Basic Training for the Wilderness Hunter: Preparing for Your Outdoor Adventure - Softcover

Sorg, Maurus

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1490786589 ISBN 13: 9781490786582

Publisher: Trafford, 2018

Synopsis

Sport hunting across the United States faces many challenges. It is up to each individual hunter to be the best ambassador that he or she can be. I strongly urge you to step up your hunting to become a wilderness hunter if your personal physician agrees you can do so safely.

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Sorg has been a hunter for forty-five years. For the past 15 years, he has hunted the Western states and Canada most recently including six backpack hunts. He is a 30-year veteran of primary care and emergency medicine and is board certified in Family Medicine, Emergency Medicine, certified in Sports Medicine, certified in acupuncture, and has a Masters Degree in Public Health. He is presently the medical director of his local hospitals cardiac rehabilitation department. He is an MD fellow of the Wilderness Medical Society. He and his wife a family physician, built, owned, and operated for 10 years the communitys only complete health and recreational facility. This training and experience has given him a unique perspective about the health and fitness industry. As a family physician first and foremost, Dr. Sorg has recognized that only information that is practical and easy to implement will stand the test of time and usefulness. Fitness fads come and go, but the basic principles are timeless. This book is meant to help you focus on the basics of what you need to know in the simplest possible way.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Basic Training for the Wilderness Hunter

Preparing for Your Outdoor Adventure

By Maurus Sorg

Trafford Publishing

Copyright © 2018 Maurus Sorg, MD, MPH
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4907-8658-2

Contents

Introduction, ix, 
It is no secret. I hate to see outdoors enthusiasts loose time and money!, ix, 
Chapter One, 1, 
Who we are and what makes us want to hunt in the first place, 1, 
Chapter Two, 9, 
The types of hunts and how you must prepare as a WILDERNESS HUNTER to get the most for your time and money, 9, 
Chapter Three, 16, 
Preparation will save you money ... and possibly your hunt, 16, 
Chapter Four, 23, 
The principles of individual sport training: mountain sheep butt heads and eat grass ... you need a better training program, 23, 
Chapter Five, 37, 
Survival ... your life depends upon it., 37, 
Chapter Six, 44, 
Weather related hunting injuries ... do not let them ruin your hunt, 44, 
Chapter Seven, 48, 
Other hunting injuries ... interesting and potentially fatal, 48, 
Chapter Eight, 55, 
First aid ... preparation is an important part of hunting, 55, 
Chapter Nine, 61, 
Altitude sickness ... why it deserves its own chapter, 61, 
Chapter Ten, 66, 
Food, water, and supplements ... your fuel to get you to your destination, 66, 
Chapter Eleven, 70, 
Clothing and footwear ... your only defense against the weather, 70, 
Chapter Twelve, 77, 
Travel medicine for the international wilderness hunter and adventurer ... medical advice for strange places, 77, 
Chapter Thirteen, 83, 
The older hunter ... if this is not you now, it soon will be, 83, 
Chapter Fourteen, 86, 
Advanced Training, 86, 
Chapter Fifteen, 92, 
Centerfire Rifles for the Wilderness Hunter, 92, 
Conclusion, 101, 
About the Author, 103, 

CHAPTER 1

* Who we are and what makes us want to hunt in the first place

* Why you are an outdoorsman

* Why now is so important

* Why you should congratulate yourself

* The characteristics of the WILDERNESS HUNTER

What is a WILDERNESS HUNTER?

A WILDERNESS HUNTER is an outdoor adventurer who hunts in areas remote from usual societal comforts and resources. Whether it is the sheep or elk hunter who enjoys mountainous terrain or the desert hunter on a self guided hunt. ... it is a hunter who has trained himself or herself to be self-sufficient and prepared for the worst that nature can throw at them. It is also a state of mind of preparedness, one that feels obliged to help others safely enjoy the adventure.

In the United States, participation in outdoors activities is at an all time low. As a nation we have become sedentary and "virtual" computer game dependent. We have become observers of life rather than participants.

We have lost the roots of our agrarian and adventurer hunter-gatherer past. As such we feel disconnected.

