior, this book will serve as an excellent resource for that, but for more recipes, regulations, and hunting locales (which the book promises), you'll need to find a secondary source. Fortunately these secondary sources should be easy to find online for free, so you'll still probably consider the $11 or so you spent on the book money well spent.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This book is an *excellent* beginner's guide to hunting deer. If you are not a beginner (i.e. if you've been hunting before or shot a deer) this book is not for you. If you've read the Omnivore's Dilemma and are interested in hunting and how to hunt, buy this book. If you want to be more responsible for your food and the way it reaches your table, buy this book. If you own a bunch of property and have considered harvesting some of the deer on your land or your friend's land, buy this book.
The only problem with the book is that I think the audience it will reach best will have trouble finding it. One of the other reviews talks about how her husband bought the book but *she* a non-hunter ended up reading it. That's what this book does. It takes you from someone who never hunted and is curious about hunting and shows you the path. It won't tell you which gun to buy, it will tell you to go to a hunter safety course. It won't detail how to cut up a deer (it does at a high level) because most likely you'll want to do some more research when you get to that point. There are so many steps you have to take before you can successfully hunt (safety course, license, how to shoot, finding land, buying gear) and this is one of the tools you will want in your kit as you start out on that journey.
The only problem with the book is that I think the audience it will reach best will have trouble finding it. One of the other reviews talks about how her husband bought the book but *she* a non-hunter ended up reading it. That's what this book does. It takes you from someone who never hunted and is curious about hunting and shows you the path. It won't tell you which gun to buy, it will tell you to go to a hunter safety course. It won't detail how to cut up a deer (it does at a high level) because most likely you'll want to do some more research when you get to that point. There are so many steps you have to take before you can successfully hunt (safety course, license, how to shoot, finding land, buying gear) and this is one of the tools you will want in your kit as you start out on that journey.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Trish Smith
Format:Paperback
This book is a great primer for the novice hunter. It provides a consolidated source for information you'd have to glean from many other sources, and takes the mystery out of the whole endeavor. Landers discusses the ethics of hunting in a realistic and sensitive manner. He also provides a fresh take on hunting from a local food perspective, which makes the subject matter far more accessible to those like me with zilch background knowledge or experience.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
reference
I was looking for a reference book and one I could show non-hunters why I hunt. It has been a great conversation starter.
Published 13 days ago by grandma
5.0 out of 5 stars
51 Ain't Too Late
Just started hunting deer at age 51 and knew absolutely nothing about it. This was exactly what I needed ... lots of good information and so easy to read. Read more
Published 21 days ago by Paul L.
3.0 out of 5 stars
ok
I bought the book as a joke for someone who was just beginning to hunt. I don't think there is a lot of really useful information to someone looking to be a skilled hunter. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sarah Hafner
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good introduction for beginners
A very good introduction to deer hunting for beginners. Very complete, from deer and their habits to firearms to hunting to butchering
Published 1 month ago by Ken
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awsome
I have never hunted before. This book gave me alot of information I had no idea about. I recomend this book to anyone who is thinking about hunting for the first time.
Published 3 months ago by Lefici
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent introduction or review if you been away from hunting a while
Comprehensive guide that also explains the locavore rationale for harvesting your own protein. Recommended. I will be picking up the bow this Fall and putting this to good use.
Published 3 months ago by R. Chesley
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good resource, but not perfect.
Mr. Landers does a fine job here of creating a guide for a beginning deer hunter, or someone who is considering the prospect but hasn't committed to it yet. Read more
Published 4 months ago by M. Finnance
1.0 out of 5 stars
I wish zero stars was an option...
This book was good comedy when we had some friends over for dinner. It absolutely does not fit into a Christian world view. Read more
Published 4 months ago by R. Holzmann
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not many books like this around
Very practical guide for the non-hunter who wants to start hunting for meat. Gives detailed advice on choosing a gun, finding a place to hunt, field dressing your kill, butchering... Read more
Published 5 months ago by S. Wheeler
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent guide for beginners!
As a firefighter I've always been fascinated with the hunting stories from the guys at work and occasionally enjoyed deer meat that they brought to the fire house. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Facundo Silva
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