Interesting hunting book from the 60s

[mazzgolf]

A friend of mine cleared out his library and gave me some old hunting and fishing books.

I'm reading this old book from 1962... "Complete Book of Hunting". Talks about planning, setting up hunting camps, packing (including how to pack horses and mules!), and discusses tracking, identifying, and hunting tactics for all types of game from deer, elk, moose to bear, mountain lions, sheep, wolves, to varmints... And a bunch of other stuff... All written in 1962 so you can imagine how outdated some of this is (average cost for a polar bear hunt is $2,000, with bear guaranteed! Sign me up! Lol). But it's a really cool read, and reading about setting up hunting camp and hunting elk and mule deer out west has got me daydreaming.

Anyway, I read this and thought "dang, these people were brutal back in the day"... Read this about training dogs to hunt cougars (mountain lions):

"Often domestic cats are bought and turn loose ahead of the young dogs in simulated cat country. The dogs are encouraged to pick up the scent (a natural impulse in most hounds), give chase, tree the little feline and, if possible, kill it."

"Deer country is cougar country, and the hardest single job of the lion hunter is to break his dogs from running deer. The most severe punishment is given dogs that run on the scent or sight of deer. After they return each time, they are beaten, hung by the neck with a lariat until nearly choked to death, and cussed with a language that would make an old salt embarrassed."

Dog training was just a little different back in the day, I guess. 

But this book is really an interesting read, I have to say.

"modern" bow 

best known of "today's modern" bolt actions:

There's a lot more in here ... And a lot still seems relevant, too (sounds like hunting tactics for North American big game didn't change much over the last 60 years, author even talks about whitetail deer drives 😂)

[TDietz]

I still have my copy

[hammer4reel]

Old timers way to break a deer runner was to have a scent trail to a 55 gallon drum with a deer hide in it .

when dog went in it they closed the lid and rolled it down a hill .after that ride they didn’t chase deer .

 

YET after having beagles for over 40 years . Dogs that are worked through out the year normally won’t run deer .

They know their quarry .

Fox are a little tougher as they put down a lot of scent , but a good hound guy knows instantly when they hit a fox .

bark is different on different game . Including pheasants and grouse .

 

[hiking]

I broke a beagle using the barrel method  but I put a rope through the barrell and over a tree limb, then twisted it up tight and let it spin. yes it worked

[kohunter]

23 hours ago, hammer4reel said:

Old timers way to break a deer runner was to have a scent trail to a 55 gallon drum with a deer hide in it .

when dog went in it they closed the lid and rolled it down a hill .after that ride they didn’t chase deer .

 

YET after having beagles for over 40 years . Dogs that are worked through out the year normally won’t run deer .

They know their quarry .

Fox are a little tougher as they put down a lot of scent , but a good hound guy knows instantly when they hit a fox .

bark is different on different game . Including pheasants and grouse .

 

I bet you would be in big trouble if you got caught doing that today.

[mazzgolf]

41 minutes ago, kohunter said:

I bet you would be in big trouble if you got caught doing that today.

Can you imagine what would happen today if you were found training a dog by buying a domestic cat and letting the dog tree and kill it??

Or to break the dog from chasing deer, you beat it and then hang it by its neck until nearly choked to death??

Ahhhh, thems were the good ol' days.  

[Eyesofthewoods]

On 6/12/2024 at 11:38 PM, mazzgolf said:

A friend of mine cleared out his library and gave me some old hunting and fishing books.

I'm reading this old book from 1962... "Complete Book of Hunting". Talks about planning, setting up hunting camps, packing (including how to pack horses and mules!), and discusses tracking, identifying, and hunting tactics for all types of game from deer, elk, moose to bear, mountain lions, sheep, wolves, to varmints... And a bunch of other stuff... All written in 1962 so you can imagine how outdated some of this is (average cost for a polar bear hunt is $2,000, with bear guaranteed! Sign me up! Lol). But it's a really cool read, and reading about setting up hunting camp and hunting elk and mule deer out west has got me daydreaming.

Anyway, I read this and thought "dang, these people were brutal back in the day"... Read this about training dogs to hunt cougars (mountain lions):

"Often domestic cats are bought and turn loose ahead of the young dogs in simulated cat country. The dogs are encouraged to pick up the scent (a natural impulse in most hounds), give chase, tree the little feline and, if possible, kill it."

"Deer country is cougar country, and the hardest single job of the lion hunter is to break his dogs from running deer. The most severe punishment is given dogs that run on the scent or sight of deer. After they return each time, they are beaten, hung by the neck with a lariat until nearly choked to death, and cussed with a language that would make an old salt embarrassed."

Dog training was just a little different back in the day, I guess. 

But this book is really an interesting read, I have to say.

"modern" bow 

best known of "today's modern" bolt actions:

There's a lot more in here ... And a lot still seems relevant, too (sounds like hunting tactics for North American big game didn't change much over the last 60 years, author even talks about whitetail deer drives 😂)

Growing up with beagles and around the beagle club community.  I’ve see dogs that got on deer and the handler(usually an old timer) says that dogs good as dead and that’s what they would do.  The dogs were not seen as pets more as tools and if the tool was broken it was useless to them I guess.

we handled things a bit different.  One of my best hounds used to run deer often.  Got him on the shock collar put him on a deer and gave him a zap.  That helped him break that habit. 
 

can also put the dog in the pen with some goats.  Same glands as a deer.  When the dog tries to fool with the goat and gets bucked or rammed they learn to stay away from that as well.  
 

 

[mazzgolf]

Lol... Simpler times back then. Sometimes I wish I could experience those by-gone days (well, minus all the World Wars and such

[Johral]

I’ll have dig one up.

[chenrossi]

I read a lot of my grandfather’s/dad’s collection of books that have hunting stories, info from the Great Depression through the 50s into the late 70s and 80s. I find it so interesting some of the major things people claim downfall hunting today were things people complained about 50-60+ years ago. Funny how the more things change they stay the same