But not you! You are a hunter. As a WILDERNESS HUNTER you are the premier outdoors adventurer. You are able to participate in nature at a level that few others can imagine. You remain part of the life-death continuum that so many others have never experienced or have forgotten about. You recognize that without death there is no life. You participate in nature as its most basic level, traveling where there are no "established trails." You accumulate knowledge about the environment that few others can appreciate. You prepare yourself to face the worst situations knowing that you can prevail because you have physically and mentally prepared for them.

We as hunters should reframe our thinking and consider ourselves as OUTDOOR ADVENTURERS first and hunters second. If we can grasp that most of our preparation and training is geared towards the safety and preparation for our outdoor adventure and less so to the hunting techniques themselves, we will have already made a huge leap toward becoming the WILDERNESS HUNTER. Our genetic destiny is to be adventurer hunter-gatherers. Even the story of Jeremiah Johnson is more about overcoming obstacles than his hunting/ trapping prowess.

We hunters also represent most of the meaningful financial contribution to the conservation of our precious wildlife resources. We do this through our participation in various foundations such as the Federation of North American Wild Sheep, Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, in addition to the purchase of game lands through license fees, land that many other non-hunters use.

We are our country's best-kept secret. While the anti-hunters constantly bash us, the National Sporting Goods Association most recent market report shows that hunting and firearms expenditures at $3.71 billion yearly is more than the $3.66 billion spent on golf equipment!

As a hunter, you have chosen an activity that can become a lifelong exercise habit. You have come to the realization that without exercise (movement) there is no life. And you have come to appreciate that many of societal woes come from uninterrupted work schedules AND LACK OF CONNECTION WITH OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.

At least one State Department of Health has recognized the value of hunting as a health promotional activity. The Department of Health of South Dakota recognized that it had several programs for women, but nothing for men (I appreciate the number of women in the hunting sports, especially competition and archery). Since many men in South Dakota participate in hunting, they started the Healthy Hunter Series.

For many men, hunting as a cluster of related activities is their primary source of exercise. And each of us has our own reasons to and expectations of the hunt. How we hunt, who we hunt with, and how much we are willing to prepare all differ. You can start at any level to become the WILDERNESS HUNTER.

Walking is the safest of all activities and it is the backbone of hunting. Although there are many hunting opportunities that involve the need for high levels of fitness, many do not. Whether it is scouting for sheds in the late winter, spring gobbler season, summer food plot development and game camera set up, or fall seasons, there is plenty to do to keep you fit all year around if you choose to do so. Regardless of the style of hunting that you choose, there is always a need to think like a WILDERNESS HUNTER.

Life long exercise habits together with good nutrition are the keys to longevity. Have you ever met an elderly person in decent shape that has not had at least a basic form of exercise? At the last Grand Slam Club/Ovis (GSCO) convention I met several sheep hunters in their eighties that looked 20 years their junior. They are fine examples of the WILDERNESS HUNTERS. As a family physician I have a theory that those that take time to enjoy life will also have more life to live.

There is time urgency for the hunter. You only have so many days to hunt. At some point in your life, even though you made the life long commitment to be a WILDERNESS HUNTER, you realize that you cannot climb the hills like you once were able to do. As Jack Atcheson, the famous sheep and big game outfitter, has trademarked "Hunt while you still can!" So you become like an airline pilot ... you realize that you have to take care of yourself until you lose the privilege of participating in your passion.

One thing, however, is sure. We hunters have to raise the bar with regards to the public image of our sporting activities in order to save the sport and our unique connection with nature. This is what the process of becoming the WILDERNESS HUNTER is about! Without this effort we will fail to preserve our tradition and lose the battle for this noble heritage.

The characteristics of a WILDERNESS HUNTER

Why all of this fuss about being a WILDERNESS HUNTER? If you are going to participate in any sport-whether it is golf, bowling, or other-you most likely are trying to improve your scores and techniques. The $300 Calloway, the customized shoes, the expensive lessons by a "pro" are all considered standard fare.

We hunters, however, focus far too much of our time and resources on the equipment and less time on our skills. If you are like me, you would be a much more effective hunter preparing for the adventure and practicing our skills correctly with adequate equipment than by spending obscene amounts of cash on the latest, lightest, and tightest equipment. Too often we do not take the time to polish our skills and prepare ourselves before going on our hunting adventures. And we do not take the necessary time to prepare for adventures that could go awry.

BEING A WILDERNESS HUNTER IS TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE SERIOUSNESS OF OUR SPORT.

Any time that you engage the natural environment, there is always a chance you could end up dealing with the unexpected. You owe it to yourself, to your family, and to the sport to make the best effort you possibly can to keep this sport and yourself safe.

Why you need to prepare

The key quality that separates the WILDERNESS HUNTER from the rest of the pack is his or her commitment to preparation and excellence in the sport.

Every year many hunters waste precious dollars by being poorly prepared. They suffer countless numbers of needless injuries and even possibly death. Sometimes these are "hunts of the lifetime" that involve many dollars and much time.

In the course of my busy practice, I see many successful people who have spent their lifetimes building successful businesses and saving their money. The primary reason that many of them do it is because they want to hunt with whomever they want, whenever they want, for as long as they want. I tell these successful professionals that they deserve to enjoy what they have worked for but they are not going to get it for free! They are going to have to invest time and energy into preparation so that they have many extra years to enjoy the fruits of their labor.

The sad truth is, however, that if you are not in good physical condition or make an effort to prepare yourself to become the WILDERNESS HUNTER, most likely you will not get the full benefit of the experience. As is often the case, your adventure may turn into a nightmare or at the minimum a disappointment.

One of the biggest complaints of big game outfitters is that their clients come poorly prepared with regards to their physical conditioning, mental preparation, and excess body weight. Another common complaint is that the client overestimates their abilities and level of fitness.

Also, they often do not inform the outfitter of their serious medical problems. All of these factors impair the outfitter's ability to provide their hunters with an optimal hunt.

Your ability to adapt to different environments depends upon your level of fitness. Your injury rate, especially with regards to the cardiac and musculoskeletal systems, is decreased with increasing levels of fitness. In other words, to keep your hunting safe, you must be fit. You must make a commitment to year round fitness. You get to choose at what level. But when you are preparing for your adventure, you need to step it up for 2-3 months, longer if you are older because it takes you longer to train. It takes time and effort to prepare. The human machine is quite resilient and often forgiving. Preparation is your best insurance policy.

The attributes of the WILDERNESS HUNTER

In order to be a WILDERNESS HUNTER, the following are the essential attributes and traits that you must CONTINUE TO DEVELOP. Hunting is a lot like golf ... you can never get too good at it.

To become a WILDERNESS HUNTER you must:

[check] Be both heat and cold tolerant

[check] Be expert in heat and cold management and calorie management

[check] Be patient and almost trance like at times

[check] Have a cool head and have to be a good navigator

[check] Have adequate amounts of endurance and strength

[check] Be a rugged individualist while at the same time being a team player

[check] Have a sense of humor

[check] Be able to communicate with nature

[check] Love moisture, dampness, and cold

[check] Be a meteorologist, biologist, and geologist

[check] Be able to deal with high levels of frustration

[check] Be a strategist

[check] Have good vision and eyesight

[check] Be aware of your surroundings at all times

[check] Be as concerned with the health and safety of those you are hunting with as for yourself.

[check] Love children and puppy dogs (maybe not necessary, but it sure does help!)

Now that you know who a WILDERNESS HUNTER is, what your ideal characteristics should be, and why you should prepare, we are going to find out the differences in the types of hunting that we do.

CHAPTER 2

* The types of hunts and how you must prepare as a WILDERNESS HUNTER to get the most for your time and money

* Why you must know the differences between the types of hunts

Regardless of the type of hunting, your outdoor adventure as a WILDERNESS HUNTER should be fun and safe. We need to reduce the many types of hunts into simple elements and understandable categories. Once you understand the principles, you will be able to prepare for your hunt as a WILDERNESS HUNTER with a different outlook.

Safety and preparation are inseparable twins. Most accidental deaths are preventable and occur when the hunter is poorly prepared or uses bad judgment, takes unnecessary risks, show poor gun handling techniques, or uses bad tree stand tactics. Alcohol intoxication continues to take its toll especially when it comes to ATV use. If you just understand these facts, you will have made a significant improvement in your safety IQ.

Each sport has basic rules that you must understand or you are doomed to failure. As a WILDERNESS HUNTER you already intuitively know this.

Basic principles of what you must accept:

- Preparation and safety are an inseparable part of the hunt.

- It is usually the simple things that get you into trouble.

- Disasters usually are the result of a series of events, each of which by themselves appear insignificant but in combination lead to disaster. This, however, gives you multiple opportunities for intervention and prevention.

Types of hunts and why you must prepare as a

WILDERNESS HUNTER

He was 42 years old and one of my very best friends. He was an NRA hunter safety instructor that instructed many hundreds of students. He was in his prime, having recently lost 50 pounds of weight, and in excellent physical condition. We had recently survived a brutal Wyoming elk hunt. As he swam across a pond at dusk to retrieve his son's first Canadian goose, he was choked by hidden reeds. It took three rescue teams and two days to find and recover him.

Accidents like this are often not preventable. But most of them are with a little planning and foresight.

We, as outdoor adventurers and WILDERNESS HUNTERS, have special needs. If we do not pay attention to our environment, tragic events such as this can happen when we least expect it. A casual swim in a pond to retrieve a bird becomes an extreme situation in which there is no escape. This need for exceptional vigilance to our environment separates us from many participants in other sporting activities.

If you think that all hunting is just the same, you are missing golden opportunities to prepare and to prevent injuries. Although it sounds simple, in order to prepare yourself optimally you need to think of your hunting adventures as falling into three separate categories:

Casual hunts

Potentially extreme hunts

Extreme hunts

Casual hunts

Casual hunts are low risk hunts with mild to moderate physical effort and risk. Such hunts would include small game hunting and waterfowl hunting in warm weather like my friend. You might not think of this as a wilderness hunt. Usually this type of hunting requires a low level of conditioning and preparation. Just hop in your truck and go hunting. This is the easiest and probably the most common of the hunting situations and seldom involves significant injury. Firearms safety is still critical for this type of hunting.

Potentially extreme hunts

This category of hunts is the most dangerous, yet it gives you the most opportunity to prevent accidents.

Although this type of activity may require only mild to moderate physical conditioning and may approach what you might consider as wilderness hunting, there is a potential for unpredictable occurrences that become a high risk and/or involve high physical effort and require a relatively high level of physical conditioning.

Examples include cold weather hunting where there is a possibility of inclement weather and sudden exposure to brutal weather, periods of intense physical activity, or the potential for becoming "lost." Another example would be group hunts where individual members who are less than optimally prepared suddenly become "lost."

Extreme hunts

These types of hunts involve high risk and/or high physical requirements and typically represent what wilderness hunting is about. Usually the risks and physical requirements are known and can be planned in advance. Usually the participant recognizes the need for intense physical fitness training and preparation. Often this hunt has the need for special equipment like ice picks, special boots, custom rifles, and backpacks. Another important characteristic of the extreme hunt is that rescue is often extremely difficult and untimely. For this type of hunt, however, the hunter is usually well prepared.

So why do I put so much emphasis on dividing hunting into these separate categories? It is because the potentially extreme hunt is usually where the preventable injuries and death occur.

Take for instance bear hunting in Pennsylvania. For this type of hunting you normally scramble to recruit 10-25 hunters of various ages and physical condition, throw them all together for the first organized hunt of the season, and start to drive the brush and side hills for the elusive bruin. It goes without saying that you will almost certainly have members in your hunting party that are totally unfamiliar with the hunting territory, and other new hunters who are doing this on an impulse and are not well dressed or prepared.

In bear season the weather is already miserable, or it will soon become miserable with that Pennsylvania scud that you cannot call either rain or snow. Search and rescue almost always gets called out somewhere and usually finds a cold and wet hunter who in the best-case scenario has found religion again and in the worst case may be hypothermic and frostbit. Why there aren't more fatalities, I don't understand.

The same thing can happen in deer season when a hunter starts to follow a track and it begins to snow. I can't tell you the number of times I have been "temporarily disoriented" for a half-day or so. Snow changes everything, and the landmarks disappear. If you hunt in snow, you already know what I am talking about. It doesn't take long in the deep woods of north central Pennsylvania to become confused. You have worked up a sweat, you are cold, you don't know where you are, and nighttime is here. You better know what to do. You need to think like a WILDERNESS HUNTER!

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Basic Training for the Wilderness Hunter by Maurus Sorg. Copyright © 2018 Maurus Sorg, MD, MPH. Excerpted by permission of Trafford Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Edition details

• Publisher: Trafford
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1490786589
• ISBN 13: 9781490786582
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 116